Did Legalizing Abortion Make Canada A Safer Place to Live?
In 1969, the Canadian Government legalized abortion. Though truly unhindered abortion access has still not been fully achieved, this decision marked the beginning of a new era. The legalization of abortion was controversial when it first happened, and still is today. The anti-choice movement opposes abortion and ascertains that it should never have been made legal, while the pro-choice movement maintains that legalized abortion is essential. To determine which argument is most valid one must look at the aspect of Canada that holds the most basic importance: safety. Though there have been many important effects of legal abortion, the most crucial is whether legalizing abortion made Canada …show more content…
It is an issue that defines a persons beliefs and political outlook, and has created a major divide between those who support it and those who do not. The anti-choice movement believes that legalizing abortion has put our society in moral peril, causing “an immense threat to life: not only the life of individuals but also to that of civilization as a whole” (Hurley 25). Pro-choice activists believe that this way of thinking is “completely and callously indifferent to the enormous, avoidable suffering such attitudes are inflicting on individuals and the community” (Hurley 14). They believe that legalization has increased the prominence of women in important positions, and garnered greater acceptance for women who choose not to have children. Another supposed effect of legalizing abortion believed by the anti-choice movement is that legalizing abortion has spread an attitude of sexual permissiveness, since one need not worry about potential pregnancy. Yet the pro-choice movement denies this charge, insisting that the popularity of sexual permissiveness is due to a growing cultural rebellion against sexual …show more content…
Firstly there is the decrease in the number of children being born. Allowing legal abortion has decreased the number of unwanted children and therefore saved them from a life of abuse and neglect that could lead to neurotic, psychotic, or criminal tendencies, or so the pro-choice movement believes. This belief is backed by the decrease in crime Canada experienced from the 1990s onwards, the time period when children who had been aborted shortly after the procedure was legalized would have reached maturity. Violent crime in Canada decreased by approximately 8% every year between 1992 and 1996 (Hurley 17). This decrease is believed to be linked to the lowered number of children born to women who did not want them or did not have enough resources to support them, leading to the aforementioned life of abuse and neglect. The anti-choice movement supports other reasons for the decrease in crime rates, such as the fact that there are fewer young men now then in the baby boom of the mid 20th century, and it is primarily young men who commit crimes. They also suggest that the children that would have been born from terminated pregnancies could have made incredible contributions to society, such as inventing important technologies or finding the cure to deadly diseases. As has been noted, both pro and anti choice factions believe that abortion has had an
In 1969, the Canadian Government legalized abortion. Though truly unhindered abortion access has still not been fully achieved, this decision marked the beginning of a new era. The legalization of abortion was controversial when it first happened, and still is today. The anti-choice movement opposes abortion and ascertains that it should never have been made legal, while the pro-choice movement maintains that legalized abortion is essential. To determine which argument is most valid one must look at the aspect of Canada that holds the most basic importance: safety. Though there have been many important effects of legal abortion, the most crucial is whether legalizing abortion made Canada …show more content…
It is an issue that defines a persons beliefs and political outlook, and has created a major divide between those who support it and those who do not. The anti-choice movement believes that legalizing abortion has put our society in moral peril, causing “an immense threat to life: not only the life of individuals but also to that of civilization as a whole” (Hurley 25). Pro-choice activists believe that this way of thinking is “completely and callously indifferent to the enormous, avoidable suffering such attitudes are inflicting on individuals and the community” (Hurley 14). They believe that legalization has increased the prominence of women in important positions, and garnered greater acceptance for women who choose not to have children. Another supposed effect of legalizing abortion believed by the anti-choice movement is that legalizing abortion has spread an attitude of sexual permissiveness, since one need not worry about potential pregnancy. Yet the pro-choice movement denies this charge, insisting that the popularity of sexual permissiveness is due to a growing cultural rebellion against sexual …show more content…
Firstly there is the decrease in the number of children being born. Allowing legal abortion has decreased the number of unwanted children and therefore saved them from a life of abuse and neglect that could lead to neurotic, psychotic, or criminal tendencies, or so the pro-choice movement believes. This belief is backed by the decrease in crime Canada experienced from the 1990s onwards, the time period when children who had been aborted shortly after the procedure was legalized would have reached maturity. Violent crime in Canada decreased by approximately 8% every year between 1992 and 1996 (Hurley 17). This decrease is believed to be linked to the lowered number of children born to women who did not want them or did not have enough resources to support them, leading to the aforementioned life of abuse and neglect. The anti-choice movement supports other reasons for the decrease in crime rates, such as the fact that there are fewer young men now then in the baby boom of the mid 20th century, and it is primarily young men who commit crimes. They also suggest that the children that would have been born from terminated pregnancies could have made incredible contributions to society, such as inventing important technologies or finding the cure to deadly diseases. As has been noted, both pro and anti choice factions believe that abortion has had an