Abortion: For and Against Arguments - Coursework Example

?Introduction Abortion is one of the highly debated issues in the world and the arguments set forth mostly relate to whether it is right or wrong. Abortion is the act of expulsing a human foetus prematurely. Statistics indicate that in every four women one has aborted at least once therefore indicating the intricacy of this matter. Other statistics emphasise that more than 42 million abortions are carried out on yearly basis across the world although the developed nations take 20 percent. Politicians, scientists, activists, religious leaders and the general public have as a result taken this issue and debated it on various platforms with some arguing in its favour and others to the contrary. These statistics are a clear indicator of how abortion has affected a great deal of the world’s population either directly or indirectly. Due to the grey nature of life-related issues statements are left for individual interpretations and this paper will look into whether abortion is right or wrong. Scientists have come to the fore with mixed sentiments on the issue of abortion. Some point out that a human being exists right from conception. These further stress that the terms zygote, embryo and foetus among others, that are at the centre of debate as to which is a human form and which is not, are merely stages of development in a new baby. They stress that a baby also has various names like infant and toddler depending on their age after birth. These scientific arguments connote that a baby is formed right from the time it is conceived and the human argument needs no debate (Baumgardner 2008). In the same scientific front there are those that refrain from the above descriptions. Some extremist opponents of these views state that life begins are birth. The others state that an unborn child is a living person but they differ on which stage of development a human being is formed. It is important to note that within the general population there are divisions in opinion with people falling under the above three categories in relation to when a baby starts being human. In this regards it is important to look into the various specific arguments for and against abortion. Arguments for abortion Pro-choice activists state that many abortions are done during the first trimester. At this stage of pregnancy the foetus is not able to survive outside the womb by itself. As such the argument set forth is that the foetus is just but a part of the woman’s body and not a separate entity and abortion is just but elimination this part. Human life formation should be differentiated from personhood. Those who support this view state that human life begins at conception but argue that the vitro fertilisation eggs which do not get implanted are often discarded. They further ask the question as to whether this is murderous or not and therefore fail to understand why when a woman does the same it is termed as murderous. Adoption on the other hand cannot be an alternative to abortion as some argue. They support this by stating that only less than 3 percent of women opt to offer their babies for adoption after birth. As such they state that aborting is a decision best left for a woman to make as going for adoption is a rare route after birth. Abortion, contrary to the popular belief, is medically safe and only 0.5 percent of the cases report serious complications (Naden 2007). Furthermore, pro-choice activists claim that it is not true that after an abortion a woman reduces their chances of a healthy pregnancy in future. They also argue that women who have undergone traumatising ordeals like rape should not be forced to maintain the pregnancy stating that they undergo grave psychological stress in these circumstances. Others argue that women become pregnant even after using contraception methods. Statistics indicate that of all the women who undergo abortions, just 8 percent do not use contraceptives. A section of civil rights activists also challenge the arguments against abortion stating that it is a woman’s right to control her reproductive lifestyle. They claim that doing so will only harm the principle of civil rights of women which will show gender biasness. Certain people put forth their claim that funding abortion activities by governments or other authorities has little, if any, difference from funding a war (Francome 2004). After all it is the poor women who access such funds and it is their right as tax payers to receive help from their governments or authorities. There is an argument based on what happens to many teenagers after giving birth. It is argued that they lose focus of their goals in life by first leaving school and joining the labour force with little pay. Psychologists have also come forth to state that prior to abortion a woman’s stress level is higher than in post abortion which means that those claims that it is psychological torture to have undergone an abortion are incorrect. Arguments against abortion Basing the argument on some scientists who state that life begins at conception, many people condemn abortion as a murder just like any other (Fiala and Gemzel-Danielsson 2006). These people believe that those who commit abortion violate all laws that aim at protecting human life and are out of touch with the concept of sanctity of human life. As such it is also believed that a civilised society should not allow someone to take the life of another at will and in case this happens like in abortion, all those involved should be punished by the law. Anti-choice sentiments are that millions