Abortion Essay, Research Paper

Abortion is the

termination of a pregnancy, known as ?murdering? of the foetus. There are many

theories of the foetus being starved of oxygen, or the womb being filled with a

toxic gas, crushed up, and extracted from the womb. This is all very well, but

remember, this foetus will be less than twenty-four weeks old and is not able

to feel pain anyway. If the foetus was brought into the world unwanted, unloved

and entering into a life of torture, is this not where the pain comes in? Is it

not better that the child had passed away painlessly as an embryo in the

mother?s womb, rather than having a life of torture? Of course, not

all abortions take place due to the welfare of the child?s life when it leaves

the mother?s womb. I do not agree with the pregnancy being terminated because

of the sex of the child. I do not see that as being a valid reason. If you are

thinking that there are no valid reasons for abortion, just imagine a fourteen

year old girl who has been raped. How can she be expected to get on with her

life and ever recover if she has a baby? How can she receive a full education?

Every time she looks at the baby, she will be reminded of her terrible

experience. In some countries, for example, Russia and

China, there is an absence of family planning. Abortion is used as a form of

birth control. In Russia, a woman has on average four or five abortions in her

lifetime. In China there are over ten million abortions annually. I think that

the amount of money spent on abortions in these countries could be better spent

on promoting contraceptives and family planning. I do not agree with abortion

being taken as just the ?easy way out?. If a sixteen year old girl goes to a party, gets

drunk, ends up having sex with some guy she doesn?t even knows, and gets

pregnant, what happens? I think it is very irresponsible of the girl to have

let this happen, but I do think she should have the choice of whether to have

the baby or not. It?s not as if she was even going out with this boy for a

while that he might even attempt to support her. It would not be an easy

decision for her, her family may be unsupportive and may have religious

beliefs, but it should the girl?s choice and it should be well thought over. ?Most

religions do not agree with abortion but some are stricter than others about

their beliefs.? The Roman Catholic Church deems abortion as

totally unacceptable in any circumstance (including the probable death of the

mother). Catholics have been taught that abortion is morally evil since Pope

Pius VI declared that ?ensoulment? (gaining a soul) happened at conception. The Church of

England and the Church of Scotland argue that abortion is wrong because it does

not give the foetus a chance to live but there are extreme circumstances i.e.

when the mother is in danger for her life, that abortion is acceptable. Judaism and

Hinduism teach that life begins at conception, so abortion is discouraged

except when the mother?s life is at risk. Islam teaches

that life begins at the moment of birth, but abortion is discouraged except

when the mother?s life is at risk, and sometimes rape. The Free

Churches (Baptist, Methodist, and Evangelical) hold that abortion is a matter

for the individual to decide.However woman

from all religions continue to seek abortions. Many peoples attitude towards

abortion differs from their religious leaders and believe that individuals have

the right to follow their own consciences. If women are to

enjoy a healthy life and to offer the same to any children they have, they need

to be able to have control over their reproductive lives. Not all women are

able to use contraceptives effectively at all times. Surely a request for an

abortion is a responsible decision when faced with the prospect of a child that

she is not able to love for or care for? Why should a

woman seeking an abortion seeking an abortion be accused of having no respect

for life when her prime concern has been the future quality of life for

herself, the potential child, her partner and her family? With modern

technology, a pregnant woman can now find out a lot more about her unborn

child. This means she can find out if the child has a disability. The woman can

then make the choice of having an abortion. In some cases this is good, in some

it?s bad. I think that if a child has a serious disability e.g. Hydrocephaly ?

this is when the child is born with water on the brain and has a life

expectancy of only three days. Cystic Fibrosis ? this is a serious lung disease

where the child has problems breathing, children with this have a very short

life expectancy (teenage years). Hydrocephaly

cannot be treated; Cystic Fibrous also cannot be treated but can be prolonged

with antibiotics and physiotherapy. In either case,

the child will not live their life, and in the case of Cystic Fibrosis the

child will suffer all their short life. In these

circumstances the mother may very well have the foetus aborted, and why

shouldn?t she? She is only thinking of the child in this case, and the

suffering it would face and possibly the death of it shortly after its birth.

If the mother is told by her GP that her unborn child will be born with Cystic

Fibrous, she might still want to have the baby but is she certain? She will

have to give the child twenty four hour care, and it would be very depressing

for her to watch her child growing up like this and knowing that he/she will

only be in her life for a very short time. Aborting because

of serious disability is a valid reason, but If the child is just going to be

born with a minor disability or with a disability that will not develop for

about forty years, it is just cruel to have the child aborted to try for

something better. The abortion

laws say that a foetus can be aborted if ? there is a substantial risk that if

the child was born it would be seriously physically or mentally handicapped?

and I agree with them. I also agree

with the law that says the embryo can be aborted if ? there is a risk of injury

to the woman?s mental or physical health?. If a young woman has just got

married and is expecting her first child, and finds out that there is a

possibility that going through with labour will mean risking her own life, is

it not better that this young woman lives and continues with her own life? It

may be a hard choice to make but after all she could abort and try again so

that both she and the child could live. It is hard for a new-born child to cope

without its mother, the father might not have any experience or any other

family around to help him. In the UK,

abortion was made legal in 1967 under certain circumstances. I think that the

problem we have nowadays is where to draw the line. I do think that it is a

woman?s own personal choice of whether or not to have an abortion, but I don?t

think that all abortions take place because of valid reasons e.g. the woman

gets pregnant with twins and only wants one child. Those with

strong religious and moral objections to abortion argue that the rights of the

unborn child override those of the mother. I think that the woman should be

allowed to make her own choice, as it her body and it is her life that will be

affected by the birth of the child. From my essay

you have probably established that I am pro-choice. I think it should be the

mother?s choice of whether to have the baby or not. If you think about it, it

is her life.