Abortion 10 Essay, Research Paper
Abortion
Abortion ends a pregnancy before birth takes place. When an embryo or fetus dies in the womb and is expelled by the body, it is called spontaneous abortion or miscarriage. When a woman decides to end her pregnancy voluntarily, she has an induced abortion. When a fetus is dead at birth, it is called a stillbirth. Most people support abortion in one of two ways, either as pro-life or pro-choice. Pro-life supporters believe that human life begins at conception and that abortion is the intentional killing of a human life. Opposing this belief is the pro-choice members who believe that it is the woman’s right to choose to continue or end a pregnancy. Pro-choice supporters also argue that legal abortion is safer than illegal abortion and that it relieves the psychological and social problems associated having an unwanted child. Being pro-choice myself, I believe that it is the woman’s right to decide if she wants to have a child or not. Some women who become pregnant are not mentally, physically, or financially stable enough to raise a child. If this is the case, I believe that a child should not be brought into the world because it will then have an unhealthy life style. If a woman becomes pregnant from rape or incest then it should be okay for her to have an abortion. For whatever reason, if a woman decides to have an abortion, then it should be her choice, no one else’s. Abortion is safe. In fact, it has been proven that having an abortion is twice as safe as having your tonsils taken out, and eleven times safer than giving birth. Just because a woman decides to have an abortion, that does not make her a “bad” person. It simply states that she was not ready to have a child. I respect women who choose to have abortions because they are not only thinking of their lives, they are thinking about the child that would be involved. Having a child is a huge responsibility, and if you cannot handle that responsibility, then you should not bring a child into the world. Sometimes women choose to have an abortion due to health risks. If the child or woman will be endangered during or after birth then most doctors will suggest an abortion early in the pregnancy. Many pro-life supporters believe that abortion is a sin. Although, there is nothing in the Bible to even suggest that. Psalms 139:13-16 is often used to prove that human life begins at conception, although there is nothing there that even suggests that. Abortion is not a sin. No simple act of man can repeal the fact that only God endows life, by giving the fully formed body and breath. Declaring that human life begins at conception is counter to the claims of the word of God and is a sin. It is doubly a sin because this degraded belief leads others to sin. Those that kill clinic workers, clients, and attempt to legislate this wayward belief lead innocent believers down a road to murder and corruption. Most people in the world have freedom, including women. Freedom meaning that a woman must be free to choose self or to choose selfishly. Certainly a woman with fewer economic and social choices- for instance, a woman struggling to finish her education, without which she would have little hope of a life worthy of her talents- there can indeed be an obligation to choose self. There is no easy way to deny the powerful argument that a woman’s equality in
Bibliography
Adler, N.E., et al. “Psychological Factors in Abortion: A Review.” American Psychologist. 1992. 47: 1194. Alabama Physicians For Life, Inc. “Abortion Related Statistics.” It’s a Matter of Life. 1993: P.9. Clark, Charles S. “Abortion Clinic Protests.” The CQ Researcher. 7 April 1995: P.297-320. Fein, Elaine. “The Facts about Abortion.” Harper’s Bazaar. May 1980: P. 75-76 Gold, R.B. “Abortion and Women’s Health”. New York: Alan Guttmacher Institute. 1990. Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. “Planned Parenthood Fact Sheet.” 1990. Tietze, C. & Henshaw, S.K. “Induced Abortion: A World Review.” 1986. New York: Alan Guttmacher Institute. 1986.