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During the 1960s and early 1970s, U.S. states began to repeal their bans on abortion. In (1973), the U.S. Supreme Court stated that abortion bans were unconstitutional in every state, legalizing abortion throughout the United States.

For those who believe that human personhood begins during the early stages of pregnancy, the Supreme Court's decision and the state law repeals that preceded it may seem horrific, cold, and barbaric.

And it is very easy to find quotes from some pro-choicers who are completely unconcerned about the bioethical dimensions of even third-trimester abortions, or who have a callous disregard for the plight of women who do not want to have abortions but are forced to do so for economic reasons.

As we consider the issue of abortion -- and all American voters, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, have an obligation to do so -- one question dominates: Why is abortion legal in the first place?

Personal Rights vs. Government Interests

In the case of Roe v. Wade, the answer boils down to one of personal rights versus legitimate government interests. The government has a legitimate interest in protecting the life of an embryo or fetus (see "Does a Fetus Have Rights?"), but embryos and fetuses do not have rights themselves unless and until it can be determined that they are human persons.

Women are, obviously, known human persons.

They make up the majority of known human persons. Human persons have rights that an embryo or fetus does not have until its personhood can be established. For various reasons, the personhood of a fetus is generally understood to commence between 22 and 24 weeks. This is the point at which the neocortex develops, and it is also the earliest known point of viability -- the point at which a fetus can be taken from the womb and, given the proper medical care, still have a meaningful chance of long-term survival.

The government has a legitimate interest in protecting the potential rights of the fetus, but the fetus itself does not have rights prior to the viability threshold.

So the central thrust of Roe v. Wade is this: Women have the right to make decisions about their own bodies. Fetuses, prior to viability, do not have rights. Therefore, until the fetus is old enough to have rights of its own, the woman's decision to have an abortion takes precedence over the interests of the fetus. The specific right of a woman to make the decision to terminate her own pregnancy is generally classified as a privacy right implicit in the Ninth and Fourteenth Amendments, but there are other constitutional reasons why a woman has the right to terminate her pregnancy. The Fourth Amendment, for example, specifies that citizens have "the right to be secure in their persons"; the Thirteenth specifies that "{n}either slavery nor involuntary servitude ... shall exist in the United States." Even if the privacy right cited in Roe v. Wade were dismissed, there are numerous other constitutional arguments that imply a woman's right to make decisions about her own reproductive process.

If abortion were in fact homicide, then preventing homicide would constitute what the Supreme Court has historically called a "compelling state interest" -- an objective so important that it overrides constitutional rights.

The government may pass laws prohibiting death threats, for example, despite the First Amendment's free speech protections. But abortion can only be homicide if a fetus is known to be a person, and fetuses are not known to be persons until the point of viability.

In the unlikely event that the Supreme Court were to overturn Roe v. Wade (see "What if Roe v. Wade Were Overturned?"), it would most likely do so not by stating that fetuses are persons prior to the point of viability, but instead by stating that the Constitution does not imply a woman's right to make decisions about her own reproductive system. This reasoning would allow states to not only ban abortions but also to mandate abortions if they so chose. The state would be given absolute authority to determine whether or not a woman will carry her pregnancy to term.

Would a Ban Prevent Abortions?

There is also some question as to whether or not a ban on abortions would actually prevent abortions. Laws criminalizing the procedure generally apply to doctors, not to women, which means that even under state laws banning abortion as a medical procedure, women would be free to terminate their pregnancies through other means -- usually by taking drugs that terminate pregnancies but are intended for other purposes. In Nicaragua, where abortion is illegal, the ulcer drug misoprostol is often used for this purpose. It's inexpensive, easy to transport and conceal, and terminates the pregnancy in a manner that resembles a miscarriage -- and it is one of literally hundreds of options available to women who would terminate pregnancies illegally. These options are so effective that, according to a 2007 study by the World Health Organization, abortions are just as likely to occur in countries where abortion is illegal as they are to occur in countries where abortion is not. Unfortunately, these options are also substantially more dangerous than medically-supervised abortions -- resulting in an estimated 80,000 accidental deaths each year.

In short, abortion is legal for two reasons: Because women have the right to make decisions about their own reproductive systems, and because they have the power to exercise that right regardless of government policy.

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During the 1960s and early 1970s, U.S. states began to repeal their bans on abortion. In (1973), the U.S. Supreme Court stated that abortion bans were unconstitutional in every state, legalizing abortion throughout the United States.

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-Women who are raped by a random guy or family

member may not want to continue through with

their pregnancy and have to live with the fact that

she was raped and the product of the child is out

of hurt and injustice.

-Abortion was created for the women who was

raped or worse. Some women chose to make that

decision out of just not wanting a child at the moment

though and that angers me even more.

-I am very against abortion because that is murdering

a child. But I do feel for the women who were raped.

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The woman who has been raped has undergone a terrible trauma and injustice. We care about her. We will help her. Such pro-life organizations as Fortress International and Life After Assault League exist to bring the rape victim healing and strength and help her get on with her life. Nobody should minimize or ignore the pain of a rape victim. We want to show her love.

Will an abortion help her? First of all, the abortion will not un-rape the woman. The tragedy has happened and nothing can change the past. Second, abortion brings a trauma of its own. To see abortion as a magic wand that brings relief but no pain is to ignore the pain of countless women who suffer for years and decades after abortion. Such groups as WEBA (Women Exploited By Abortion), American Victims of Abortion, and Victims of Choice provide ample proof that abortion hurts women. I know of women who have been raped and then had abortions, and are in counseling not for the rape but for the abortion! In rape, the trauma is "Someone hurt me." In abortion, the trauma is "I hurt and killed someone else -- my child." That brings even more grief.

Why is rape wrong? Because someone attacks the body of an innocent person. Why is abortion wrong? Because someone attacks the body of an innocent person. That is why both rape and abortion should be rejected.

We care about the woman who is raped. We care about the child who is conceived. Why can't we love them both? Why can't we protect them both?

A rape that results in pregnancy directly involves three people: the rapist, the victim, and the child. The victim should be helped, and the rapist should be punished. But to say the child should be killed is to punish the wrong person. Suppose your father committed a terrible crime and the police came to your home, arrested you, and had you sentenced to death? The unfairness of that is obvious. Yet that is the same unfairness that occurs if a child conceived by rape is aborted.

We should also know the results of some important studies. Pregnancy occurs in 0 to 2.2% of rape victims. Furthermore, most rape victims who become pregnant want to keep their babies. The pressure to abort often comes from someone else. Of all the abortions performed in America, fewer than 1% are because of rape.

For more information on these and other aspects of this question, or for counseling and encouragement, contact:

Life After Assault League (LAAL)
1336 West Lindbergh St.
Appleton, Wisconsin 54914
(920) 739-4489

Abortion is never the answer. Let's not add violence to violence. When it comes to the woman who carries a baby conceived by rape, let's choose to love them both!

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The woman who has been raped has undergone a terrible trauma and injustice. We care about her. We will help her. Such pro-life organizations as Fortress International and Life After Assault League exist to bring the rape victim healing and strength and help her get on with her life.

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Rape, Incest, and Abortion: Searching Beyond the Myths - AbortionFacts.com

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The reason most people reach the wrong conclusion about abortion in cases of rape and incest is that the actual experiences of sexual assault victims who became pregnant are routinely left out of the debate. Most people, including sexual assault victims who have never been pregnant, are therefore forming opinions based on prejudices and fears which are disconnected from reality.