Philip Song

Professor Broadbent

Writing 39C

24 May 2018

Banning Abortion is the Problem, Not the Solution

The United States has been a battlefield for decades with two large sides of the war

continuously fighting to have their way in this country. The topic of discussion is abortion, and

an agreement was settled through the Roe v. Wade court case where abortion was legalized, but

the debate on this subject is more alive than ever. Donald Trump now threatens the promise of

Roe v. Wade and therefore insinuates disagreement throughout the war zone we call our home.

Abortion has been an on-going debate for many years and stands to be one of the most

prevalent issues in the United States. It proves to be a very pressing problem because of the

historical context that still lingers and stands relevant to this day. This topic has been a social,

political, and cultural problem that has been taking place in the past, present, and will continue to

take place in the future with both parties of this debate being able to make strong cases that each

opposing perspective has an extreme view. From the problem’s origin beginning in the 1800s to

its lively debate that is taking place in the 21st century, the legitimacy and the weight of the

problem is demonstrated by the length of its life. Even after the Roe v. Wade decision to legalize

abortion, many court cases such as Planned Parenthood of Southern Pennsylvania v. Casey

continue to put this decision back into question. Abortion also proves to be a large problem due

to the conversation that is taking place in political and cultural aspect of society. The

inauguration of Donald Trump and his cabinet into the white house greatly affects this issue due

to the disagreement between our current president and the president that was in office in the term
before. Trump lambasted Roe v. Wade in his continuous attempt to repeal it and furthers his

attempts by trying to replace the Affordable Care Act and by defunding planned parenthood,

which contradicts the works of the previous president, Barack Obama. This demonstrates the

present context of this issue in a political aspect and the influence it has on the nation.

The problem caused by abortion creates many consequences that hurts and affects

primarily women with an unwanted pregnancy who cannot access safe abortions. The

illegalization of what most people believe is a right to women would create more debate than

ever about the immorality of Trump’s decision. This will also create a greater danger for women

because making abortion a crime will not put an end to the practice. Research has shown that

there is no association between legality and its incidence and banning abortion does not stop the

practice; it merely makes it more dangerous. Illegalizing abortion will push women to take

matters into their own hands and undergo the procedure in hiding through a non-professional

who utilizes methods that could be life threatening. This is a very pressing issue because unsafe

abortions are one of the leading causes of maternal mortality, already causing 68,000 deaths

annually, and illegalizing abortion in the United States will increase this statistic even more. Of

the women who survive these unsafe abortions, 5 million of them go on to suffer long-term

health complications. The consequences of this problem prove to reflect the momentousness of

the issue and shows the lack of correlation between the allowance and the occurrence of the

practice.

The root causes of the abortion debate differ greatly but all contribute to the problem,

making it a widespread issue that affects many aspects of society and elevates the difficulty in

solving the issue. The root causes include differences in ideologies and beliefs, the relationship

between poverty and abortion rate, and unwanted pregnancies. The discussion began in the
1800s when anti-abortion laws were put in place to prevent women from undergoing unsafe

abortions through untrained abortionists. Compilations of illegal and unsafe abortions amounted

to a large number of deaths which led to the criminalization of this practice in the nineteenth

century. After a series of events, the United States made a landmark decision in the court case of

Roe v. Wade to legalize abortion which was intended to end the debate, but instead sparked a

new ember in this problem. Making a singular decision to encompass the nation satisfied those

who supported the legalization of the practice while pushing its opponents to continue to pass

laws that stripped away at or banning abortion.

(Source) http://www.pewforum.org/fact-sheet/public-opinion-on-abortion/
(Source) http://www.pewforum.org/fact-sheet/public-opinion-on-abortion/

The tables above represent one of the root causes of this issue. The data shows a clear division

between both sides of the debate in a political aspect and in a chronological aspect and this

division exists due to the differences in ideologies and beliefs that feeds the fire and is what has

kept this problem alive and relevant for many years. This stands as an explanation as to why the

organizations and laws that President Obama has created during his term would soon be revoked

by the following president, Donald Trump. This data also explains the back-and-forth between

the two sides of abortion. Past and future Presidents of the United States install laws and

regulations to their favor on the topic and it contributes to the ongoing discussion about this

subject. Another root cause of abortion is poverty. In a recent study, 73 percent of women

undergoing an abortion has stated that not being able to afford the baby was the reason behind

the operation. This number rose to 81 percent for women under the poverty line. This number did

indeed decline by 8 percent from the years of 2000 to 2008 but it rose 18 percent among poor

women. The last root cause of abortion is caused by unintended pregnancies. An unintended

pregnancy is characterized as one that was either mistimed or unwanted and made up a
staggering 45 percent of all pregnancies in the year of 2011. Of these unintended pregnancies, 42

percent of them end in abortion.