of families are constantly in need for children to adopt meaning that adoption is a viable option for women. Some people also claim to have medical statistics that prove that after an abortion there is high likeliness for a woman to experience complications in later pregnancies e.g. ectopic pregnancies. When a woman is raped medical practitioners state that they have remedies that can hinder pregnancy. Those supporting this view state that the actual victim of such an incident is the unborn child and that the punishment should rightfully be accorded to the perpetrator (House Committee 2007). Anti-choice state that abortion is widely used by women as a form of contraception which they say is wrong. Having unsafe sexual practices is not an excuse in this day and age and committing an abortion due to some mistakes made earlier is a misplaced decision. Women should understand that with freedom comes responsibility and they need to take control of their body. This should be by use of available contraception methods but in case they are not an option then abstinence serves as the best alternative. It is rather cheaper to engage in safe practices than to deal with mistakes. Many religions are against abortion although their sentiments vary in the extent to which they feel it should be allowed or disallowed. They base their arguments on the moral grounds of abortion stating that life is sacred and that no human being has the authority to take life of another and that it is sinful. Those that are against the authorities funding abortion also state that such authorities do not have the moral grounds to channel tax payers’ money towards immoral acts (Beckwith 2007). A great deal of money is spent on abortion related incidents and governments ought to use such funds in more constructive projects. Another argument is that many of the women undergoing abortions are below 27 years of age and as such do not have sufficient life skills to understand the true extent of the consequences. Many result to deep regrets while others go into depression or even suicide. Those supporting this view state that people under this age should not be allowed to abort under any circumstance unless their doctors recommend it to save their lives. Lifelong stress and psychological agony befall those who abort. It is argued that it is better to handle a baby than to handle the stress of losing it through an abortion. Those in support of this view state that as much as abortion can be forgiven, it definitely cannot be forgotten and as such a woman lives with this for the rest of her life irrespective of whether they go for counselling or not (Brien & Fairbairn 1996; Feinberg & Feinberg 2010). There is another argument that states that abortion facilitates child abuse. This is based on the belief that accepting abortions in a society through the law or otherwise allows people to view children as expendable items. A whole society then lacks respect for children resulting in uncontrollable rising cases of abortions. There is also an argument for pro-choice that states that the world is currently overpopulated. This is countered by many studies that have shown that the world being overpopulated was a belief held in the past. A good number of nations and regions are producing more food than their local demand meaning that the world as it stands currently is self sustaining. There are also many lands that remain unutilised which also go to refute this claim. Abortion cannot therefore be a channel to depopulate the earth because as mentioned earlier, abstinence or the use contraceptives will easily control pregnancies. Conclusion Based on the above discussions it is clear to see that the debate on abortion cuts the population right into the middle. Legislations, motions and other interventions used to make abortion either legal or illegal have been and are being used all over the world. A possible conclusion that can be drawn is that the decision to abort or not should be left to the pregnant woman based on the many parties engage in the abortion debate. An alternative conclusion that can be made is that legislations should be put in place to prevent abortions from taking place. It is human nature to go to the extremes especially where there are no laws or weak ones exist. As such people become careless and engage in unsafe practices only to carry out abortions which can at times turn risky even when they are legal. However, in my opinion abortion should be legal only in those circumstances that clearly show that the life of the mother is in danger and an abortion is the only viable medical option. This opinion is supported by moral grounds and principles that I hold and by the facts presented above from the anti-choice activists. References Baumgardner, J 2008, Abortion & life, Akashic Books. Beckwith, F 2007, Defending life: A moral and legal case against abortion choice, Cambridge University Press. Brien, J & Fairbairn, I 1996, Pregnancy and abortion counselling, Routledge. Feinberg, JS & Feinberg, PD 2010, Ethics for a brave new world, 2nd end, Crossway. Fiala, C and Gemzel-Danielsson, K 2006, "Review of medical abortion using mifepristone in combination with a prostaglandin analogue". Contraception, vol. 74, no. 1, pp. 66–86. Francome, C 2004, Abortion in the USA and the UK, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Science and Technology Committee 2007, Scientific developments relating to the Abortion Act 1967: Twelfth report of session 2006-07, vol. 2, Oral and written evidence, The Stationery Office. Naden, J 2007, Abortion, Marshall Cavendish. Read More