Increasing Abortions
After Roe vs. Wade was passed in 1973, abortion became more common, and today approximately 1.2 million abortions are performed every year. The number of abortions increased from 586,760 in 1972 to 1.6 million in 1980. As a result, the number of illegal abortions decreased as it became legal. Most women who were in favor of abortion considered the legalization to be the best choice because it saved them money by allowing them to not travel out of state. Therefore, it lowered the cost for women. Also, this made women sought to have earlier abortions; more than half the women obtaining abortions in 1980 did so at 8 weeks gestation instead of the more common 13 weeks or later. Earlier terminations in pregnancy were considered "safer" because of fewer complications. Another reason some women were in favor of the law is because it opened doors in discovering different ways to perform the procedure. Doctors became skilled on a higher level, training people to perform abortions increased, and development of general anesthesia also increased the amount of abortions. Overall, Roe vs. Wade transformed abortion from an unsafe and very harmful procedure to a safer and less risky method. Today, studies show that and injection of penicillin is more lethal than an abortion.
RestrictionsRestrictions were a great thing because it made the mother think harder about her decision to abort the child, and hopefully it would change her mind. Besides making abortion less lethal and more safe, many other things also hindered terminating pregnancies. First, abortions became very expensive. Not only did women have to worry about finding a well-known abortion provider, but they also had to save around $200-300 for it (that's would be around $600 today).In addition, states sought to restrict access to abortion. In 2011, over 93 state laws were passed in attempt to prevent abortion. For example, some states would have women put on waiting lists for an abortion to try and delay the procedure so that she might change her mind. Another factor that hindered views was parental notifications that were required to be sent out to the patient's family concerning the situation. This was a good thing because the parents could persuade the mother to not have the procedure done. States discovered that demanding an ultrasound before terminating the pregnancy would also waver the mother's decision in a good way because she would be forced to hear her future baby's heartbeat in hopes of wanting to have the child. Closing on this statement, abortion can be viewed in every aspect, but it is a decision that can never be reversed and will affect not only your life but also others forever.
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