Immorality of Abortion - Research Paper Example

?Immorality of Abortion Abortion remains one of the most controversial s fraught with contention, particularly from pro-life and pro-choice groups. These are two main factions in the abortion debate, the pro-lifers who believe that everyone including the unborn child should be given a chance to live. The other faction is the pro choice, which holds the belief that the mother should be free to decide what to do with the pregnancy. Each side has come up with a myriad of arguments both trying to prove their particular stand is right and moral. This paper, written from a pro-life perspective, will attempt to prove that abortion is in direct contravention of morality and demonstrate this through logical reasoning and comparative arguments from both pro-life and pro-choice. Contrary to popular belief that abortion is a modern operation, there is retrospective evidence that it was practiced as long ago as the 5th century BC by ancient civilizations. Even in biblical times, a form of abortion was practiced, as is evidence in the book of numbers where a woman accused of infidelity would be made to drink “the bitter water” which would bring out the “curse” (Fox). Other recorded cases of abortion were in ancient Egypt (1550 B.C.E.) and China in the 5th century where among other things used to induce it was mercury (Fox). Notably, many the methods used in the past were dangerous and could have killed the mother just as easily as induced the abortion. In the recent past, abortions were illegal for moral, religious and health issues. However, after the 20th century, women rights groups and doctors have been often able to repeal this ban and as a result, many countries, especially in America and Europe, have legalized it to the chagrin of the pro-life groups. The issues that have made abortion such a controversial and pertinent issue include the fact that apart from the guaranteeing the unborn child’s death, it also jeopardizes the life of the mother; in addition, several of those who undergo abortions are underage girls who are pregnant and have no one to support them or the baby. Bearing in mind that it is the moral duty of the strong to protect the weak and comparably pro lifers consider it their duty to protect the life and rights of the unborn child. While the modern methods of carrying out the operation are mostly safe and performed by qualified doctors, from an objective perspective the action is immoral. Nonetheless, in view of the fact that a woman has agreed consciously and actively to end the unborn life in her is immoral in itself (Lee and Robert 13). Proponents of abortion have been trying to justify abortion and paint it with a moral brush for as long as the pro-lifers have been condemning it. One of the principal arguments put forward to humanize abortion and portray it in a moral light is that the fetus is not yet human being. They claim that if the pro-life side agrees a sperm and ovary are not considered human, yet they have potential to become human then the same should be said of the fetus. Therefore, should the pro choice concede it is human, they will go ahead and claim for one to be recognized as a person; thus, they would need to be self-aware. As such, anything in the womb is not self aware, ergo, cannot be human and the same argument has been proposed by advocates defending suspects of infanticide (Lee and Robert 15). However, these arguments are untenable and illogical at best; therefore, comparing the sperm to the fertilized egg flies in the face of logic since the sperm will only have potential for life if it is merged with the egg. On its own, it does not have a chance to generate life, the fertilized egg, on the other hand, in an autonomous genetic unit only requires the parent to host it and supply it with nourishment for the duration of the pregnancy. This is no different from when a child stays with its mother fully dependent on her for the first few months. However, at this point, even the diehard pro-choice people will not agree that the mother is free to terminate the child’s life since it cannot survive independently. Evidently, the argument that the child can be brought up by another woman may arise, but it is nulled by the fact that the same can and has happened to fetuses when fertilized eggs are transferred to a surrogate mother. Thus, whichever way one tries to draw a contrast between the infant and fetus, the idea of committing abortion remains immoral and intimately analogous to infanticide. The other instance where attempts to moralize abortion are frequently made are when the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest (Lowen), and is viewed to have potential for negatively impacting the mother should the baby be born to bring these memories back. They are in essence, saving the mother from the child who may have a negative psychological impact on them. This argument is further strengthened by suggestion that since the woman did not have a choice in making the baby, she is not obligated to carry it to term. These arguments do make sense on certain levels since it is logical to want to protect the rape victim from further psychological damage, however, in this case, the only way the woman can get any closure is in knowing the man who did it has been apprehended and faced the full force of the law. However, since this does not always happen, the victims project their emotions and hurt towards the unborn child making it the repetitive of the man who hurt them. In such a case, abortion may seem like the natural and even morally justifiable action, but only from a subjective perspective. The action has been justified by the fact that the pregnancy is unwanted due to the circumstances under which it was acquired. This reasoning will turn