Abortion Essay, Research Paper

Crystal Rodriguez

Module 6

August 30, 2000

Abortion

Today, 27 years since the legalization of abortion, over 30 million legal abortions have taken place in the United States. To me, this is an issue which is more than a simple question of women controlling their own lives and bodies. It is a matter of life or death for an innocent human being. In this paper, I will address many of the issues why it should be banned. I do not

assume that I will change a pro-choice person’s mind, though I do at least

hope to make some people think, and if I change any mind, all the better.

Right away, some will say that abortion is not a matter of life or death,

arguing that a fetus is not a “person” or a “human being”. I realize that it

may be difficult to think of a two month old fetus as a human with rights, but

everything that is living does have rights. Just because the unborn is

dependent on the mother for nine months, does that give anyone the right to

choose to end its life? Trying to justify abortion by arguing that the unborn

does not have rights is a form of discrimination based on age and the fact that

they cannot speak for themselves. Imagine being a two month old fetus. You

have just been sentenced to death by your own mother, the very person who is

morally responsible for your existence. You are being raped of your future due

to another individual’s irresponsibility and selfishness. Abortion is just not

fair.

For years there have been many arguements due to the abortion issue,

such as: How do we know when human life begins? Doesn’t the mother have

the right to control her own body? The unborn baby is not really human until

it is born, right? Unborn babies are not concious beings, are they? Isn’t it

better to have an aborted child than to have an abused one? Why should a

rape victim be forced to bear a child she did not will to have? Isn’t abortion

the solution to unwanted pregnancies? Why allow an unwanted baby to be

born? There are many simple, easy answers to these questions that I will

address.

“A woman has the right to control her own body.” A baby is not a part

of its mother’s body. It is an individual human being, with its own seperate

body. Does a woman have the right to commit murder? There is no moral

right to do a moral wrong. But if the unborn baby is human being, then the

so-called right of the mother turns out to be a “right” to do a wrong: to murder.

“Isn’t it better to have an aborted child than to have an abused one?”

Actually, abortion is one of the worst abuses that can possibly be inflicted on

another human being. The abortion process itself is horribly abusive and

literally savage. One common process tears the tissue of the tiny, defenseless

unborn into pieces by violent suction. These pieces are then thrown into a

garbage can. Not only is the baby abused in the way it dies, it is abused in

losing the privilege of life itself. Abortion, in fact, is a form of torture; a slow,

painful, inhumane process of murder.

“Why should a rape victim be forced to bear a child she did not will to

have?” First, there is no way to be “unraped.” Becoming “unpregnant”

cannot make one “unraped.” Second, justice cannot be obtained for the rape

victim by punishing the unborn baby resulting from the rape. Two wrongs do

not make a right. It will not help the mother to burden her with the guilt of a

murder on top of the indignity of rape. If anything, the mother should

sympathize with the child. She has been raped, undergone trauma that was

not consented and out of her control. Why then, would she rape another

human being of establishing a life of their own?

“Isn’t abortion the solution to unwanted pregnancies?” What about

adoption? In my opinion, this is surely a better solution; one that does not

submit to murder. It is no doubt difficult to give up one’s child to a stranger,

but is it any easier killing it? There are also other alternatives. Birth control,

condoms, diaphragms, abstinence, …. Many couples who are unable to

concieve are willing to adopt no matter what condition the child is in.

By aborting unborn fetuses, we are also responsible for the murder of

perhaps the next President of the United States, the future inventor for the cure

of cancer, or the upcoming general who will lead our country in the victory of

the next world war. We are depriving our country of amazing, potential

individuals who will maybe one day revolutionize our country, because we

did not give them a chance at life; because we refused to accept the

consequences of our actions.

Let me close by relating the story of a young girl who learned that she

was pregnant. She is engaged, but her fiance is not the father of the baby.

Her family is poor, so another mouth to feed is just going the add to the

family’s hardship. Her family has a good name in the community, and she

does not want to drag it into the mud. An abortion would be a quick solution

to her problem, but she doesn’t have an abortion. Instead, she gives birth to a

beautiful baby boy… and names him Jesus.