Abortion is the exclusion of a pregnancy before the child is born. It is the riddance of a fetus (from the uterus) thus causing its demise. Abortion can either be tempted or can result from pregnancy complications. It is usually induced if the health of the pregnant female is at risk or due to other reasons. Different communities and different races have their own views regarding abortion. Some perceive it as a legal procedure while others feel that it’s illegal and the practitioners should be punished. Some nations have gone to the extent of legalizing it, allowing its citizen to perform it freely (Rita 30). However, most nations feel that it’s an illegal procedure, unethical, and unreligious.
Over the last twenty years, abortion rates have been increasing in Maryland State. Almost all women of all classes seek an abortion. It is believed that the failure of information drives women into this act. Many scholars have been wondering why women opt for abortion especially in Maryland State where we expect the rate to be low because of civilization. It is ironic that pregnancy termination in western countries is high than in less developed countries. These are the countries that have access to family planning education and contraceptives just at their doorsteps.
Mothers procure an abortion at their will without encountering any restraints (Rita 31). Recently, ultrasound legislation was proposed in Maryland State. According to the bill, women are supposed to see the ultrasound image in the uterus before an abortion is performed on them. In nearly all abortions ultrasound is carried out before the act but only a few women get the chance to examine it. The purpose of the bill was to increase women’s right to information that would help them make informed choices. The bill was sponsored by Sen. Simonaire. It required doctors to provide opportunities of viewing the ultrasound image by women who should also be given a copy of the picture.
Some delegates supported the bill while others stood strongly against it. An assembly was held in Annapolis (Maryland statehouse) in which the bill was discussed at length. Present in that assembly was the regional coordinator of Maryland and Georgette Forney who supported the bill. It had 28 other supporters and only three people opposed it. Women who had previous experiences with abortion gave their testimonies (Anon. “Maryland Ultrasound Bill” 2).
One was Ms. Dean who confessed to having had an abortion during her last year as a nursing student. After completing college she gave birth to a baby boy and later went for another abortion. She said that after the second abortion, she was filled with quilt and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress (pts). She went under depression and had to seek medical support. She was given medication and after recovering she decided to open a pregnancy center where she advised young women on abortion. She went further to publish a novel about her experience. She was for the idea that abortion is not the best alternative to an unwanted pregnancy.
She had experienced enough through abortion and proclaimed that she could never go for another even if she was forced by circumstances. According to Ms. Dean, if women are allowed to see the ultrasound image in their womb before an abortion is performed, they would have a chance of making concrete decisions. She observed that some women are actually coerced into an abortion without their consent.
Mrs. Forney (a resident in the state) confessed to having gone through an abortion. She told the assembly that, she went for an abortion when she was barely 16. She had no prior information about the procedure which was to be performed on her; all she knew was that the fetus inside her womb was “a blob of tissue” (Anon. “Maryland Ultrasound Bill” 4). She was not the only woman who had received such information because most of the women who had gone for abortion confessed that if they knew that “the blob of tissue” was a baby, they would not have had the abortion.
Mrs. Forney gave her opinion regarding the bill. She said that the bill would act as a response to the problem of abortion. She said that
Women should have the right to see the ultrasound that is now routinely performed on them to the abortion procedure. Women deserve the right to be fully informed when it comes to having any medical procedure performed. We have reproductive rights and we need the right to see our ultrasounds so we can make an informed choice (Anon. “Maryland Ultrasound Bill” 6).
Senator Simonaire was so hopeful that the bill would pass the senate. The Majority vote was required to pass the bill. The Senator added that the bill had received full support from the senate president. A member of the assembly pointed out that, similar laws on ultrasound legislation had been enacted in many nations and others were up to the challenge. It was noted that 35,000 abortions were performed annually in Maryland. For the last 20 years, there had been no changes to the policy. The senator noted that ultrasound legislation had been enacted in Arkansas which resulted in a 15% decrease in the rate of abortion. The bill was seen as a way of saving the lives of many unborn babies (Anon. “Maryland Ultrasound Bill” 7).
Those who opposed the bill argued that no woman of sound mind would go for an abortion without realizing what she was doing. They observed that most of the women who had gone for abortion were civilized and were of sound mind. The bill was seen as a scapegoat for covering the evils that had been done. Every living being has the right to live and their termination should not be blamed on lack of information. They indicated poor use of contraceptives and unwanted pregnancies as the leading causes of abortion. Whether (abortion) legal or not, the majority of women who experience unplanned pregnancies will still go for it (Anon. “Abortion education” 2).
They would not take much consideration as to whether the procedure is safe or unsafe because all they would be seeking is the termination of the embryo. Every couple dreams of getting a certain number of children. Their success in achieving this depends on the effectiveness of the contraceptives they use. Most of the contraceptives have negative effects while others are difficult to use consistently. Women find difficulties in using the pill every day; some even forget and skip their daily dosage.
This results in unplanned pregnancy which the couple may choose to terminate (Anon. “Abortion education” 2). Some couples find it difficult to use condoms or diaphragm consistently. Some contraceptives have adverse side effects for example the use of the IUD and hormonal contraceptives such as injections and most women fear using them. Other factors that affect the effectiveness of family planning methods are cultural and religious beliefs, educational level, and the age at which one gets married.
Rather than providing women the opportunity to view the ultrasound image, they should be educated on the use of contraceptives to avoid unplanned pregnancies. If a woman has decided to abort not even the ultrasound image can stop her.
The national director of priests for life (Father Frank Pavone) said that those who were opposing the bill were only concerned about the productivity of the abortion industry rather than promoting information to women that would enable them to make the right choices.
Although abortion can be termed as an evil practice, I strongly support the bill. It is true that some women are coerced into having abortions while others go for them due to the abusive environment they receive at home. If the bill is passed, women will have an opportunity of seeing the fetus in their wombs which might motivate them to change their minds. Most women go for abortion because they do not value the fetus in their stomach and do not consider it as a living creature.
Women have the right to information and should not be denied under any circumstances. It is the right of the woman to see what she is carrying in her stomach before making the decision to terminate it. If the bill is passed, the abortion rate in Maryland State would reduce significantly.
Works Cited
Anon. “Abortion education.” Pregnancy centre of southern Maryland, 2009. Web.
Anon. “Maryland Ultrasound Bill.” Resources for help after abortion, 2010. Web.
Rita, James Simon. Abortion: statutes, policies, and public attitudes the world over. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1998.