the woman into a criminal and the child into the victim that just elongates, without concluding the vicious cycle, in this case, the child has done no wrong, and is merely a victim of a rapist, like the woman. Consequently, an abortion even in this case would be immoral since it would be punishing someone who was not involved in the crime; therefore, such pregnancies are best carried to term and given up for adoption. While one may call this pregnancy unwanted, that is only by the mother but look at the big picture today in America, there are about 1.5 million American couples parents waiting to adopt a child (Lowan), from this perspective the term unwanted child looses meaning. Medical practitioners and professionals claim that since abortion is legal, it has become safer since it is no longer done in secret but in public clinic. This might be true to some extent, nonetheless, according to Beverly McMillan who opened the first ever abortion clinic in Mississippi 1975 (it is worth noting that she quit when she realized the abortions were doing more harm than good), abortions pose a myriad of medical risks, which may have escalated after it was made legal. This is because most of the abortions done before then were still done by doctors who were particularly careful to avoid having to take the patient to the emergency room. However, after it was allowed, they want to get as much work as they may do a less than perfect job exposing their patients to a myriad risks (McMillan). Few people are aware of the side effects and potential dangers abortion poses for the patient. Among these are propensities for ectopic pregnancies, infertility and increase in the chances of catching pelvic inflammatory diseases. Despite being aware of all this, they still provide the service to patients who are ignorant of the long-term risks. In countries where abortion is illegal, as is the case in many third world countries, the process is still carried out but at consummate risk to the women involved. Some of the pills they are made to take end up interfering with their reproduction system permanently research shows that 68,000 women succumb to abortion related complications annually all over the world (“Reproductive health: Safe abortion”). The other crude and gruesome means include inserting a sharpened hook up the vulva, and hacking the fetus into pieces and pulling them out. It is worth noting that by the age of around 25 weeks, the fetus is capable of sensing pain and sound. As such, an abortion at this stage will not only be murder but also torture of a young human being who will enter and leave the world in pain. On April 13 2010, the governor for Nebraska signed a bill restricting abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy based on infant pain (Smith). Through this example, the reader clearly sees the immoral aspect of abortion, which does not only include killing, but also torturing of innocent kids. Biological evidence points to the fact that life begins during conception, when fertilization occurs, the 23 chromosomes of the sperm fuse with the ovules 23 a new and biologically independent entity is formed from this. The new life has different genetic makeup, possibly, different blood group and will be an autonomous whole; its growth is internally directed (Lee and Robert 11). Furthermore, it is distinct from any cell in the father’s or mother’s body; this is to say that the fetus is just as human as the mother or father, just younger and more dependent on them. As such, when the mother decides to have an abortion she is planning to kill her unborn child regardless of whether the pregnancy is 2 days of 4 months old, this is analogous to plotting murder. There is no civilized country in the world where one is allowed to end another’s life unless acting in self-defense, defending property or other people. This means that the immorality is not only in the woman’s action is contemplating and, hence, committing premeditated murder. In countries where the same is allowed, the state and citizens who condone this are also accessories to this murder; this engulfs and weaves everyone who is a party to this into the web of immorality that is abortion. The fact that she does not get punished for this makes the immorality of it to be even more glaring. Ultimately, whichever way one looks at it, abortion constitutes pre-mediated murder, sometimes torture and eliminating a life that one is entrusted to protect and nurture. This is because the moment a woman realizes she is pregnant, she has a moral obligation to protect and take care of the fetus which she must consider human. Should she decide for whatever reason to eliminate the child, say, because she feels as a career woman she does not want a child as of yet, it is no different from strangling a two year old child for the same reason. As such, save the few circumstance where abortion may be moral such as in a case of ectopic pregnancy where the baby can be removed to prevent the mother’s death, which would result in both dying in any case, it remains an embodiment of the moral deprivation sections of the human race. Works Cited Fox, Pat. “Abortion in the Ancient and Premodern World”. About.com. 2012. Web. 26 July 2012. Lee, Patrick and George Robert. Wrong of Abortion, chapter 1. n.d. Web. 26 July 2012. “Reproductive health: Safe abortion”. n.d. Path.org. Web. 26 July 2012. Lowen, Linda. “10 Arguments For Abortion, 10 Arguments Against Abortion”. About.com. n.d. Web. 26 July 2012. McMillan, Beverly. “How Safe is Abortion?” AfterAbortion.org. 2012. Web. 26 July 2012. http://afterabortion.org/1999/how-safe-is-abortion-dr-beverly-mcmillan-former-abortionist/ Smith, Peter J. “Nebraska passes first ever bill banning abortion after 20 weeks”. Values Voter News. 2010. Web. 26 July 2012. Read More