Roe v. wade should not be overturned

A lone figure watches from outside a church under his dark mask. He spots an usher that he instantly recognizes and quickly walks toward him, pulls out a handgun, and boom! He shoots two bullets into the man’s head. The usher is killed right away. George Tiller, the usher at church that morning, was a physician in Kansas known for operating abortion, and this wasn’t the first time Tiller had been targeted. His murder goes to show how polarizing abortion is. Some people believe that abortion is murder however, other people believe that women should have the right to decide, this is known as pro-choice. There was a case in 1973 called Roe v. Wade, in which Jane Roe argued for the right of women to seek an abortion. It was then ruled in her favor seven to two. Although the Supreme Court ruled abortion to be legal in all the States 36 years before Tiller’s murder, there was still conflict on the matter and some wanted the ruling to be overturned. However immoral some may say abortion is, Roe v. Wade should not be overturned. Making abortion illegal can bring serious financial risks, health issues to women regardless of age, and can be detrimental to our society.

To begin with, the modern day cost of having a child and caring for that child until they are at the age of seventeen may not be affordable for many people. Taking care of a child may bring a mother to poverty. According to a study from CNN, updated in May 2017, the average amount of money a single mother with a household income of less than $59, 200 American dollars needs to spend on raising a child till they’re seventeen is around $216, 972. Around 15% is spent on childcare and education, 35% on housing, 20% on food, and the other 30% on transportation, clothing, healthcare, and others. When a mother is forced to raise a child she may not be financially prepared for, it might put herself into poverty. If she had the choice to get an abortion, she may not have had to experience the heavy financial burden of raising a child. It can be difficult for women to work, keep their jobs and raise a baby at the same time. A study in the Unversity of California in San Francisco found that women who were denied from getting an abortion were 3 times more likely to drop below the poverty line within two years. Those who did not have access to public healthcare would be even further impacted. Sometimes, teen moms need to quit high school and put off their university plans in order to take care and provide for the baby. Doing this will also affect their futures because they’ll never have enough education to get a good job and will be forced to remain in this poverty cycle. There are very serious financial consequences for women who have an unwanted pregnancy and are not able to get an abortion. Not having this choice not only negatively affects both the mother and her baby, but can also increase health issues on mothers.

Some expectant mothers may face health issues which require an abortion. These dangers vary. Being too young, diabetic, or not being healthy enough in general will put the mother and her baby at risk. Some health conditions that could be caused are emotional, physical, and mental. Expectant moms may suffer in an emotional crisis if she doesn’t want the baby. This will lead to thoughtless actions like attempting to self- abort, or attempting suicide. Being pregnant with an unwanted baby can lead to mental stress about her dreams for her future or worrying that she does not have enough knowledge to becoming a mother. This all impacts on the mother’s health because it’s not healthy in general to feel emotional and mental distress. When the mother is stressed, upset, or nerous, her body reacts in a way that could tell you that something’s not right. Mothers could develop high blood pressure or stomach ulcer. According to LiveStrong, in 2006, teen mothers in the United States ages fifteen to nineteen gave birth 435, 436 times. Out of all of these births, there was a high rate of infant mortality among the babies. Infant mortality could be caused by the mother not being healthy enough or the mother having an illness that puts her pregnancy to risk. Infant mortality could also be caused by the mother having mental illnesses to make her want to kill the baby. Teen pregnancy is something that can affect the future of the mother. She can struggle because she lacks the skills needed to handle a pregnancy and being a mother. According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, health issues that may occur if a pregnant teenager does not get an abortion includes anemia, toxemia, high blood pressure, placenta previa and premature birth. There are many other illnesses can cause health problems for expectant mothers and especially expectant teenage mothers. Women who are permitted to have an abortion may avoid harmful risks to their health.

Some who are against abortion may object that adoption is an alternative to getting an abortion, but actually this is not the right decision to make, and this can affect the society in a detrimental way. Sending a baby to the orphanage might also cause problems for the child. In most cases, the child may experience trauma and not feel the sense of permanence. They may never learn family skills and they may suffer from abuse or neglect. An organisation called Show Hope had stated that there are rougly 400, 000 children in the US foster care system, and around 100, 000 of those orphans are waiting to be adopted. Out of all those children in foster care, there are 30, 000 that age out every year without a family and a place to call home. In most cases, these children who live in adverse environments are more likely to grow up and become criminals. According to Freakonomics, a book by the economers Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, a generation after the Roe v. Wade case legalized abortions, the greatest crime drop in history was recorded. In 1970, five states legalised abortion. In 1973, three years later, the Supreme Court ruled abortion to be legal in all the states in the United States, and this is the primary reason why crime fell in the 1990s. There were millions of women who were able to have an abortion as a result of the Roe v. Wade case. If these women were not able to get an abortion, it is very likely that their children would have grown up to be criminals. When mothers were allowed to get an abortion in the 1970s, a whole generation of potentially unwanted children were not born and were not born into a potentially unwanted households. 20 years later, which would have been the peak crime ages, those potentially unwanted children weren’t there to make crimes. The five states that legalised abortion before Roe v. Wade, had a decline of crimes 3 years before the rest of the country. This proves the theory true. Roe v. Wade should not be overturned because legalising aboriton can decline crimes, and sending children to an orphanage as an alternative to abortion will prevent problems that many children might face being in an orphanage.

There should be no reason to why Roe v. Wade should be overturned. As was stated, mothers may not be able to afford all the needs for her child, causing financial distress. Expectant mothers may face health issues that can affect the baby by putting her pregnancy at risk. Sending a baby to an orphanage is an unacceptable alternative to getting an abortion. It is proven that after Roe v. Wade legalised abortion, women, children, and overall society benefited. There are some very conservative views that still to this day believe that abortion is wrong but the person who is best to make this decision is the woman – the expectant mother herself. Why would you want to take the choice away from women who are facing this life changing decision? She needs to decide what is best for herself. Roe v. Waded should not be overturned because of these three main reasons, and in addition to that, events like the senseless death of George Tiller should never happen again.