According to worldometers.info/abortions, “an abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by the removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus from the uterus, resulting in or caused by its death. An abortion can occur spontaneously due to complications during the pregnancy or can be induced.” According to this same site, there have been 9,841,843 thus far this year. That number is since Jan 1 00:00 alone, and that number is steadily increasing by the second. This number can be compared to the population of South Carolina alone, making the statistic much more emphasized. The population of South Carolina is 4.8 million people, which is nearly half of the amount of abortions that have taken place since January of this year. The amount of abortions that have occurred in the world is an astonishing amount when compared to the whole population of one state alone. 

The statistics for this procedure are astonishing. According to Abort73.com, “of the 23 million pregnancies that occur in developing countries, more than one-third are unintended, and 19% end in induced abortion (8% are safe procedures and 11% are unsafe). The percentage of people in the United States that are pro-choice is 50%, and the people who claim to be Democratic and Pro-choice is 79%. The percentage of people in the United States that are pro-life is 44%, and the people who claim themselves to be Republican and Pro-life is 62%. 6% of people do not claim to fall under either category, or label. These statistics were gathered from Huffingtonpost.com. As you can see most people support the pro-choice movement, meaning most people do agree that a woman and her doctor should be able to decide whether or not to terminate their own pregnancy. 

The pro-life movement applies to mostly those who claim to be Republican. This movement emphasizes the idea that abortion is “murder” and that human life begins at conception. Conception, by definition, is the moment in which an egg is fertilized. Republicans believe that abortion is murder and believe that women should have the child, versus abort, or “murder” it. Conservatives, or Republicans, believe that since the unborn fetus is unable to defend its own life that they carry the responsibility to protect the child itself, unborn or not.

 The pro-choice movement takes a different approach to this topic. Their morals contradict the pro-life movement. This movement supports the idea that a woman should be able to terminate the life of her unborn baby. It is also believed that the child is not perceived as “being alive” until the fetus moves. Since the fetus has not developed it’s nerves or brain cells, it is not considered to be a human being. It is considered to be a bundle of cells, rather than a human life. Democrats typically support this movement, because of their beliefs and morals when dealing with an unborn child and supporting the woman’s ability to make her own decisions regarding the pregnancy. 

Both parties can agree that there are situations where abortion is accepted within both parties. Rape, incest, and the mother’s health all contribute to the overall decision of whether to abort a baby, or not. It can be agreed upon that when a pregnancy is the result of a rape, that a woman can make the decision to handle the pregnancy in whichever way she may choose, because the conception was not consensual. Incest is the “crime of having sexual intercourse with a parent, child, sibling, or grandchild” according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. When dealing with incest, doctors may encourage the mother to abort her unborn child, due to the risks of birth defects towards the unborn child. Incest is usually a result of sexual abuse within families. This being said, a woman who has been raped by her father and gets pregnant should have the ability to decide whether to follow through with the pregnancy or terminate the pregnancy, since this sexual scenario is not consensual. Lastly, if a woman’s life is on the line because of a pregnancy, a doctor can recommend for a woman to terminate the pregnancy to save her own life. It can be agreed on that the woman should be able to choose whether to give up her life to save a fetus, or to terminate the child, in order to survive.

These movements have been going on for hundreds of years. It is just becoming a prominent topic recently, due to our new President-Elect, Donald Trump. Keep in mind that these statistics have varied over the years, and that our political standings and titles have also changed throughout the years of this long going battle between the pro-life and pro-choice movements. 

The Roe v. Wade movement was a movement that claimed to protect women’s rights in regard to an unborn fetus. This movement went on in the early 1970’s and made a lasting imprint on the lives of many women today. This movement argued that in regards of a women’s health, women should be able to terminate a pregnancy if it was crucial to her survival. Also, this movement argued that prohibiting abortion potentially violates the rights of women.

