Abortion, the act of deliberately terminating a human pregnancy by following a medical procedure to remove an embryo or fetus and placenta from the uterus is a controversial topic. The question of how it is controversial can be simply answered by examining the opposing arguments. One could argue that the choice to have an abortion comes down to one’s personal decision regarding their body. However, one may also argue that having an abortion is an unethical choice made to correct an unwanted situation. For centuries, this controversy has been dividing the proponents of the two opinions. To this day, it is still a heated debate, for example in  Texas with the 2021 near-total Abortion ban. 

The legalization of abortion has a multitude of elements and key variables which make it such a controversy. To begin with, there is the aspect of giving people with uteruses control over their bodies. By making laws against a choice, you are criminalizing their bodies. As former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day wrote in 1992, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, “The ability of women to participate equally in the economic and social life of the Nation has been facilitated by their ability to control their reproductive lives.” This means that by not giving them equal citizenship stature, you are denying them their own lives. Further, abortion is usually performed during the first 28 weeks where the fetus is still not “viable” to survive outside the womb. This means that the embryos and fetuses are not independent beings yet. So by having an abortion, you are not terminating a baby, but purely a pregnancy.

Additionally, access to legal and professionally performed abortions is much safer than unsafe, illegal abortions which may cause other medical conditions. The WHO (World Health Organization) calculated a rough estimate of 68,000 maternal deaths worldwide each year caused by unsafe abortions. If these people were given the choice to lead a safe path for their future, these numbers would drop dramatically, leading to a decrease in its public health concern. This also ties into pregnancy preventive methods that are never 100% preventative meaning whether or not one is being safe there is always the chance of having an unwanted pregnancy. If this were to happen, it is nobody's fault or mistake, it just means that if the person does not want the baby, they should have the full right to not keep it. 

In opposition, many may debate that life begins at conception and those unborn babies are human beings with “a right to life”. The belief is that upon fertilization, a separate human is created with their own genetic identity, this supports the idea that human life has already begun when it is a fetus whether or not it is “viable” to live outside the womb. Adding on, if a person is to get pregnant, they should accept the responsibility that comes with producing a child. The common phrase is, “People need to take responsibility for their actions and accept the consequences.” These two opinions also connect back to religion. For example, in Christianity, many people interpret sections of the bible that they believe suggest these ideas. This concludes in them using their religion as a reason behind making laws for everybody regardless of if they follow the same religion or religious interpretation.  Further, a common argument is that people should not use abortion as a form of contraception and that should instead be more careful and use a lot of protection instead. As expected, one should not be able to get pregnant if they have taken all the precautions possible. 

To conclude, the ongoing controversy surrounding views on abortion is systematically affecting people with uteruses. It continues to separate people, whilst governments and legislators try to find common ground for the laws regarding it. Also, many campaigns such as the International Campaign for Women's Right to Safe Abortion, pushing for gender equality at an international level.