Abortion has been an unending issue due to the numerous obstacles that prevent it from

being resolved. These obstacles include the root causes that are stated above, the fact that there is

no “correct” answer or solution, and the incorrect focus that advocates are fighting for. A large

obstacle that prevents the abortion problem from being solved is the different ideologies and

beliefs that creates a divide between the people that support abortion and the people that are

against it. The pro-life versus pro-choice debate acts as the main kindling that maintains this fire

and is what prevents it from being settled. President Barack Obama worked towards this issue by

enacting the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, and provided funding for Planned

Parenthood in support of abortion. By the next presidential term, Donald Trump attempts to undo

the works of Obama and strived to replace Obamacare while defunding Planned Parenthood, as

stated before. This “tug-of-war” can be seen throughout historical events and court cases and

demonstrates a reason why the abortion issue cannot be resolved. Another obstacle that stands in

the way of the solution to this problem is the fact that there is no “correct” answer or solution to

this issue. Abortion has been a controversial issue for decades and still stands to be one even

after the legalization of this practice. Abortion has successfully divided the population into two

large crowds with strong opinions and cohesive arguments for both perspectives based on an

individual’s cultural, political, and social background. Pro-life advocates may argue that the

government has an obligation to preserve all human life, regardless of intent, viability or quality

of life concerns. On the other hand, pro-choice advocates argue that all individuals have

unlimited autonomy with respect to their own reproductive systems, as long as they do not

breach the autonomy of others. This debate extends to religious affiliation, political involvement,
and ambiguity between what is right and what is wrong. In the end, both perspectives of all these

debates provide substantial arguments and evidence to support it which pushes this problem into

an endless rut with no solution that is deemed correct. The last obstacle that prevents the talk

about abortion from being settled is caused by the incorrect focus that advocates are fighting for

on their respective sides of the debate. The biggest fault that both sides of this debate have is that

they portray each other as enemies or immoral beings. They label the opposing side as having an

extreme view to the issue which is not entirely true. This obstacle contributes to the endless rut

that the United States is in because these advocates are fighting for a cause that is outside the

cause. Both perspectives highlight the shortcomings and imperfections of the opposing view in

support of their respective arguments as if this will shed light on why one’s point of view is the

“correct” one when this is not the case whatsoever. Both aspects of this debate must understand

that pro-life is not anti-choice and pro-choice is not anti-life. Once this obstacle is overcome, real

change and reform can begin taking place and steps towards solving this ongoing debate can be

made.

Although abortion has been a relevant issue for what seems like an eternity, solutions can

be implemented to work at this issue as a whole, rather than supporting one side of the argument

and waiting for the opposing view to reciprocate. The solutions to the abortion discussion does

not concern the legality of the practice, and instead, involves the steps this nation can take

towards fixing the issue.

The first solution involves investing more money into sexual education to educate people

on how to prevent pregnancies. Sexual education programs must be medically accurate, age-

appropriate, comprehensive, and must not promote religious doctrine, bias against people, or

abstinence. This is to increase the effectiveness of these programs and appeal to the entire
audience rather than utilizing religious motives that would only appeal to a portion of the

audience. The programs must also refrain from promoting abstinence-only due to the lack of

benefits it has. In 1992, California had the highest teen pregnancy rate in the nation, so a three-

year abstinence-only sex education program was launched to combat this. The program was

cancelled early when it had absolutely no effect on teens’ decisions to start having sex. Creating

programs that are age appropriate provides adolescent teens the preparation that is necessary for

safe sex and will reduce the amount of pregnancies which, in turn, will decrease the abortion

rate. Sexual education programs prove to be effective in reducing abortion after the California

Comprehensive Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS Prevention Education Act was passed. Within 2

years, California’s teen pregnancy declined by more than 50 percent which dwarfed the

corresponding national decline of 37 percent. These programs indeed were intended to reduce

teen pregnancies, not abortion but both went hand in hand. The decline in the teen pregnancy rate

was followed by the decline in teen abortions rates. From the programs in California alone, teen

abortions dropped from 7.6 percent to 2.6 percent.

