Essay Sample on Abortion Policies and Laws

Medical specialists characterize abortion as any operation done to stop a pregnancy. For quite a while, a few moral open discussions have been going on in regards to this controversial theme (Lara, Holt, Pena, & Grossman, 2015). Most arguments about abortion are frequently centered around political implications and the lawful part of this complicated and controversial issue. The most heated debate is centered around the question whether the practice should be prohibited and viewed as a murder or allowed and viewed as a democratic choice. Though abortion policies and laws are often similar in many countries, they also differ greatly from country to country. This paper sets to quickly review these policies and laws in different part of the world, compare and contrast them.

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As mentioned already, abortion laws differ significantly around the globe - in some nations it is an individual decision, in others it is a crime and in many countries across the world, abortions are just allowed in specific instances, for example, when the fetus seems to be defective or in instances of sexual assault (Finer & Fine, 2013). The United States is among sixty countries in the world that give lawful access to safe abortions. In spite of the fact that abortion has been lawful in the US since 1973, access to effective treatment procedures relies upon laws controlled by the different states, and most states have set up gestational limits that shift from twenty to twenty-four weeks period of pregnancy. President Donald Trump reestablished the purported Mexico City Policy, which prevents universal non-governmental associations that conduct or advance abortions from getting US legislative financing. The President, it is a well-known fact, has made it clear to everyone that he is for pro-life choice. Marie Stopes International, an NGO that offers contraception and abortion procedures and services, called President Trump's request "calamitous," explaining that women should have a chance to decide for themselves.

The laws governing abortion have been as controversial in other areas across the world as they are in the United States. Starting from 1988, when Canadas Supreme Court decided that current abortion confinements were unlawful, abortion became legitimate for any reason at any phase of pregnancy. Common medical coverage arranges to take care of the expense of abortion performed in doctor's facilities yet does not reliably give financing to abortions performed in unsupported centers. Access to abortion laws and policies in Mexico differs from one region to another. Some of the states permit abortion just in instances when the mother's life or physical well-being seems to be in danger. In April 2007, nonetheless, Mexico City turned into the main district to legitimize abortion in the first twelve weeks after the woman becomes pregnant(Dzuba, Winikoff & Pena, 2013). The Catholic Church and individuals against abortion tried to argue the newly enacted law in the courts of Mexico, yet in August 2008, the Mexican Supreme Court voted to maintain the new law on abortion.

The act of abortion is lawful in Brazil only in case of sexual assault or incest or when the woman's life is endangered. Under the dictate of the government, medical facilities need to have a formal assurance that the womans pregnancy has come about due to rape or instances of incest before performing an abortion procedure (Jelen & Bradley, 2014). Numerous women in Brazil unlawfully utilize the medication called Cytotec to actuate premature delivery, and the countrys Ministry of Health maintains that more than two hundred thousand young Brazilian women are hospitalized every year subsequently due to bungled abortions.

The situation is similar in Chile. In 1967, the Health Code in Chile Health formally gave authorization for abortion in instances when it was important to spare the life of the mother. The policy was later on switched in 1989 by the then President of Chile Augusto Pinochet, who declared abortion unlawful in every manner of condition. Pinochet's law remains applicable in the Chilean health care sector.

The laws and policies are no different in Columbia. It remained unlawful under all conditions until May 2006, when the Supreme Court in Columbia decided that the method could be performed in instances where the mother's life or physical well-being were perceived to be in danger, in instances of sexual assault or in cases where incest took place. It also became lawful during the pregnancies when the fetus is dead or in instances of life-threatening fetal anomalies. The choice has always posed the question of solid challenges by the rivals of the act of abortion, however, stays inconclusive (Goodwin & Whelan, 2015).

Germany is also another country with controversy in the laws that govern abortion process. Despite the fact that a law developed in 1995, abortion is unlawful, neither medical specialists nor women are often arraigned when the woman is a casualty of assault, and the abortion procedure is carried out in the initial twelve weeks of fetal development. A comparative waiver is available during the primary three months for cases in which the mother has the desire to keep her infant to term yet at the same time needs an abortion. After the first three months of pregnancy, abortion is accessible just to protect the life or mental well-being or physical soundness of the mother (Purewal & Eklund, 2017). State protection, by and large, does not pay for the strategy aside from instances of monetary need.

Abortion is unreservedly accessible in Great Britain because of a wide understanding of the countrys Abortion Act of the year 1967 that grants abortion for an assortment of reasons if ensured by two doctors. Inside the initial twenty-four weeks of pregnancy, the instances where abortion is allowed may include assurance of mothers well-being, end of pregnancies that may involve fetal anomalies, or for other societal or monetary reasons. In instances when the mothers life or well-being is gravely at risk, or there exists a critical hazard for fetal abnormalities, there is often no constraint of time on when the abortion might be performed (Heino et al., 2013). As of now, the Parliament is considering introduction of a law that may dispense with the necessity of two medical specialists' approval before any abortion procedure is conducted. It is estimated that up to two hundred thousand abortions take place in Great Britain each year.

It is evident that abortion continues to be a controversial issue in many regions of the world. No one nation has developed a policy or law that fully supports or rejects the act of abortion. It is an issue that people will find hard to side with. An individual will not support abortion but have exceptions for various instances as those mentioned in different countries. There are, however, those who are totally against the issue, for example, the Roman Catholic Church and other individual no matter what circumstances may be. On the one hand, it is be viewed as a right for women to choose what happens to the fetus they carry in instances when it can put their health at risk.

References

Cosentino, C. (2015). Safe and Legal Abortion: An Emerging Human Right? The Long-lasting Dispute with State Sovereignty in ECHR Jurisprudence. Human Rights Law Review, ngv013.

Dzuba, I. G., Winikoff, B., & Pena, M. (2013). Medical abortion: a path to safe, high-quality abortion care in Latin America and the Caribbean. The European Journal of Contraception & Reproductive Health Care, 18(6), 441-450.

Finer, L., & Fine, J. B. (2013). Abortion law around the world: progress and pushback. American journal of public health, 103(4), 585-589.

Goodwin, M., & Whelan, A. M. (2015). Reproduction and the Rule of Law in Latin America.

Heino, A., Gissler, M., Apter, D., & Fiala, C. (2013). Conscientious objection and induced abortion in Europe. The European Journal of Contraception & Reproductive Health Care, 18(4), 231-233.

Jelen, T. G., & Bradley, J. D. (2014). Abortion opinion in emerging democracies: Latin America and Central Europe. Politics, Groups, and Identities, 2(1), 52-65.

Lara, D., Holt, K., Pena, M., & Grossman, D. (2015). Knowledge of abortion laws and services among low-income women in three United States cities. Journal of immigrant and minority health, 17(6), 1811-1818.

Levels, M., Sluiter, R., & Need, A. (2014). A review of abortion laws in Western-European countries. A cross-national comparison of legal developments between 1960 and 2010. Health policy, 118(1), 95-104.

Purewal, N., & Eklund, L. (2017). Gendercide, abortion policy, and the disciplining of prenatal sex-selection in neoliberal Europe. Global Public Health, 1-18.

Sedgh, G., Finer, L. B., Bankole, A., Eilers, M. A., & Singh, S. (2015). Adolescent pregnancy, birth, and abortion rates across countries: levels and recent trends. Journal of Adolescent Health, 56(2), 223-230.