Written by Jasmine Yuen and Edited by Catherine Zhang
“Are you pro-life or pro-choice?” This one question has instigated passionate political conversations for decades—with “pro-lifers” fighting for the criminalization of abortion and “pro-choicers” fighting to keep abortion legal. Despite protests outside of abortion clinics, 600,000 abortions were reported to the CDC in 2015 [1]. Although there are no updated statistics on the CDC website, it can be predicted, based on the trends of previous years, that the number of abortions performed have either been around the same value or have decreased. Regardless of the number of abortions, any ruling on abortion would still have an effect on a large portion of the population. As a result, it is vital to understand the history and impact of abortion laws.
In 1870, pregnant and unmarried Norma McCorvey decided to file a lawsuit because she wanted an abortion, but the Texan law would not allow it. At the time, the Texan law was that an abortion could not be performed unless a woman’s life was at risk. McCorvey, more famously known as Jane Roe, considered the law vague and therefore unconstitutional. In the historic ruling of Roe v. Wade, women’s right to choose to have an abortion was deemed protected by the Due Process clause in the Fourteenth Amendment, which protects a citizen’s right to life, liberties, and property [2]. The main argument for this case was what these liberties encompassed. Typically, this clause had been associated with a citizen’s right to privacy and the court had ruled that the Texan legislation was unconstitutional on the basis that it violated a woman’s privacy. Additionally, the ruling permitted abortions up until the fetus could live outside the womb, or until the fetus is viable [2]. Specifically, viability occurs after the lungs have developed [3].
In spite of the Roe v. Wade ruling, anti-abortion advocates, those that believe that the life of a child begins at conception or fertilization, began fighting to overturn the decision in Roe v. Wade. Recently, five states have been able to pass “heartbeat bills,” which prohibits an abortion from being performed after the heartbeat of the fetus is detected through ultrasound[4]. Ultimately, the basis for the arguments on abortion lies in how life is defined. For “pro-life” laws, life begins when the heart starts to beat and for “pro-choice,” it is when the fetus is viable.
To understand these abortion laws, the process of fetal development should be understood. Before the fetus develops, the pre-embryo (blastocyst) must move down and stick to the uterine wall so that the developing fetus can receive all the necessary nutrients [5]. After the blastocyst sticks to the wall, it releases the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) [5]. The presence of hCG is detectable in the urine by a pregnancy test after a woman misses her period and serves as an indicator for pregnancy. As the fetus grows, cells choose a speciality function in the body in a process called differentiation. As these cells specialize, the cells with common functions group together, and become tissues, which may then become organs. In terms of the abortion argument, the major organs are the heart and the lungs. The heart of a fetus fully develops in the sixth week of pregnancy. Furthermore, lungs fully develop around the twenty-eighth week of pregnancy[3]. Therefore, the heartbeat bills eliminate the twenty-two weeks that the Roe v. Wade ruling allowed for abortion.
As these bills become widespread, society should be aware of the impact. For example, a common argument for pro-choice supporters is that a child who was born because the mother had no other option will most likely not experience the quality of life it deserves. Although this has not been proven, a study found that there was a positive correlation between states that have stricter abortion laws and higher infant and child mortality rates [6]. In addition, another study found that women who had an abortion in their first trimester or who were denied access to abortion, were more likely to experience anxiety or depression [7]. This indicates that women who had less time to think about having an abortion were more likely to experience mental health issues than those that had given the choice more thought. Furthermore, women who were denied even having the choice itself also had a greater probability of feeling anxious or depressed. Despite these findings, the argument of at what point the fetus is considered a “life” remains the focus when considering abortion, not the quality of life the fetus would have. Because the definition of life is cultural, the debate over the legality and morality of abortion may never end. However, a potential compromise for pro-life and pro-choice advocates is to increase efforts in pregnancy prevention, as this would decrease abortion rates without taking the option away.
References:
[1] “Abortion | Data and Statistics | Reproductive Health | CDC.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 19 Nov. 2018, www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/data_stats/abortion.htm.
[2] “Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973).” Justia Law, supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/410/113/.
[3] “Fetal Development: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia.” MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Jan. 2019, medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002398.htm.
[4] “What’s Going on in the Fight over US Abortion Rights?” BBC News, BBC, 14 June 2019, www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47940659.
[5] Cole, L. A. (2016) Sperm activation, fertilization, morula, blastocyst formation, and twinning. Biology of Life, 143-150.
[6] M, M. H. (2016) Pro-choice versus pro-life: the relationship between state abortion policy and child well-being in the United States. Health Care Women International, 37: 158-169.
[7] Biggs, M. A., Neuhaus, J. M., Foster, D. G. (2015) Mental health diagnosis 3 years after receiving or being denied an abortion in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 105: 2557-2563.