The second solution involves increasing access to contraceptives. This solution proves

its own viability numerically and statistically.

 (Source): https://www.guttmacher.org/fact-

sheet/unintended-pregnancy-united-states

This table shows the effectiveness of contraceptives and the

risk that is taken without consistent use.

Expanding the access to contraceptives allows people of all ages to practice protected sex to

prevent unwanted pregnancies that may end in an abortion. This, in turn, would decrease both

unintended pregnancies and abortion overall. The study below demonstrates the effects of free

access the contraceptives. A major decline has taken place in all three areas and the declines

show to be statistically significant which shows the benefits that the greater access of

contraceptives brings.
(Source): https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/reducing-abortion-rates-

policy_us_589b8ea5e4b09bd304bfd920

Both solutions prove to be very effective in working at the abortion problem due to the

solution’s ability to target the root causes and the obstacles that prevent it from being solved.

Investing money into sexual education programs would educate people on ways to prevent and

prepare for unwanted pregnancies while a greater access to contraceptives would prevent

unwanted pregnancies altogether. Implementing these solutions would also provide a better focus

for the advocates on either side since both perspectives of the abortion debate will be working

against abortion rather than working against each other. For once in the debate, the differences in

ideologies and beliefs will not contradict each other in that the solutions do not support, nor does

it eliminate the practice. A large study was conducted to survey women who received abortions

and nearly half of the women stated that they did not use birth control in the month that they

conceived. When asked why they did not, 8 percent cited financial problems, 2 percent said they

did not know where to get it, 28 percent thought they wouldn’t get pregnant, 26 percent didn’t

think they would have sex, 23 percent never thought of using it, 10 percent said their partner
objected, and 3 percent thought it would make sex less fun. Both solutions prove to be very

effectual since the sexual education programs would teach the participants the ins and outs of sex

and how to practice it safely while a larger access to contraceptives would make it more

affordable and would allow people to prepared for safe sex which would, in the end, reduce the

amount of abortions.

Out of these solutions, the nation should allow greater access to contraceptives due to the

amount of benefits it brings for the amount it may cost. The solution would be permanent, and

the longevity of this solution surpasses the sexual education programs. Contraceptives proves its

own ability to actively prevent abortions and people should have an easier access to them

because of its effectiveness. Also, it shows to be a better solution when compared to the sexual

education programs due to the program’s lack of concrete benefits that is produced. The trends

and statistics that are derived from these programs are only correlations, regardless of the amount

of success that seems to be produced. Many may say that increasing access to contraceptives will

be too costly to be feasible, but this will not be a problem once the benefits of this solution begin

to take place. Unintended pregnancies that lead to births are often paid for by public insurance

programs, primarily Medicaid, which is a program funded by the federal government. Out of all

the unplanned births that take place, Medicaid pays for 68 percent of them and the total public

expenditures on unintended pregnancies nationwide were estimated to be a whopping $21 billion

in 2010. Because of the immense effectiveness of this solution, the amount of money that funds

unintended pregnancies will be greatly reduced due to the decline in the pregnancy rate. This

would mean that this solution would fund itself and would make it nearly self-sufficient. Not

only is this solution self-sufficient, it is also a cheaper alternative to what is taking place now. A
study was made at the Indiana University School of Medicine and it showed that every dollar

invested in contraception can save between 4 and 17 dollars down the road in health care costs.

The debate on abortion has lasted for decades and has gained no progress because

advocates are arguing to win rather than arguing to fix the problem at hand. Abortion is not a

pro-life or pro-choice debate. Abortion is not a problem with a single solution or answer.

Abortion is not the difference between right and wrong, It is about finding the middle ground

between the two and implementing solutions to work towards fixing it. There isn’t a shortage of

pills or condoms. It’s a shortage of cultural and personal responsibility. It’s a failure to teach,

understand, admit or care that unprotected sex can lead to creation—and the subsequent killing,

through abortion—of a developing human being. (Saletan) Fill the shortage with what have in

abundance. The cost of contraceptives compared to the cost of a life should not be a question our

nation needs to ask.

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