Persuasive Essay On Right To Abortion

The abortion statue existing in Texas, and many other states, prior to Roe v Wade criminalized the willful termination of a pregnancy in almost every case. In 1973, the Supreme Court’s decision on Roe v Wade nullified these laws. Broadening the right to privacy alluded to in the ninth and fourteenth amendments to include the “right to abortion” can seem confusing and nebulous. Solidifying the definitions of the commonly used terms right, freedom and liberty can provide a better understanding of what the Supreme Court meant. The term “right” is frequently used when the terms “liberty” or “freedom” would be more warranted. A genuine right, something that will be referred to simply as a right in this paper, is a person’s guarantee to a power, and is always reliant on the duty of other persons or institutions. In the example of the right to life, for one to have this right, others must have the duty to not murder. One has the moral and legal duty to not kill and will suffer consequences if they do not fulfill this duty. A freedom is the open ability to exercise a power, but is not dependent on the actions of others. In able for abortion to be qualified as a right, others must have the duty to perform abortions. However, there is no such duty like this: “…the attending physician, in consultation with his patient, is free to determine…that in his medical …show more content…
During the first trimester, the woman’s physician is responsible for agreeing to or rejecting the proposal for an abortion. Factors to be weighed are the effect the pregnancy will have on the woman’s physical, financial and psychological well-being, but in the end the doctor decides for the woman in the first trimester. If the woman cannot find a doctor to agree to an abortion, then any choice for termination of her pregnancy is voided. After the end of the first