Abortion has been one of the major controversies in our contemporary society. Some people are in support to legalization of abortion, others are yet undecided on which side to support, and the rest are in total opposition of the notion of legalizing abortion. Abortion is the termination of the pregnancy by removal of the fetus or embryo before its complete growth. The process of abortion can be induced either artificially or naturally due to ranging reasons be it positive or negative. In this research paper I will cover both sides in order to establish a conclusion as to whether abortion should be legalized or not. I will cover both the positive and negative effects to an individual or the society at large.

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Should Abortion be legal or illegal?
Abortion has been one of the major controversies in our contemporary society. Some
people are in support to legalization of abortion, others are yet undecided on which side to
support, and the rest are in total opposition of the notion of legalizing abortion. Abortion is the
termination of the pregnancy by removal of the fetus or embryo before its complete growth. The
process of abortion can be induced either artificially or naturally due to ranging reasons be it
positive or negative. In this research paper I will cover both sides in order to establish a
conclusion as to whether abortion should be legalized or not. I will cover both the positive and
negative effects to an individual or the society at large.
The modern world has been at loggerheads with the controversy issue of the right to life
or reproduction. This issue has influenced growth of various aspects such as psychological,
physical and moral life and stretched to religious aspects of life. The arising issue am referring to
is abortion. Abortion has been viewed as a way that brings about psychological and reproductive
complications among pregnant women. With abortion being the main talk concerning health and
social issues, the main controversy lies in whether the law should permit its legalization taking
into consideration both its positive and negative consequences. It is worth noting that abortion
has superfluity meanings and can be induced either naturally or artificially. Abortion is
spontaneous if it occurs naturally or in other words it is not surgically or medically maneuvered

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(Why Abortion Is Illegal? Comparison of Legal and Illegal Abortion: A Critical Review -
PubMed). In spontaneous or natural abortion there is no legal permission required to conduct it.
Over the decades various countries have legalized abortion while some have utterly opposed the
notion by failing to sanction ant-abortion policies. This proves of the rising controversies even
among various states. Therefore the notion as to whether abortion should be legalized or not
entirely falls on the shoulders of the pregnant women who feel the presence of life growing in
their wombs and face the pain during gestation, labor and delivery ((PDF) SHOULD ABORTION
BE LEGAL?: CONTROVERSIES AND THE WAY FORWARD).
Abortion can be categorized into either natural or induced. In natural or spontaneous
abortion there is no involvement of human action. This type of abortion is commonly referred to
as miscarriage. The following are various types of natural abortion:
 Inevitable abortion: In this kind of abortion the fetus dies in the womb no matter of the
level of care administered. Therefore the fetus is terminated either naturally or artificially
in order to prevent the death of the mother.
 Complete abortion: In this second category of abortion the fetus is completely removed
from the womb. It mainly happens before the gestation of eight weeks when it is possible
to remove the fetal sac while still intact.
 Incomplete abortion: In this category of abortion various or entire membrane parts and
placenta still remain in the womb after the fetus is removed. It usually occurs during the
12th week of the pregnancy when the placenta is still attached and the umbilical cord is
thin.
 Missed abortion: In this category of abortion the dead fetus remains in the womb for a
long period of time without any symptoms revealing themselves. The pregnancy test is

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still positive during the retention time after the death of the fetus in the womb. This
abortion causes brownish foul vaginal discharge and it is during this discharge that the
dead fetus is removed.
 Threatened abortion: In this category of abortion there is little bleeding which causes the
fetus to lose some of its body parts. Despite this issue the fetus still continues to grow as
the bleeding stops. This results to the gestation period being lengthened as some of the
lost fetus’ body parts are replenished.
Also induced abortion can be categorized into the following types:
 Medical abortion: In this category abortion is conducted through administration of
drugs in form of injection or pills and sometimes through taking herbal medicines
(Types of Abortion: By Trimester, What to Expect, and Resources). These drugs have
the capability to terminate the fetus and remove it from the womb.
 Surgical abortion: This is a kind of abortion engineered by manually removing the
fetus from the womb via the use of blades. The fetus is decapitated and expelled
from the womb. This type of abortion is mainly conducted by professional medical
practitioners.
 Lawful abortion: This is a type of abortion is also called therapeutic abortion and is
conducted based on medical grounds. This abortion is legal and follow the medical
ethics. The decision may be made ranging from various reasons such as medical
complications where the life of the mother is at stake. The abortion is also conducted
by professional medical practitioners.
 Unlawful abortion: This type of abortion is commonly known as criminal abortion.
This abortion directly contrast the lawful or therapeutic abortion. Here, abortion is

