The Debate on Abortion free essay sample

There are laws that make abortion legal at any point of time till birth in Australia, Canada, Germany, United States and as many as 30 other countries. Remaining countries either have partial restrictions on abortion like the first or second trimesters of pregnancy or complete ban unless it’s fatal for the mother. What is abortion? Abortion can be defined as pregnancy termination accidentally as in a miscarriage or by choice. Hereby we would be weighing the pros and cons of abortion (voluntary) ; and discussing whether the availability of abortion is an important right for women to have. Abortions caused by rape, incest and possible health concerns to mother/baby constitute just 7%. Social and personal issues are the cause for rest of the abortions. Abortion Debate Facts Half the percentage of women obtaining abortions is below 25. Around 60% of abortions are performed on never married women. When a woman decides to go for an abortion, it’s not an impulsive decision, though the preceding act might be impetuous. Concluding whether to abort, keep the baby or give it up for adoption is really hard and may lead to post-abortion trauma. Abortion Cons Reasons Against Abortion The important con that should be considered is can we choose to kill unwanted pregnancies? One shouldn’t be so irresponsible to land up in a situation where they have to be unmerciful to the unborn. Most of unplanned pregnancies if extended to childbirth may prove to be wanted later. A growing embryo is considered human with the heartbeats initiating as early as 21st day of conception. So what if we cannot see the human form, it does have the potential to gain one. Choosing adoption as an alternative to abortion would give the baby its right to life. Should people opt for abortion as last-minute contraception when preaching their kids about the consequences of casual sex? Infection, sepsis, recurrent miscarriages and rarely death could be the complications of abortions. Abortions can cause serious psychological impairment to the woman in the form of depression and guilt. Good Reasons for Abortion Abortion Pros Though women have a hard time choosing abortion as an option for unwanted pregnancies, they have been making that choice since a long time. Ultimately she is the one who would be going through the actual Labor of continuing pregnancy, delivering a baby, bringing it up, parenting it well, in addition to other obligations she has to do in her daily life. To get it done with little or no help from the partner and families needs a well-balanced body and mind. There is nothing called pro-choice and pro life. Both ideologies meet at one common point i. e. Pro-Life Life of the baby and Life of the mother. Life of the baby ultimately depends on mother’s health and its best to allow the mother to choose for her when she wants a baby. While we argue about the mental well being of a woman, how do others get to decide what would be more traumatic to the woman, abortion or childbirth and the unending list of duties waiting to be accomplished. An attempt to restrict the abortions would rise not only the percentage of illegal and unsafe abortions but also the expenses of the procedure. A new law would be needed to tackle the illegal abortions and further legal hassles would have no ends. Legalize or not, abortions would always be a part of society. Deciding factor whether to abort or not would be different for different people. To one abortion can be traumatic, to the other forced childbirth can be equally traumatic. It’s impossible to decide a particular set of rules for all. It all depends on multifaceted approach of each person, her psychological strength, supportive circumstances in helping her decide and help her being convinced about her decisions. ?Pro-Life 1. Since life begins at conception, abortion is akin to murder as it is the act of taking human life. Abortion is in direct defiance of the commonly accepted idea of the sanctity of human life 2. No civilized society permits one human to intentionally harm or take the life of another human without punishment, and abortion is no different. 3. Adoption is a viable alternative to abortion and accomplishes the same result. And with 1. 5 million American families wanting to adopt a child, there is no such thing as an unwanted child. 4. An abortion can result in medical complications later in life; the risk of ectopic pregnancies doubles, and the chance of a miscarriage and pelvic inflammatory disease also increases. 5. In the instance of rape and incest, proper medical care can ensure that a woman will not get pregnant. Abortion punishes the unborn child who committed no crime; instead, it is the perpetrator who should be punished. 6. Abortion should not be used as another form of contraception. 7. For women who demand complete control of their body, control should include preventing the risk of unwanted pregnancy through the responsible use of contraception or, if that is not possible, through abstinence. 8. Many Americans who pay taxes are opposed to abortion, therefore its morally wrong to use tax dollars to fund abortion. . Those who choose abortions are often minors or young women with insufficient life experience to understand fully what they are doing. Many have lifelong regrets afterwards. 10. Abortion frequently causes intense psychological pain and stress. Pro-Choice 1. Nearly all abortions take place in the first trimester, when a fetus cannot exist independent of the mother. As it is at tached by the placenta and umbilical cord, its health is dependent on her health, and cannot be regarded as a separate entity as it cannot exist outside her womb. 2. The concept of personhood is different from the concept of human life. Human life occurs at conception, but fertilized eggs used for in vitro fertilization are also human lives and those not implanted are routinely thrown away. Is this murder, and if not, then how is abortion murder? 3. Adoption is not an alternative to abortion, because it remains the womans choice whether or not to give her child up for adoption. Statistics show that very few women who give birth choose to give up their babies less than 3% of white unmarried women and less than 2% of black unmarried women. 