Recently, the United States commemorated the anniversary of the Supreme Court case Roe vs. Wade, a case that established abortion rights.
Roe v. Wade, Jan. 22, 1973, ruled that abortion laws of the time violated the constitutional right to privacy.
It overturned all state laws that outlawed or restricted abortion.
Thirty-three years later, there is still justifiable controversy surrounding this landmark decision.
The decision a woman makes regarding her body and the life she is carrying should be left solely up to her, but shouldn’t there be a law prohibiting women from repeatedly having abortions? Or is this too a violation of privacy?
When the justices decided the case, I’m sure they believed that women would understand the seriousness of their actions and only choose to abort a pregnancy when there was no other choice. Unfortunately, statistics show otherwise.
According to http:// www.about.com, of the 1.3 million abortions that are performed annually, 40 percent are from women who have already had one or more.
There’s something really wrong with this picture.
Survey results even went on to show that of the women polled, 25.5 percent of them cited wanting to postpone childbirth, 21.3 percent of them couldn’t afford a baby, 14.1 percent had a relationship issue regarding the baby’s father and 10.8 percent felt that having a baby would interfere with their education.
I’m sure there are some instances in which an abortion is necessary.
In fact, I know there are, but an abortion should not be used in place of contraception.
In an age where there are numerous forms and brands of birth control, what is the problem?
I am fully aware that people make mistakes but only stupid people learn nothing from their mistakes and continue put themselves in the same situation. I believe that mistakes derive mostly from a lack of knowledge, so let me help.
There are three main forms of birth control: barrier methods, chemical methods and intrauterine methods.
Barrier methods of birth control include male and female condoms, diaphragms, cervical caps and contraceptive sponges.
Chemical forms of birth control include, but are not limited to, the oral contraceptive pill, contraceptive patch, NuvaRing and the Depo Provera shot.
I am not for or against abortion but I am against young women making life-changing decisions without considering all of their options.
When considering an abortion please look beyond the short-term results and give serious thought to the physical and emotional long-term effects.
Amber Vaughan is a senior public relations student from Pensacola. She can be reached at ambervaughan82@aim.com