Abortion Essay, Research Paper

AbortionAbortion is one of the most controversial issues in the world today, and almost everyone has their own opinion about it. Many people tend to over look the fact that a woman s body is hers and hers alone; therefore, her personal feelings should have the greatest influence on the outcome of the pregnancy. Nobody has the right to make her do something that she does not want to do. Abortion deals with the woman s private life and should have nothing to do with the government. However, abortion should not be used as a form of birth control. I believe that if the fetus is unwanted and unloved then it is better to be aborted than abused or neglected. Abortion is defined as the expulsion or removal of a fetus from the uterus before it has reached the stage of viability, usually about the twentieth week . What this definition does not tell you is that by the twentieth week the fetus has fully developed and functioning organ systems. The history of abortions can be clearly dated back to the 1750 s when a procedure that involved inserting objects into the uterus to induce abortions was introduced. Nothing much was thought of abortions until 1857, when the American Medical Association appointed a committee to look into the matter. The committee determined that the fetus is a human being; therefore abortions are murder. Soon after the AMA published these results many states put a ban on abortions. It wasn t until the 1940 s that the pro-choice view came into sight. This allowed women to be thought of as individuals. By 1970 the AMA had been completely abandoned it s position to better fit the changing world. Due to the Supreme Court s rulings in the cases of Roe vs. Wade, Doe vs. Bolton, and Planned Parenthood vs. Casey, which allowed abortions to be performed for reason pertaining to the mother s sense of well-being, many people began to support abortions. Since abortions were legalized on January 22, 1973, more than 39.5 million abortions have been reported. Abortions can be placed into two major categories: induced or spontaneous. Induced, the more common of the two, can be subdivided into four categories:1) to preserve the life, physical or mental well-being of the Mother2) to prevent the completion of a pregnancy due to incest or rape3) to prevent the birth of a child with a serious deformity, mental deficiency, or genetic abnormality4) to prevent birth due to social or economic reasonsa) to hide sexual activityb) complications with babies fatherSpontaneous abortions or miscarriages are non-voluntary. The three major causes of spontaneous abortions are trauma, genetic incompatibility of the mother and fetus, and an uncontrollable disease. Spontaneous abortions represent less than ten percent of all abortions; the rest are mostly performed for social or economic reasons. The majority of women who have abortions report that they do not want anyone to know of their sexual activity or that the father wants nothing to do with her or the child. With one out of every four babies being aborted, fourteen metropolitan areas say that the number of reported abortions is higher than the number of live births.

People that are pro-life generally give one of three reasons. Some believe that the fetuses are human beings and abortions are murder. Other people say that abortions are not murder, but should not be allowed because the fetuses contain a unique and valuable form of DNA. A third group says that abortions should not be performed, because the fetuses are future homes for God s children. Therefore, if an abortion takes place then God s plan will be changed. People that are pro-life believe that adoption is the only option, because as soon the egg is fertilized it becomes a human being. According to Mary Anne Warren s definition, the fetus must be capable of five things:1) internal to the consciousness(objects and events external and/or being) and have the capacity to feel pain2) reasoning(the developed capacity to solve new and relativity complex problems)3) self-motivated activity(independent of either genetic or direct external control)4) the capacity to communicate, by whatever means, messages of infinite variety5) the presence of self-concepts and self-awareness, individual or socialThis definition would mean that the fetus could not be considered a human being until well after birth. People that believe it is up to the woman are said to be pro-choice. They believe that a woman should be allowed to have an abortion at anytime for almost any reason. Some believe that abortions should be allowed only under certain circumstances. One of the largest problems is that there are few restrictions, and because of this some women tend to use abortion as a form of birth control. However, some abortions are necessary to preserve the life of the mother, prevent the birth of a seriously deformed child, or to stop the completion of a pregnancy resulting from rape or incest. As for me, I think that adoption should always be the first option, but abortions should remain legal with stricter rules. Some women need to realize how serious having an abortion actually is, and they should take precautions before hand. In other cases, you have to look at the bigger picture, like a young girl, still in high school with little family support. Should she be forced into poverty or made to give her baby up? Or should she be given a second chance? In conclusion, abortion is not something that should be taken lightly. It is a serious, risky, and painful procedure. I doubt that either side will ever come to a happy medium, but everyone needs to realize that it is the woman s life that will be greatly affected. Therefore, she needs to make the decision with her best interest in mind. Nobody can say for certain if the fetus is a human being, so how can anyone rightfully call abortion murder?