4. Abortion is a safe medical procedure. The vast majority of women 88% who have an abortion do so in their first trimester. Medical abortions have less than 0. 5% risk of serious complications and do not affect a womans health or future ability to become pregnant or give birth. 5. In the case of rape or incest, forcing a woman made pregnant by this violent act would cause further psychological harm to the victim. Often a woman is too afraid to speak up or is unaware she is pregnant, thus the morning after pill is ineffective in these situations. 6. Abortion is not used as a form of contraception. Pregnancy can occur even with responsible contraceptive use. Only 8% of women who have abortions do not use any form of birth control, and that is due more to individual carelessness than to the availability of abortion. 7. The ability of a woman to have control of her body is critical to civil rights. Take away her reproductive choice and you step onto a slippery slope. If the government can force a woman to continue a pregnancy, what about forcing a woman to use contraception or undergo sterilization? 8. Taxpayer dollars are used to enable poor women to access the same medical services as rich women, and abortion is one of these services. Funding abortion is no different from funding a war in the Mideast. For those who are opposed, the place to express outrage is in the voting booth. 9. Teenagers who become mothers have grim prospects for the future. They are much more likely to leave of school; receive inadequate prenatal care; rely on public assistance to raise a child; develop health problems; or end up divorced. 10. Like any other difficult situation, abortion creates stress. Yet the American Psychological Association found that stress was greatest prior to an abortion, and that there was no evidence of post-abortion syndrome. Facing an unplanned pregnancy can be very difficult and scary for a teenager, and deciding what to do will be even harder. No matter what her political persuasion, it always comes down to a very intimate, personal decision that no teenager makes without some degree of emotional trauma. All of the options: abortion, or raising the baby, or allowing another individual to adopt the baby carry emotional pain and personal sacrifice. Statistics In the U. S. , teen abortion accounts for 19% of all procedures of this nature. The average age of those receiving abortions is dropping from 19 to 17. Over 50% of abortions performed annually are on women under the age of 25 with the ages of 18 and 19 accounting for the highest number performed. There are currently twenty-one states that require parental permission for a teen abortion and eighteen states that do not. There are also fourteen states that require a parental notification before performance of an abortion on a minor. The notification law requires that parents be notified, but permission of a parent is not necessary to go ahead with the procedure. At this time in the United States abortions are legal. Teen abortion facts reveal that though the teen pregnancy rate has declined in the United States over the last ten years, the percentages have actually increased. Teens are at higher risk for post-abortion infections such as pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and endometritis (inflammation of the uterus), which may be caused either by the spread of an undiagnosed sexually transmitted disease into the uterus during the abortion, or by micro-organisms on the surgical instruments which are inserted into the uterus. Teens who abort are 2 to 4 times more likely to commit suicide than adults who abort, and a history of abortion is likely to be associated with adolescent suicidal thinking. Teens who abort are more likely to develop psychological problems, and are nearly three times more likely to be admitted to mental health hospitals than teens in general. Teens risk further injury or death because they are unlikely to inform parents of any physical complications. The most common reasons a teenager chooses abortion are:  · Cannot afford a baby Doesnt want anyone to know she has had sex or is pregnant  · Doesnt want to be a single parent  · Her partner or parent wants her to have an abortion  · Not ready to become a parent  · She is too immature to have a child  · She was a survivor of rape or incest  · She or the fetus has a health problem Medical Reasons For Partial-Birth Abortions- Medical conditions and indications may develop after the first trimester (12 weeks) of pregnancy that could threaten the mothers life and/or health. Late-occurring medical conditions can include:  · Heart failure  · Severe or uncontrollable diabetes Serious renal disease  · Uncontrollable hypertension (high blood pressure)  · Severe depression Some of the consequences of compulsory pregnancy or forced motherhood (i. e. , unwanted children) are as follows. The child:  · has more emotional handicaps  · does less well scholastically; is a low achiever  · is twice as likely to have record of juvenile delinquency  · is 4x as likely to have adult criminal record  · is more likely to abuse alcohol and drugs  · is 6x more likely to receive welfare between 16-21  · has poorer relationships with parents  · is at a higher risk to be abused or neglected by parents Some of the disadvantages of going through with an abortion are:  · creates feelings of regret and grief  · does not give the child that is in the womb a chance at life, thus it is looked down upon by many religions  · having an abortion always lessens your chances for having children later in life  · teens who have participated in abortion repeatedly report feeling deceived by those selling abortions and become preoccupied with concern for Gods judgment and punishment  · the would-be-mother will always wonder what if and may feel some level of guilt for the rest of her life about the child she could have had Adoption vs. Abortion With adoption:  · You usually feel positive about your choice  · You can have continued contact with your baby  · You will have plenty of time to plan you and