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conducted in direct violation of the law and it is considered as a punishable offense.
It is mainly conducted by charlatans who pose themselves as professional medical
practitioners and is usually carried out in secrecy.
 Recurrent abortion: This type of abortion is also called habitual abortion. Here
abortion is carried out after two or three consecutive abortions. The abortion occurs
naturally during early pregnancy and sometimes happens after three weeks of
pregnancy which is triggered by weakness of the cervix. If induced artificially it
could occur after 1-28 weeks. The main cause of this type of abortion is the weak
cervix which is unable to hold the fetus for a long period of time which leads to
successive terminations.
As for the universal truth for every action taken there is an expectation of consequences.
Abortion also obeys this principle, whether it is induced naturally or artificially repercussions are
ripped. The causes of abortions can therefore be categorized into health and social. The health
causes are:
 Damage of the cervix which causes it to be weak. This increases the risk of the
woman experiencing miscarriages in future (Abortion Risks and Side Effects |
CompassCare). In a research conducted revealed that one induced abortion
increases future miscarriage by 25 % and 27 %. The risk of pre-term birth is 51%
and 62% higher for women who have conducted two or more abortions (Swingle
et al.).
 Excessive bleeding
 Increases the risk of breast cancer. In an analysis conducted during 2013 it was
revealed that there was a 44% greater risk of women who had abortions to get

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breast cancer. The risk however was 76% and 89% greater to women who had
conducted at least two to three induced abortions (Huang et al.).
 Abortion increases the risk of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease which may be caused
by the existence of Chlamydia in the cervical canal (Westergaard et al.).
 Researches reveal that abortion also causes increase in mental health problems
among young women (Fergusson et al.). These mental problems by be triggered
by post-traumatic stress (Coyle et al.). These may include:
o Grief
o Shame or guilt
o Anxiety
o Regret
o On some occasions it may lead to suicidal thoughts
o Depression or sadness
 Abortion may lead to infertility. Complications arising from induced abortions
such as uterus damage and infection increases the risk of infertility. These risks
are higher in women whose uterine rupture is at a greater threat; planted
intrauterine device; certain heart conditions; diabetes; lung, kidney or liver
disease; or those who are heavy smokers (Medical Abortion - Mayo Clinic).
Various social causes of abortion include:
 Influence by peers
 Fear of being a single mother which may attract financial burdens
 Fear of disgrace, shame or embarrassment
 Criminal intrusion

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 Background of the family
 Being pressurized by the sexual partner
 Governments population control policy
There are various advantages of legalizing abortion. In this portion I will cover various
positive effects of allowing abortion:
 Abortion has helped in preventing death and also certain critical health risks. In
certain occurrences abortion has helped to prevent the death of the mother and
unborn baby due to complications which may result to their death. Conditions
such HELLP syndrome, preeclampsia, ectopic pregnancy that is detected late, and
intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) may require abortion or else both the
mother and the child will be lost.
 Abortion has also helped in family planning and avoidance of unwanted
pregnancies. Sometimes families get out of line in their family planning hence
abortion comes in handy as the last resort. This is common in families that
practice natural family planning such as withdrawal where in some instances their
method backfires hence they opt for abortion. A recent research study has
revealed that 22% of children born in America were unwanted during conception
by at least one parent and 17% were unwanted by both parents (Bumpass and
Westoff). Therefore legalization of abortion as a backup means may help in
prevention of unwanted pregnancies.
 Abortion also helps in getting rid of bastards. This issue is commonly witnessed
in developing countries especially in Africa. There is a high percentage of male
rejects who refuse to take responsibility after they impregnate a girl. This has led

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in increase in the number of bastards who are often mocked, rejected and
stigmatized by the society. Abortion remain as the only viable solution to this
problem.
 One of the leading causes of poverty in America is unwanted poverties in poor
families. The main cause of poor families having unwanted pregnancies is
inadequate access to medical facilities. Studies have shown that poor families
desire to have the same amount of children as well-off families (Jaffe). Therefore
assisting the poor in prevention of unwanted pregnancies through abortion may
help in curbing the poverty issue in America.
 In many complications during pregnancies, deformity of the fetus is one primary
effect. This results to birth of morons, Halflings, imbeciles, dwarfs, children with
missing body parts, children with multiple body parts among others. As people
tend to avoid things they cannot explain, these children grow up to be feared by
their fellow kids and worse to be shunned by the society. They are often referred
to with awful names, bullied, laughed at, prejudiced and rejected. Therefore
abortion seems to be the solution to prevent these children to be brought up to
face all these sufferings.
 Overpopulation has become a prevalent concern globally. Environmentalist
believe that unless population growth is halted. Growth of population has led to
rise in demand which has left us to scramble for limited resources such as
minerals, air, agricultural land and, fresh water. As our population grows so do
the agricultural and industrial production which in turn increases the threat of
poisoning our environment via pollutants. If it continues at this rate the

