Should abortion be legal?

Abortion poses health risks to the Mother

Question: Should abortion be legal?
Position‹3 of 3: Abortion should be illegal.
Argument‹2 of 6›: Abortion poses health risks to the Mother

Abortion procedures have been linked to health complications in later life.

The argument

Abortions increase the risk of an ectopic pregnancy later in life. It is also associated with a number of pelvic inflammatory diseases and an increase in the occurrence of miscarriages. Abortions also have a detrimental impact on the mother’s mental health. It puts women at increased risk of depression and anxiety. Women who have been through an abortion procedure are also 154% more likely to commit suicide than those that have not. The best thing for the mother’s health is to prohibit abortions.

Context

Abortions can lead to extensive health complications in later life.

Premises

[P1]Abortion increases the later risk of ectopic pregnancy, pelvic inflammatory disease, and miscarriage. [P2] It also harms mental health, raising the risk of depression and anxiety, with women 154% more likely to commit suicide afterward. [P3] Prohibiting abortion would therefore protect the mother's physical and mental health. [C] Therefore, because abortion poses health risks to the mother, abortion should be illegal.

Counter-arguments

Legalizing abortions makes them safer. If they are illegal, women will still seek them when faced with no other choice but to have a child. They will go back to methods that were once used when abortion was still taboo. These methods were brutal and dangerous, posing an increased risk to the mother's health. This is best illustrated by tracing the number of abortion deaths in the US. In 1972, before abortion was legal, 39 women died from abortion complications. In 1976, after the landmark Roe vs Wade ruling which legalised the practice, just two women died from abortion complications. Modern abortion methods have eliminated many of the health risks associated with the practice. Less than 0.25% of abortion cases now result in complications. The risk of dying during an abortion is 14 times lower than the risk of dying during childbirth. It is forced childbirth, not abortion that puts the mother most at risk. Regarding mental health, it is true that women who receive abortions may be at higher risk of depression than those who don’t, but those that want an abortion but are denied access to them are at higher risk still. Considering this, it would be better to give those that want access to an abortion the ability to terminate the pregnancy.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] Abortions are safer than childbirth. [Rejecting P2] Banning abortions will lead women to terminate pregnancies in even more dangerous unregulated procedures.