your babys future  · You will remember giving birth  · Your pregnancy ends with giving life With Abortion:  · Abortion is final; you cant go back on your decision  · You may feel guilt and shame about your choice  · You will miss the opportunity to see your child develop  · You will remember taking a life  · Your pregnancy ends with death Teens are more likely to make a snap judgment and try to cover up their pregnancy from their parents by having an abortion. Teens are also more likely to report having wanted to keep the baby, higher levels of feeling misinformed in pre-abortion counseling, less satisfaction with abortion services and greater post-abortion stress. Teens were also more likely to use immature coping strategies such as projection of their problems on to others, denial, or acting out, than older women, strategies researchers speculate might become permanent. Despite the fact that supporters without parental consent continually leave the spiritual devastation component out of the discussions, teen abortion facts tell us that teens who have participated in abortion repeatedly feel deceived by those selling abortions and become preoccupied with concern for Gods judgment and punishment. Teen abortion is an especially difficult thing to deal with, especially when having to possibly confront your parents and hoping that your partner will be supportive. Teens are encouraged to involve parents in their decision to have an abortion, and most do have a parent involved. In most of these states, if she cant talk with her parents or chooses not to she can appear before a judge. The judge will consider whether shes mature enough to decide on her own. If not, the judge will decide whether an abortion is in the teens best interests. In any case, if there are complications during the procedure, parents of minors may be notified. Before a teenager makes decisions in haste, or as an attempt to undo a wrong, teens and parents on both sides of the parental consent debate should get the teen abortion facts and found out as much about abortion and post-abortion procedure complications. If you are a pregnant teen, keeping your perspective at this time is critical. The most important thing to remember is that you do have a choice. There are three main paths: parenting, abortion or adoption. Abortion is the process in which the developing child is removed from a mothers womb. Keeping all situations and instances in mind, abortion was and still stays, an act of violence against the unborn child as well as the woman about to have a baby, apart from being a moral crime in itself. Abortion is a highly controversial and debatable subject. Here are some points supporting the anti-abortion arguments. There are various moral as well as logical, everyday arguments against abortion. Life and death are closely related, and so are the arguments to it. One of the fundamental and basic arguments supporting anti-abortion is the argument so put forward against capital punishment what right do humans have to curtail the life of something that providence has created? Abortion, was considered as a sin in many religions till some years ago. Another argument that supports the anti-abortion drive is the same argument that was supporting the large families of four to five siblings in the time gone by children are a gift of god, and the parents are just the people who take care of them, Gods gift. Another moral argument put across as a reason against abortion is yet again a phrase instilled into humankind since time incarnate If providence has given, it shall arrange for it too. Simply put, this means that a child has been brought on earth, he or she should be given a full chance to live a life, as God must have planned something for them. While the above arguments may not find favor amongst the modern generation or even the atheists, who consider life forming as a simple scientific process, here are some various psychological, medical and human-emotions related facts against abortion. While it cannot be said whether an abortion is an unforgivable event, it is of course an unforgettable event. An abortion plays havoc with the psychology and the future life of the entire family. The woman who has lost her child, at any time between the pregnancy, will never be the same. While the woman may be the hardest hit by an abortion, one also has to think about the mental and emotional state of the entire family. While physically only the woman undergoes an abortion, mentally and emotionally it is the entire family who loses a part of their mind and body forever. Anesthesia is available only for the physical structure of the human body, not for the emotional and mental state of a person. Abortion also emanates into various medical complications in the woman which can be considered as the cons of abortion. Some of the general complications arising in women due to abortions are: Blocked fallopian tubes Weakened cervix uterine scarring damage to the womans reproductive system which may make her unable to conceive in the future Apart from these common problems, women may also: ace the increase in the probability of an increase in tubal babies hysterectomies miscarriages stillbirths premature births Abortion is also related to the increase of chances of breast, uterine and cervical cancer in women. Apart from the other facts about abortion, it is a fact that almost ninety percent of the abortions taking place in the United States of America are illegal. These illegal abortionists work on almost an assembly line basis, and not every product they de liver is top-of-the-rack. Illegal abortions greatly increases the health risk to the mother, apart from the above described situations. Illegal abortions may not be hundred percent hygienic and may create a leeway for hundreds of types of infections and other medical malpractice situations for the mother. Overall, there are a lot of arguments against abortion, that proves it is not only a moral sin, but can also create great problems to the woman and the family. The cons of abortion are great and uncountable and women and families should think twice, thrice, forever before affirming to an abortion.