In my opinion, abortion should be legal. Overall, this position is based on three important premises. In particular, women should be able to exercise control over their bodies, while abortion can be viewed as a form of such control. Additionally, a child should not be brought into the world, if he/she is unwonted by the mother. Such a child may not feel the love of his/her parents. Finally, abortion is critical for the economic self-sufficiency of women, especially their ability to find and secure employment. These are the main premises that can be distinguished. Certainly, one can select other arguments to support this position. In turn, the claims that have been chosen reflect the views and interests of women who are victimized by the existing gender norms.
Certainly, this position can be disputed in different ways. In particular, it is possible to assume that abortion undermines the family as the most important building block of the society. This claim is often used by the opponents of abortion. Therefore, one can ask what kind of effects abortion can produce on the community, especially in the long term. Additionally, it is also possible to wonder how abortion can affect the relations between partners.
Nevertheless, it is possible to say that family should not be based on coercion. To a great extent, these responses are based on the premises that have been identified at the beginning. In particular, by denying the right to abortion, women are coerced into something that they do not want. Secondly, a child may not strengthen a family if he/she is not wanted by one of the parents (Should Abortion Be Legal?, 2014). Finally, family is more likely to weaken if a wife is economically dependent on her husband. Thus, the emphasis on family values cannot be used to prohibit abortion.
Secondly, it is possible to assume that some of my assumptions may not be correct. For example, one can argue that autonomy and independence may not be critical for women. Furthermore, a critic of my position may state that employment may not be crucial for all women. Admittedly, one cannot argue that every female values empowerment and self-sufficiency. To a great extent, these objections imply that many of them can be quite satisfied with traditional gender norms. Therefore, it is quite possible to ask why my initial premises should be used to defend the legality of abortion.
Probably, such claims cannot be generalized, and they should not be taken for granted. Nevertheless, a person should not be deprived of his/her right to choice. It seems that this right is essential for every person, regardless of his age, gender, religious affiliation or race. Overall, this hypothetical objection shows that the initial premises should not be viewed as something indisputable. Thus, this form of criticism can highlight the limitations of my position. This is one of the details that should not be overlooked.
Certainly, I could be affected by some important biases that made me overlook some of the evidence or arguments that did not coincide with my position. At first, much attention should be paid to the so-called confirmation bias which means that a person tries to seek examples that back up his/her views, while overlooking the evidence that contradicts the initial assumption. For instance, I might have overlooked various issues related to the rights of a fetus (Solinger, 1998, p. 3).
This is one of the most contested issues, and it is often used to criticize abortion. It should be noted that this topic has been examined by many scientists, and their research indicates that fetuses do not have personhood; moreover, they are not capable of experience pain (Should Abortion Be Legal?, 2014). In turn, it is possible to say that hindsight and self-serving biases did not affect me because I did not have to justify some of my mistakes. Self-serving bias occurs at the time when one tries to blame someone else for one’s misfortunes. Moreover, I did not have to explain a certain event. As a rule, a person is vulnerable to hindsight bias when he/she has to explain the causal relations between past events that seem to him easily predictable. Thus, these biases are not applicable to this case.
On the whole, my position on the topic has not changed. I am still convinced that abortion should remain legal in every country. The opposing arguments that have been discussed cannot fully refute the initial premises. Nevertheless, this learning activity has demonstrated to me that it is necessary to consider conflicting viewpoints. In particular, this discussion has shown that one cannot generalize claims about the attitudes or values of women. Such attempts can lead to false conclusions. Overall, I would add another point in support of abortion. In particular, one can say that abortion is vital for the exercise of free will which is the main attribute of a human being. These are the main aspects that can be singled out.
Reference List
Should Abortion Be Legal? (2014). Web.
Solinger, R. (1998). Abortion Wars: A Half Century of Struggle: 1950-2000. Oakland, Cal: University of California Press.