The U.S. should eliminate all restictions on a woman's right to an abortion.

The Supreme Court, in the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, recognized a woman's right to abortion in the United States. All legal restrictions on this right, including "informed consent" laws, "spousal notification" laws, "parental consent" laws, waiting periods for women, and restrictions on late-term abortions for serious reasons should be eliminated. 1. Other developed countries, including Canada, have no legal restrictions on abortion, and have far lower abortion rates than countries that place legal restrictions on the procedure, namely the U.S. and countries in South America. Generally, the more advanced and developed a country is, the more lenient its abortion laws are. 2. "Informed consent" laws are wrong and should be abolished. In some U.S. States, informed consent laws (sometimes called "right to know" laws) require that a woman seeking an elective abortion be given factual information by the abortion provider about her legal rights, alternatives to abortion (such as adoption), available public and private assistance, and medical facts. While pro-life advocates have hoped these would reduce abortion in the U.S., many are unfair and contain complex language designed to confuse women, and attempts to "personify" a fetus. Women have counseling services available and need not be coerced by documents designed to interfere with their right to have an abortion. 3. Spousal notification laws ought to overturned. Several states require that a woman notify her husband of her decision to have an abortion. A woman's husband should have no business knowing or consenting to his wife's medical procedures. There is simply no reason why a woman should be burdened with allowing her husband to know about a private decision. Since domestic abuse occurs in the U.S., a husband may physically try to stop his wife from obtaining an abortion. Additionally, many women in the U.S. are separated, but not legally divorced yet from their husbands. Requiring them to notify their legal spouse regardless of the status for their marriage is unfair and should not be legally required. Women are not property of their spouses. 4. Parental notification laws should be abolished. A mother or father of a minor seeking abortion should not be involved in the decision. If parents are allowed to influence their daughter's decisions, the daughter may resort to dangerous, risky means in order to obtain an abortion. In addition, in some cases a woman could be putting her life in danger by attempting to obtain an abortion with her parent's knowledge. Additionally, her parents or guardians may be hard to contact and delay a medical procedure for the daughter. Counseling is available for most women at clinics throughout the nation. Females should have complete control of their bodies: their bodies are not owned by their parents. 5. Mandatory waiting periods for women should be abolished. Given that abortion is a personal decision, a woman seeking one has obviously thought about obtaining one, and therefore an unnecessary, extra period makes obtaining the abortion needlessly delayed. Women have busy lives and generally do not have infinite time to schedule an appointment for an abortion. Waiting periods generally serve no purpose; the fetus continues to develop the longer that a woman waits for an abortion. 6. Late-term abortions would only be performed in extenuating circumstances, such as when the physical health of the woman is placed in severe jeopardy. Placing legal restrictions on them are wholly unnecessary. They are very rare, and there is always a very good reason why they would performed. For example, if a rare genetic disorder was discovered that would create a baby born with a severe physical or mental impairment that was not correctable and would lead to a short, depressing lifespan ,or if a woman life would be seriously endangered by continuing with the pregnancy. A physician is a much better consultant for a woman's decision to have an abortion later in a pregnancy than a representative or senator.