The Controversy Over Abortion Essay, Research Paper
During the past quarter century, abortion has joined race and war
as one of the most debatable subjects of controversy in the United
States. It discusses human interaction where ethics, emotions and law
are combined. Abortion poses a moral, social and medical dilemmas
that focus many individuals to create an emotional and violent
atmosphere.
There are many points of view toward abortion but the only two
fine distinctions are “pro-choice” and “pro-life”. A pro-choice
person would feel that the decision to abort a pregnancy is that of
the mothers and the state should have no right to interfere. A pro-
life person would hold that from the moment of conception, that the
embryo or fetus is alive. This life imposes on us a moral obligation
to preserve it and that abortion is the same as murder. In the United
States about 1.6 million pregnancies end in abortion. Women with
incomes under eleven thousand are over three times more likely to
have an abortion, than women with incomes above twenty-five thousand.
Unmarried women are four to five times more likely to abort than
married. In the past years the abortion rate has doubled among
18 and 19 year olds. Recently the U.S. rate has dropped 6 percent
overall but the rate of abortion among girls younger than 15 has
jumped up to18 percent and the rate among minorities climbed from 186
per 1,000 to 189 per 1,000.
The most popular procedure involved in abortions is the vacuum
aspiration, which is done during the first trimester (three months or
less since the woman has become pregnant). A tube is simply inserted
through the cervix and the contents of the uterus are vacuumed out.
The most commonly used type of second trimester abortion is called
dilation and evacuation. At this point the fetus has bones, bulk and
can is able to move, the second trimester abortions are not as
simple.
When as much of the fetus and placenta are vacuumed out then the
tweezers are used to remove the larger parts. The beginning of the
fifth month abortion is the serious and actually induced as
childbirth. That is, the mother is given substances, which puts her
into labor and delivers the fetus, as she would do with a full-term
baby.
About 40 percent of Americans believe that abortion should remain
legal and 40 percent believe it should be banned except when the
pregnancy threatens the life of the mother or the result of rape or
incest. 15 percent believe it should be illegal in all cases.
Although abortion is regarded as a woman’s right, it should be banned
with exceptions because its considered murder has many psychological
side effects. Young teens say that when they see a baby it reminds
them of their own that they could have had.
Abortion is a woman’s own right and choice. In 1973 the Roe v.
Wade decision proved this by recognizing abortion as a fundamental
constitutional right and made it legal in all states. The law now
permits abortion at the request of the women without any restrictions
in the first trimester and some restrictions in the second trimester
to protect the women’s health. The National Abortion Right Act League
argues that without legal abortion women would be denied their
constitutional right of privacy and liberty. The women’s right to her
own body subordinates those of the fetus and the U.S. Supreme Court
in Roe v. Wade argued that the women’s “right to privacy” overruled
the fetus’s right to life. If abortion were illegal it would force
poor women to bear and raise children they can’t afford to bring up.
It would force young women to raise children when they are still
children themselves and would cause many deformities when incest is
in involved.
There would be a number of unsafe abortions in back allies. It
would also force women to give up their dreams and stay home to bring
up babies. Worst of all, it would condemn victims of incest to carry
and nurture the offspring of their rapist. Abortion is necessary for
women to have control over their own bodies and life. One activist
said, “If I hadn’t had that abortion my life would have been a
disaster. I wouldn’t have made it to medical school. I was married at
that point to a very ill man and it would have been terrible to have
to have my baby. People who need abortions are in some kind of
turmoil and it’s really a life-saving thing.” Anonymous “I am glad I
had my abortion because it gave me another chance to relive my life
and my dreams. It also gave me another chance of my life and gave me
back part of the pride that a person stole.”
To ignore the rights of others is selfish. Women must have the
right to control the functions of their own bodies. Sammy Garcia
told the council that the ordinance would have done little
good. “Young women need the freedom to make choices for their
reproductive life when their family can’t guarantee them parental
support.” Women should not be forced to have babies they don’t want.
They must have the right to decide what happens to them and have a
safe and legal way of doing so. Women are in control of their own
bodies and their lives. Legislators have no right to interfere with
their own choices. The practical assertion that since pregnancy
involves a woman’s body, the choice of continuing that pregnancy must
be hers alone.
Although abortion is considered murder by half of all Americans,
Pro-lifers believe that human life begins at the moment of
conception. When the merge of the egg and sperm is complete, they are
fertilized and known as the “zygote”. The zygote contains a full set
of 46 chromosomes, which is required to create a human life.
Scientists identify that at the moment of fertilization the ovum
takes on an entirely different destiny, life. About 15,000 genes from
the spermand ovum form a unique combination. This is nothing less
than a new human life at its earlier stage of life. In the United
States many infants will not make it to puberty, old age or even
their second birthday. Just because of their shortened life, it
doesn’t mean that it never existed.
Dr. Nate Anderson stopped performing abortions after becoming
aware of the horrors that he observed. “A woman has the right to go
to bed with who she wants, but she can not choose death for her
child. It’s a direct violation of human rights.” Anthony Simpson has
a photo of an aborted fetus and believes that abortion is nothing but
a ruthless murder. In southern Kentucky, Robert Hollis brutally
assaulted his wife in effort to abort the fetus he suspected wasn’t
his. He successfully did so and Carroll believed Hollis set out
intentionally to kill that fetus and that is in fact murder. A
friend, Christina a graduate from high school has recently become
pregnant and decided against abortion. She feels that it’s an
innocent child inside of her.
It has a brain and a heart therefore it also has a right to life.
“Abortion is the unnatural end of pregnancy. That child has a right
to life that is equal to the mother’s right. One cannot kill another
human being just because they wished it wasn’t around. Abortion is
murder of the innocent practiced on a national scale. Overall it has
been proven that the fetus is a real person and it responds to noise,
has feeling and fears. To have an abortion will destroy an innocent
life, which is directly connected to murder. It also kills a
consequence that some one made and now not willing to take it.
Scientific research has successfully shown that abortion causes
many psychological side effects. It leaves the woman with many strong
feelings about her decision. She may feel sadness, wishing things
could have been different and grief for a lost life. Guilt arises
because she knows a fetus represents an independent life.
Anonymous “I feel that god will punish me when I want a baby he won’t
give me one, because it killed my first one.” Anger builds up
towards other people having to do with their decision. Sometimes the
mother may feel that she has in fact been abandoned. Most of the
mothers feel ashamed and embarrassed about their actions. People
close to the mother may be angry with her for ending her pregnancy
and make it difficult for her to deal with. Anonymous’ mother ” At
first I said that I disowned her but because I was embarrassed of her
but then I realized that she needs my help.” Even years after the
abortion, women tend to remember the regretful experience. The
usually wonders of what the baby would have looked like acted like
and when its birthday is.
Thirty-three years old, Angela has had five abortions so far. She
realizes now that they all left emotional scars her that are
unbearable. “It wasn’t just a mass of cell it was children I was
killing.” It may have been a month or a year but feelings do catch up
with the mother. Symptoms such as nightmares, panic attacks and
flashbacks are signs of a recently discovered Post Abortion Syndrome,
also know as PAS. According to a study published by Association for
Interdisciplinary Research in Valves and Social Change, one in five
women studied had diagnosable stress disorders. Also two in five had
sleep disorders and flashbacks following abortion. Abortion is the
right of the mothers and should be up to them if they choose to or
not. No one should help or force the mother to do what they want.
No matter what politicians, the bible and families say, women need to
take control.