Abortion What It Is And Why People Disagree Whether It Should Be Legal
Left, a pro-choice activist takes part in a protest outside a courthouse in Los Angeles, California, in May. Right, a protester who is against abortion demonstrates outside of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 24. (Image credit: Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images, Olivier Douliery/AFP/Getty Images)
And why you’re hearing so much about it right now
⭐️HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW⭐️
* A U.S. Supreme Court ruling has determined that states will get to decide how abortions are regulated.
* An abortion is a medical procedure that ends a pregnancy.
* This means in some American states, abortions will become illegal.
* Abortion is legal in Canada and not affected by the U.S. decision.
* Some people agree with this decision, but others say abortion should be a universal right for all who want it.
* Keep reading to understand the anti-abortion/pro-choice debate. ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️
On June 24, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a historic decision called Roe v. Wade.
The court’s new ruling limits a person’s right to have an abortion in the United States.
It’s expected to lead to abortion restrictions or outright bans in at least 13 U.S. states.
If you want to know more about the decision, read this article:
If you want to know what an abortion is and why people disagree whether or not it should be allowed, keep reading.
Why are there different views on abortion?
Abortion can be controversial because not everyone agrees who should decide whether or not to end a pregnancy: the individual who is pregnant or the government.
Bernard Dickens, professor emeritus of health law and policy at the University of Toronto, has been studying the history of abortion and the laws relating to it for 50 years.
He says for some people who are pro-choice and support the right to abortion, the fact that the fetus is inside the individual’s body means that they get to decide what happens to it.
Activists demonstrate during a pro-choice rally in Boston, Massachusetts, on May 14. (Image credit: Joseph Prezioso/AFP/Getty Images)
Those who are anti-abortion oppose the decision to end a pregnancy with abortion and believe that the fetus is considered a person long before birth.
“From a religious or moral perspective, some people say that life begins earlier than birth, life begins at conception, when a woman becomes pregnant,” Dickens said.
Because those who are anti-abortion see the fetus as a living being, they believe that abortion is ending a life, and that the government should intervene to protect that life.
Anti-abortion activists rally in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 6 in Washington, D.C. (Image credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
When do abortions happen?
In the U.S., federal statistics suggest that 94 per cent of abortions are performed at or before 13 weeks of pregnancy, which lasts about 40 weeks, or nine months.
Roughly 99 per cent of abortions are performed before 21 weeks of pregnancy (about four and a half months).
In Canada, the statistics are very similar.
Few health care providers in Canada or the U.S. perform abortions after 24 weeks (about five and a half months), unless the life of the person who is pregnant is at risk, if the fetus has serious complications, or in cases where a person has become pregnant as a result of a sexual assault.
(Graphic design by Philip Street/CBC)
Why do people have abortions?
According to Dickens, numerous factors can influence a person’s decision to have an abortion in the United States, including financial, medical and personal.
One of the common reasons is socioeconomic. In other words, some of the people who have had abortions said they couldn’t afford to raise a child or add another child to their family.
According to a study done in 2014 by the Guttmacher Institute, a not-for-profit research organization that studies reproductive health:
* 59 per cent of people in the U.S. who chose abortions already have kids.
* 75 per cent of people who had had abortions lived below the poverty line of $15,730 US for a family of two.
OK, now that you understand the background and you want to learn more about what led to the decision in the United States, read this article.
Have more questions? Want to tell us how we’re doing? Use the “send us feedback” link below. ⬇️⬇️⬇️
With files from The Associated Press
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