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environment will be so irreversibly damaged in that sustenance of life will be
difficult. Methods of population growth may be categorized into two: family
planning which primarily focuses on reducing the rate of unwanted births and
population control which focuses on decreasing population growth by regulating
the rate of wanted births. Abortion lies under family planning. In population
control strategies such as enticement, education or pressurizing people to
regulating wanted births are applied. The issue of controlling wanted births is
much complicated compared to unwanted births. Legalization of abortion does
not present any government coercion and therefore is more likely to be accepted
by people. There are political challenges of implementing population control
hence legalizing abortion may be an effective measure in controlling birthrate.
 At times children get caught up in social vices such as rape. One of the primal
effects of rape is psychological traumas which include hatred, depression,
emotional breakdown, violence, and loss of hope. These traumas may be made
worse by the growing fetus inside the innocent child’s womb. The thought of
bringing into this world a child with the looks of your defiler can be
disheartening. Therefore these situations are mitigated via abortion which helps
the victims to move on with their lives with less psychological tortures.
 In instances of preventing single parenting, abortion may seem to be a viable
option. The notion of raising a kid on your own can be pretty scary on first time
mothers. When you consider the cost of raising the child it can become worse.
Therefore instead of raising the child to face hardships, abortion becomes an
alternative solution.

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Should abortion be legalized? No, I do not support. Despite the complications and social
effects there are other reasons:
First, legalizing abortion encourages termination of innocent babies. Even though babies
cannot feel any pain before 26th week of the pregnancy, scientists have proved that it shows signs
of breathing. Breath is an adequate proof of life. Hence legalization of abortion signifies handing
women the right to take another person’s life and worse without the other persons consent. This
is because the innocent baby has no input in the decision. Abortion does not mean that the
woman ceases to be a mother, but she simply becomes the mother of the dead child.
Legalization of abortion also hand over the right to terminate possible existence of great
people. Legalizing abortion is another term for slaughtering future leaders and potential great
men and women. In platitude, every child aborted removes eliminates the possibility of another
generation. Legalization of abortion will bring forth the extinction of potential in babies who
would have played a significant role in making the world a better place.
Most pregnancies are not accidental but are caused by immoral lifestyle and promiscuity
of some people who can’t “keep it in their pants”. Legalizing abortion is like encouraging youths
and elderly people to indulge themselves more in these vices. After all there is an available
solution to them. Not only will it spike fornication but also it will lead to increase in adultery
which will cause breakups in a lot of families. This will spiral sexual immorality such as rape.
Lastly, legalizing abortion provides women with the key to destruction of their health and
lives. With the complications associated with abortion such as breast cancer, excessive bleeding,
infertility among others legalization of abortion is the true definition of destruction to women
and society at large.

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In conclusion, I don’t support the notion of legalizing abortion. This is an ongoing
controversy in our contemporary society and a lot of critics are going to fight for it. Some states
such as America are trying to make abortion more safe and affordable. One fact is that risks do
not change based on cost and as any physician would agree in the field of medicine safety is not
guaranteed. Therefore legalizing abortion does not reduce the risk that arise from abortion.

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References
(PDF) SHOULD ABORTION BE LEGAL?: CONTROVERSIES AND THE WAY FORWARD.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332873374_SHOULD_ABORTION_BE_LEGAL
_CONTROVERSIES_AND_THE_WAY_FORWARD. Accessed 7 Apr. 2021.
Abortion Risks and Side Effects | CompassCare. https://www.compasscare.info/health-
information/abortion/abortion-risks-and-side-effects/. Accessed 7 Apr. 2021.
Bumpass, Larry, and Charles F. Westoff. “The ‘Perfect Contraceptive’ Population.” Science,
1970, doi:10.1126/science.169.3951.1177.
Coyle, Catherine T., et al. “Inadequate Preabortion Counseling and Decision Conflict as
Predictors of Subsequent Relationship Difficulties and Psychological Stress in Men and
Women.” Traumatology, 2010, doi:10.1177/1534765609347550.
Fergusson, David M., et al. “Abortion in Young Women and Subsequent Mental Health.”
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 2006,
doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2005.01538.x.
Huang, Yubei, et al. “A Meta-Analysis of the Association between Induced Abortion and Breast
Cancer Risk among Chinese Females.” Cancer Causes and Control, 2014,
doi:10.1007/s10552-013-0325-7.
Jaffe, Frederick S. “Family Planning and Poverty.” Journal of Marriage and the Family, 1964,
doi:10.2307/349356.
Medical Abortion - Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/medical-
abortion/about/pac-20394687. Accessed 7 Apr. 2021.

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Swingle, Hanes M., et al. “Abortion and the Risk of Subsequent Preterm Birth a Systematic
Review with Meta-Analyses.” Journal of Reproductive Medicine for the Obstetrician and
Gynecologist, 2009.
Types of Abortion: By Trimester, What to Expect, and Resources.
https://www.healthline.com/health/types-of-abortion#d&e. Accessed 7 Apr. 2021.
Westergaard, Lars, et al. “Significance of Cervical Chlamydia Trachomatis Infection in
Postabortal Pelvic Inflammatory Disease.” Obstetrics and Gynecology, 1982.
Why Abortion Is Illegal? Comparison of Legal and Illegal Abortion: A Critical Review -
PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29208889/. Accessed 7 Apr. 2021.