When the term abortion comes up in conversation, one of two things usually happens. Either the conversation dies and an awkward silence will follow, or someone who is adamant for either pro life or pro choice will jump in and make sure their view is noted. .
The abortion question is indeed a heated and controversial topic in today's age. Janet Hadley, author of Abortion: Between Freedom and Necessity, says "many competing interests - perspectives on the self and the world, biological and psychological data, ideas about gender, moral and religious theories - all confront each other in the maze beneath the abortion question." .
In taking a look at the side which supports a woman's right to "choose", one sees that this rise came about because in the mid 20th century when women were fighting for equal rights as men. These women thought of themselves completely parallel to men in everything they did. Thus, in 1972, the infamous case of Roe V. Wade came about and abortion was legalized. .
Those who support the right to choose believe that because a woman's body holds the baby, they should control what happens in its entirety. This may be true, but what they fail to realize is that there is a living human being growing inside of them. They may control their body, but what they do should not come in conflict with that growing baby inside.
This has been the main argument between both groups over abortion. When in the pregnancy is the fetus considered an unborn child? Pro choice activists see it as only a cluster of cells for the first few weeks and state that terminating it is the same as removing a tumor or cancer. " Before humanness is acquired the state has no interest in or obligation to protect the fetus. In the first two trimesters, the fetus lacks not only humanness but also a sufficiently developed nervous system to experience pain, rebutting the "silent scream " exploited in antiabortion propaganda.
