Summary: The Morality Of Abortion

The Morality of Abortion Law in the U.S

Abortion has been a controversial topic that has and continues to divide the nation. In order to understand the morality of abortion laws present in the U.S today we need to first understand how such laws have evolved and changed over time .In the mid-1850s most states passed laws making abortion illegal, it’s important to notice that before these laws were created abortion was not only considered legal but also widely advertised all over the U.S (OBO Abortion Contributors, 2014). At that time the risk of performing abortion was extremely high due to the lack medical education and the technology that we enjoy today. Even after laws criminalizing abortion were passed women still found a way to terminate

There are other theories between these two extremes, some believe that personhood is gained as soon as the fetus is viable outside the mother’s womb which happens between 23 to 27 weeks of gestations (New York Times, 2013). Most states base their laws on fetus viability but in Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, and Oklahoma laws have been passed that ban abortion after 22 weeks of gestation based on the idea that the fetus begins to feel pain at that stage of the pregnancy (New York Times, 2013). Courts in Georgia and Idaho have blocked this law. States where this law has passed have a population combined of 35 million people (New York Times, 2013). In other 26 states abortion is illegal between 24 to 26 weeks at which point most of the scientific community considers the probability that the fetus can survive outside the mother’s womb to be acceptable, the population of these states combined is 190 million people (New York Times, 2013). Iowa, Texas and Virginia have passed laws making abortion illegal after 28 weeks and their population combined is approximately 36 million (New York Times, 2013). While most states have passed laws prohibiting abortion at different stages of pregnancy others have decided not to intervene in this issue. In Alaska, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon, West Virginia Washington DC, Colorado, New Jersey, and Vermont abortion can be performed at any stage during pregnancy (New York Times, 2013). The population in all these 9 states combined is considered to be around 28 million. Based on this it is clear that what is considered illegal and unethical in one state can be something perfectly legal in