To Live or Not
In the United States, abortion has consistently been a highly debated topic ever since The
Supreme Court lifted bans on the procedure in 1973. Abortion is such a contentious topic
because its legality and morality are extremely hard to accurately define and come to a resolute
decision about. The termination of a pregnancy is a very intimate issue to discuss, and while
attempts are made to create a law that will affect the general public, it is difficult to expect all
circumstances to fit neatly under a single law. The legality of abortion has largely come down to
a women’s own specific situation and whether or not that woman feels comfortable with the
morality of her own decision. Evidence of abortion dates back to ancient times, which has given
notable philosophers centuries to express opinions ranging from extreme opposition to complete
support. By researching the multitude of viewpoints available, it helped to further break down
the moral questions associated with abortion. Despite many legitimate opinions that call for
abortion to be illegal in all situations, I personally believe that abortion is a personal decision that
should be legally left up to the mother to decide.
The controversy surrounding abortion was really initiated when abortion was legalized in
1973. The Supreme Court Case Roe vs. Wade was a class action suit brought to court by a single
mother, Jane Roe. Jane Roe was a single pregnant woman from Texas who wished to terminate
her pregnancy. At the time of the case, Texas had strict anti-abortion laws that criminalized the
procedure in all cases, except in those cases where a medical practitioner decided an abortion
was needed to save the life of the mother. Roe’s purpose was to challenge the constitutionality of
the Texas criminal abortion laws. The judge in this case found that the current laws were out of
date with current medicine and that under the Constitution’s right to privacy, a woman ultimately
had the right to determine whether or not to carry a child to term (Finkelman & Melvin). Despite
this overarching decision, restrictions on when an abortion can take place in each trimester were
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set in place. As many of the larger states had begun to align their laws with the same opinion as
the decision before the case, there was not much controversy or public outcry in the immediate
aftermath of the decision. A few years post Roe v. Wade, however, religious groups and other
opinionated organizations began to oppose the legalization of abortion (Finkelman & Melvin).
As the topic began to be debated more, many different opinions surfaced as to why abortion
should be legal or illegal.
Peter Singer, an Australian philosopher who teaches at Princeton University, has an
interesting approach to the discussion of abortion. Singer has a strong opinion over whether the
whole debate has a resolute answer; he states, “there is a clear cut answer to the question of the
moral permissibility of abortion and those who think there is not’ are simply mistaken”
(Richmond). Singer really sees the argument of abortion boil down to a question of whether
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