Article 2

Divya Unni

Mrs. Bailey

AP Government- 7th

01 October 2010

Article #2 Summary

Title: Arguments for Pro-Choice Abortions

Author: Debopriya Bose

Main Idea: This article is analyzing the pros and cons of getting an abortion and that it is a woman’s right to get an abortion.

Summary:

*Pro-life supporters claim that abortion is tampering with life which is a gift from God. They feel that life begins with conception and abortion is equivalent to murder. They also attribute psychological consequences to having an abortion.

*Pro-Choice movement believes in the dignity and autonomy of women. They believe that a woman should have the right to continue or end her pregnancy. Refusing to give a woman the right to her body is denying her the most basic freedom.

*Another point the pro-choice supporters make is that if life in every form should be considered important, then how is the unborn fetus more important than that of the woman who would have to raise the unplanned child?

*An important abortion fact is that most of them take place in the first trimester when the fetus is completely dependent on the mother and therefore should not be considered a different being but as part of the mother.

*Teenagers are not ready to become parents, a minor mother is not equipped to deal with the psychological and physical consequences of an unwanted pregnancy.

*Making abortion illegal gives does not solve the problem of unwanted pregnancies but only forces it into the shadows, into unregulated and possibly unsafe places. This increases the risk of infections, injuries, and deaths.

*A profound pro-choice point is that victims of rape and incest have to deal with the additional mental anguish of the burden of having a child that was conceived through the violent act.

*It is important to weigh the pros and cons of abortion before making a decision. Pro-choice supporters do not promote abortion, rather they believe in the women’s right to control decisions relating to her body and life.

*It is up to the individual to decide whether she is able to give the life she is bringing into the world all the basic necessities that is the right of every human .

3 Important Facts:

1.     Control over a woman’s body is essential to her civil rights.

2.     There are different theories on where life begins, so laws against abortion would unjustly impose one theory on all.

3.      Most abortions are done in the first trimester and this is safe.

Bias/ Faulty Reasoning: The person who wrote this was pro-choice and the writing is slanted in that direction.  The article does not contain many statistics and the facts or statistics used are not cited, so the reader does not know if the information is reliable

New Terms/ Concepts:

            1.  Post-abortion syndrome- According to anti-choice people, women who have had abortions go through depression, rage and have a strong sense of guilt.

Bibliography: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/arguments-for-pro-choice-abortions.html