 In 1821, Connecticut passed the first law that restricted abortions. In the 1870’s a ban on contraception and abortion was passed. In the 1930’s there was an increase in abortions due to the Great Depression, and lack of resources in order to raise healthy children. In the 1950’s it was passed that abortions could be considered, by a doctor’s transgression, and it was a case-by-case scenario. In 1955, Planned Parenthood hosted a national conference to bring up the discussion of abortion. In the 1960’s the Society for Humane Abortions was founded and developed. In 1969, a group of women founded an organization called “Jane” which helped women find safe and affordable illegal abortions. By the 1970’s 20 states had passed repeals on their abortion laws and bans. In 1972, the use of birth control pills were legalized for all women. It did not matter if you were married or not. In 1994, President Bill Clinton signed and approved of the Abortion-Clinic Protection Bill. This bill protected the abortion clinics from protests and even possible danger from people who claim to be anti-abortion. In the 2000’s the abortion pill was approved of. In 2003, President Bush signed the “partial birth abortion” bill. In 2009, Barack Obama cut off a ban funded by international family planning programs that provided abortions. In 2012, the United States upholds Obamacare, which helps with funding abortions for all women. The prices covered through Obamacare are determined by each state individually.

As you can see, these movements have progressed over the years. The last big thing to effect either movement was Obamacare. Now, that we have recently switched from a Democratic political view to a Republican view in the past few months, things are bound to change again. Laws are bound to pass preventing abortions from happening due to our new President-elect and woman’s rights to their own bodies and decisions will be effected. It has been made obvious by our new president, Donald Trump, that he does not support abortion or the funding that is contributed to this surgical procedure. 

A few important questions have been called to America’s attention and it is an uproar for these movements: Has today’s political climate influenced people’s opinions on women’s health, specifically pro-life versus pro-choice? In which ways do politics impact pro-life and pro-choice movements, and how have these movements changed in the following years? What are some contributing factors as to why these movements have changed in the following years? What are some contributing factors as to why these movements have had so much activity in following years compared to the activity that has been seen in the past? 

The political climate has been impacted heavily due to the recent election and switch of political roles of our government. This election, and change of political standing, has and will definitely continue making a tremendous impact on our society and the women of our society as a whole. Not everyone’s opinions are effected tremendously by our change of government. There are a lot of people who have had the same morals and beliefs toward the idea of an unborn fetus being aborted, or not. There are people who will stand up for the president and his beliefs, and just support them because they think it is the Republican, or conservative, way of thinking. People will be effected because of people’s opinions and I believe that there will be an increase in disrespect when dealing with woman and their decisions on terminating a pregnancy or not. The topic of abortion has always been relevant, but it just has not always been reoccurring like it has been recently. Politics are definitely impacting these movements through bill-passing, protests, and even whether or not people are agreeing to trust or follow our president himself. These movements impact people’s lives every single day and the fact that our country has transferred from one side of the political scale, to the other is really impacting people’s lives. 

Everyone has been impacted by abortion in some way. Whether you know someone who has lost a baby, or someone who has chosen to abort a baby. Maybe you were the father and you and the mother decide to abort the baby. Maybe you, yourself, has had an abortion. No matter what abortion and the laws surrounding this concept are, people are affected every single day. The political switch and the laws that will be, or have been passed, in the next following years will have a lasting impact on many women, men, and even children. This is a very prevalent topic that needs to be discussed and taken into consideration, whether you consider yourself to be pro-life or pro-choice, these decisions that will be made will affect you. They will affect everyone. Even if you think that you will not be necessarily affected, does not mean by any means that you will not be affected.

In conclusion, it can be assumed that politics do affect many people’s views and even their lives when dealing with situations regarding their own individual lives. Abortion is a prevalent topic and it a very real topic that needs to be discussed. Unfortunately, there is no real solution to this argument that has been occurring for years and years, but it can be discussed. I think that the best way to find comfort in a situation, whether you are pro-life or pro-choice, is to discuss the issue that is occurring. Everyone needs to find common ground and agree to put yourself in other people’s shoes when it comes to deciding what is right for you, and even your morals versus someone else’s. The impacts of these movements will never end. People will always disagree and have their own opinions, but violence towards the situations and scenarios is not the answer. Stand up for what you believe in, no matter what, but always remember that you are not the only individual being affected by these laws, this change in government, or even these movements. 