The Abortion Controversy w Works Cited Essay — страница 3

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in for the prostaglandin that triggers the contractions which aborts the fetus. With surgical abortion, you do not have that chance. The cost of both procedures is about the same, around $250.00. This may be a high cost to pay for poor women or for those who are not able to afford an abortion. Many poor women are having children, many of them illegitimate, simply because they are unable to afford an abortion. This social issue leads the abortion debate down another heated debate: should the government fund abortions for the poor? Charles Murray, an advocate for government funded abortions, wrote “Illegitimacy is the single most important social problem of our time–more important than crime, drugs, poverty, welfare or homelessness, because it drives everything else.” (Alcorn

125). In 1978, an amendment banned the use of federal funds for poor women’s abortions. The number of federally funded abortions fell from 294,600 in 1977 to 165 in 1990 (financing permitted because the mothers’ lives were in danger) (Bender 96). Publicly financed abortions makes a lot of sense. For every tax dollar spent on abortions for poor women, the public saves at least four dollars in public medical and welfare expenditures in the first two years of the child’s life alone. If abortion were fully funded in every state, the net savings for the nation as a whole in a two-year period would total between $435 million and $540 million–four to six times the $95 million to $125 million it would cost to publicly fund abortions for all medicaid-eligible women who want one

(Bender 102). Pro-choice supporters are in favor of reinstating federally funded abortions, but staunch pro-lifers do not care about the costs inflicted upon themselves as long as the lives of unborn babies are saved. Saving unborn babies is the ultimate goal of many radical pro-lifers. No matter what the consequences are, these people are willing to put their money and their freedom on the line for the chance to save ?innocent human beings?. An example of such devotion to this cause is the slaying of Dr. David Gunn. On a sunny morning in Pensacola, Florida, Dr. Gunn was shot in the back and killed as he tried to enter Pensacola Medical Services. His murderer, Michael Griffin, cried, “Don’t kill any more babies,” as he fired (Bender 199). Michael Griffin was convicted of

murder and sent to prison, losing his personal freedom for his beloved cause. One anti-abortion demonstrator was quoted saying, ?We have found that the weak link is the doctors.? Dr. Gunn?s murder reflects the violent oppositions that have occurred over abortion in this country. Instead of quiet civil disobedience, anti-abortion activists are trying to get America to listen to their side by shooting doctors, burning down clinics, bomb threats, vandalizing clinics, and assaulting patients. Not every patient who goes to these clinics are going in for an abortion. The main priority for many family planning clinics is to educate people about safe sex. They provide services such as treatment for STD?s and AIDS. They test women for cancers of the ovaries or cervix, provide PAP smears,

pregnancy tests, safe contraception and a whole bunch of other family planning services at a lower price than what hospitals would charge. They also council people on such issues as unplanned pregnancy, how to be more responsible about their bodies, and how to be a more responsible parent. By harassing every patient that goes to these clinics, the demonstrators are hoping to put them out of business. In the aftermath of Dr. Gunn’s slaying, some pro-choice groups are using this incident to link quiet protesters to violent protesters. Civil suits brought by abortion clinics and others asked and got large sums of money which virtually bankrupted groups such as Operation Rescue. In bankrupting these organizations, the anti-abortion groups are not helping their cause financially,

but other effects of the violence are making a significant difference. The violence and harassment are having a profound effect on the staff and the patients of targeted facilities. The surge of violence has also affected the staff and patients at facilities who have not been a direct victim of violence, but who perceive themselves as a potential “next target”. There are also larger social consequences, including reduced availability and access to abortion services and increased costs for abortions and contraceptive services where abortion is available. The staff of facilities that provide abortions learn to live with bricks thrown through their windows, threats toward them and their children, and many jeering picketers and blockaders surrounding their cars as they come to