Should abortion be legal and what's the government's role?
This week's Room for Debate took on perhaps the most polarizing and hotly contested political issue: Abortion. Discussion topics ranged from the expected pro-life vs pro-choice, to a broader range of topics including conditional abortions, international policies on the issue, and how religion plays a factor. Here are a few highlights from a week full of constructive discussion:
"In 2015, a total of 229,715 babies were born to women aged 15-19. Although these teenagers decided to go through with their pregnancy, they should be given the option of abortion no matter what. When you are 16, you are in the middle of high school with an immense amount of pressure riding on your shoulders. Teenagers that have to deal with a pregnancy while in high school should have places like Planned Parenthood to go to, to discuss termination options such as abortion."
-Lili Bernstein, California
"To put it simply, if we do not know with absolute certainty that life begins at a certain point, then it is not in our power as humans to commit an act which could even potentially cause death after life begins. When one drives down a dimly lit street at night and sees a pile of clothing, one that could maybe be a human being, we swerve and do not hit the pile. Why would we when there is even the slightest chance that we could be terminating an innocent life?"
-Joseph Touma, West Virginia
ABORTION POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD
Argentina: In Argentina abortion is legal if the mother´s life is at risk or if she was raped and the pregnancy was a result of this event...
-Carolina Ranfagni
Pakistan: This condition (Argentina policy) is same in my country Pakistan and it is very disturbing. There is also a voluntarily sterilization in women and its law is also very unclear in many developing and under developing countries. The countries which have laws about sterilization needs women to get spousal consent for women to go through this procedure...
-Tallal Ahmed, Pakistan
Fiji: In Fiji, grounds on which abortion is permitted are; when to save the life of the woman, to preserve physical health, to preserve mental health, economic or social reasons
Additional Requirement ; An abortion must be authorized by a physician and performed by a licensed physician in a hospital.
Furthermore, those performing an illegal abortion are subject to imprisonment for up to 14 years. The same punishment may be applied to someone unlawfully supplying instruments to perform the abortion. A woman attempting unlawfully to induce her own abortion or consenting to its being induced, is subject to imprisonment for up to seven years .
-Archana Reddy, Fiji
Liberia: In Liberia abortion is the same as in Fiji which abortion abortion is permitted at the following conditions:
- when to save the life of the woman
- To preserve physical health
- To preserve mental health
-Economic or social reasons
-Simeon Workar, Liberia