The Abortion Debate in Post-Roe America

Abstract

This paper exhibits the argument surrounding the ethicality of abortion, its restrictive laws, and the makeup of child welfare organizations that may influence one’s decision whether or not to have an abortion. Abortion laws were unregulated in the US until the 1800s. Since then, laws have been changed many times, largely depending on the state the law has been ordained in. Texas’s recent passing of the abortion-restricting Senate Bill 8 in September 2021, as well as the national overturning of the 1973 abortion-permitting Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case in June 2022, have sparked debate on this topic. Defining and providing pro-life, anti-abortion, pro-choice, pro-abortion perspectives, the present article aims to prove why abortion restrictions are wrongful to personal freedom and harmful to populations physically, financially, and emotionally. A forced pregnancy results in unprepared expenses, lack of emotional, parental connection, and a risk to women’s lives with unsafe abortions. Racial and economic minority groups are negatively affected by restrictive abortion laws more than others. Issues with alternatives to abortion, such as adoption and government programs, are explained, and it is concluded that until fraud and corruption are eliminated in these programs, abortion is the best solution for now to solve this debate. Solutions proposed in this paper involve electing officials who are in support of abortion and are able to change restrictive laws, encouraging and incentivizing more adoptions, bettering governmental child-care systems, and changing laws that better quality of life in order to lessen the number of abortions overall.