Encyclopedia of Opinion
Question
Should abortion be legal?
Position‹3 of 3
Abortion should be illegal.
Argument1 of 6›

Many women regret abortions

It is very common for women to express sentiments of regret after getting an abortion. On the other hand, women never express regret for choosing to have a child.

The argument

Women frequently cite feelings of regret and suffer extensive psychological trauma over their decision to abort a child. On the other hand, very few women who go through with a pregnancy ever express feelings of regret after giving birth to the child. Quite the opposite, in most cases they feel relief that they never aborted the child.

Context

Many women who go through abortions, particularly those that go through them at a young age, later express severe regret over the decisions they made.

Premises

[P1]Many women who undergo abortions report regret and lasting psychological trauma over the decision. [P2] By contrast, women who carry pregnancies to term rarely regret giving birth and often feel relief that they did not abort. [P3] The law should not permit a procedure that predictably harms those who undergo it while its alternative produces no comparable regret. [C] Therefore, abortion should be illegal.

Counter-arguments

If you actually look at the numbers, rather than anecdotal evidence, you see a clearer picture. The overwhelming majority of women who have an abortion do not regret it later in life. A recent poll found 95% of women do not regret their decision. Even if they did, it is not sufficient criteria to outlaw the practice entirely. Many people regret taking up smoking or dropping out of university, but neither of these are prohibited.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] The majority of women actually do not regret their decision, many actually express relief. [Rejecting P2] Even if they did, mothers expressing feelings of remorse is not sufficient to outlaw something.