Abortion Arguments Development - Coursework Example

Introduction Abortion is the process of ending a pregnancy prematurely. It is either medically performed in a clinic or hospital or through ingestion of abortion pills. Abortion can also occur on its own and in such situations it is referred to as a miscarriage. Abortion is unadvised unless medical complications occur. Spiritually, many religions consider abortion a mortal sin. If performed by an inexperienced person, it can lead to the death of the mother and that of the foetus. In the United States, the Supreme Court legalized abortion processes in 1973 under the Roe v Wade. Under this act, abortion was given a go under different conditions depending on the bearer of the pregnancy and its advancement. Medical considerations were also put in place. Statistically, some 20-30 million legal abortions are performed each year that is a significant number. 10-20 million illegal abortions are also inducted each year, which is unsafe and account for 13% of women's deaths brought by serious complications. This has led to the medical improvement of abortion procedures. Birth control pills and surgical processes are the commonly used methods of abortion now. Many activist agencies and groups have been in existence long before. Some of these are dedicated to advocating against abortion. Mostly they consist of religious societies such as the America: The National Catholic Review. They have dedicated their efforts to fighting against abortion and sensitizing people on the importance of safeguarding human life. Some other groups try to address the necessity of abortion. These groups try to pinpoint why it is necessary and when it is necessary to have an abortion. These activist groups help the people realize and evaluate themselves on the issue of abortion. Processes Involved In Abortion Abortion can be carried out in many stages of pregnancy. The preferred done is in the first trimester of pregnancy that ideally is before 12 weeks or 9 weeks. This reduces the chances of danger to the mother or of the failure of the process. After 12 weeks, the substantial risk of failure escalates and abortion is advised only in critical situations. These may be; If the pregnancy advancement risks the life of the mother If there is a chance the child, if born, will be seriously deformed or physically challenged If there is a chance that the pregnancy would not fully develop If there is a chance that the continuation of the pregnancy would pose physical or mental damages to the mother Depending on the advancement of the pregnancy, several means of abortion can be used. Most abortion procedures are labor induced. This can be through the administration of abortion pills or medications to trigger labor pains. The procedure can be performed during certain stages of pregnancy preferably 13 weeks. It is the commonly used method of abortion during the first trimester of pregnancy. In the first trimester, the commonly used method is Vacuum aspiration as it is the safest in the case of surgical abortion. It can be performed in a custom medical clinic. This reduces the chances of complications. The use of abortion pills such as RU-486 is more preferred under normal conditions at this stage of pregnancy. It induces early labor where the fetus is born, though not fully developed. In the second trimester, medication-based abortions become less safe. As such, surgical methods such as Dilation & Curettage (D & C), Dilation & Evacuation (D & E) and Induction Abortion are more preferred depending on its stage of growth of the fetus. Surgical processes are carefully carried out to remove the fetus. At this stage, the chances of damage are higher than in the first trimester. More qualified personnel is called for its induction and safer environments like a hospital are the best places to perform it. This increases the chances of survival of the mother. In the third trimester, mostly abortion is considered to be illegal. At this stage, the chances of survival of the mother are narrow. It is advisable under normal conditions to keep the pregnancy at this stage. In case of medical complications, some exceptions can be made based on some of the following scenarios; The mother may develop severe complications during birth The child may not be able to survive after birth The continuation of the pregnancy risks the life of the mother. During this time, few abortion methods are used. They include; 1. Induction Abortion where pills are given to the expected mother to induce labor pains. This triggers the process of birth, and the fetus is born. 2. Dilation and Extraction. This process involves a surgical procedure performed on the mother to remove the fetus. As chances of survival at this stage are minimal, careful considerations are made depending on the advancement of the foetus. It is commonly carried out in hospitals with legal authorizations. That way the chances of survival are increased and the mother is safe Private abortions are also carried out. These include hiring a doctor after contacting a clinic to help you. Illegal methods of abortions are also used. Mostly they involve the use of abortion pills. These pills basically induce labor pains, and the fetus is born the processes are always unsafe as they are carried without medical expertise. This increases the risk of death to the mother hence introduction of laws forbidding it. Historically, traditional methods of abortions were also used. It involved mostly ingestion of herbs that triggered the process of childbirth. It was performed by traditional medicine men under cultural practices and beliefs. Before someone have an abortion, they should first evaluate the several scenarios possible if they do have it and if they don’t have it. If a pregnant mother is experiencing difficulties in her pregnancy, then abortion can be called for. In other situations where no complications are not evident, then the following scenario questions could be considered; What will happen if I keep the pregnancy and deliver? What will happen if I decide to have an abortion? Is giving birth at the age am at desirable? What can happen if the abortion fails? What will be my state psychologically after aborting? What will be my family’s take on the issue? Can I manage to keep the pregnancy and still assume a normal life? What would have been the case if I had been aborted? Depending the scenario one is pregnant; it is then possible to make up one’s mind on whether to or not to have an abortion. From these and many more questions, abortion can be argued from two fronts, namely ‘for abortion’ and ‘against abortion.' For abortion From a major point of view, when one is schooling and at a younger age, having an abortion is advisable. This way one can get their minds focused on their studies. The presence of a pregnancy offers to be a distraction can lead to poor performances. Also, as a teenager or of a younger age, one is always inexperienced on parental responsibilities. If they give birth at that age, they won’t be able to manage their studies as well as give full attention to bringing up a child. From CASE STUDY 1 about the dilemma of Teenage Abortion, Janice should have an abortion as she is still schooling and still of tender age aged 15. She clearly doesn’t have any idea on how to raise a child. On the other end, Bob is also young to be a father. As much as the pregnancy is his responsibility there is no way he could manage to focus on his studies while tending on the pregnant Janice and eventually on the future baby. In this situation, abortion relentlessly becomes the most effective solution. On the hand, the scenario of whether to keep a pregnancy or not can be influenced by many factors like age and financial status. Clearly for Janice and Bob, they depend on their parents for financial support so keeping the pregnancy may not a sensible solution. As much as their parents may decide to step up and help them it is not known for how long they will do that and what level of financial support they are willing to offer. Therefore, Bob and Janice may be left in a dilemma on how to support their kid. What will be my family’s take on the issue? This should always ring a bell when someone decides to have an abortion, and they had informed their families of the pregnancy. Many families would take to say no on the take, and some may be supportive. Depending on one’s family, the decision may to some extent lie into them, especially in the case of a minor. The family may decide to bar even them from attending various locations or meeting with some people. The expectant mother will now have to deliver the child as little does she have control of the issue. On the other side, some families may decide to support fully the idea of abortion. They may even offer to cater for the charges as in the case of STUDY CASE 1 where Janice’s’ father supports her daughter having an abortion unlike the mother who is spiritual and against the idea. The resulting antagonism in such a family may lead to Janice being lost on what is right to do and what not to as both parents have a different take on the issue. Medical complications may also be considered. If one has developed a concerning complication during her pregnancy, it may be advisable to terminate it. In STUDY CASE 3 about Tay-Sachs couple, Rachel is not able to keep her pregnancy as the child she is carrying will be born fatally disadvantaged in growth and survival. In such a case, she can have an abortion so as to avoid the inevitable suffering to the child and them as parents. This way the medical complication repudiates them the chance of keeping the pregnancy and bringing forth the child. This way, clinical abortion is a necessity for both the child and the parents. Also for CASE STUDY 4 about Lupe and Robert whose developing child has a down syndrome, abortion is considered the best solution. Accordingly, their age still gives them a chance to give birth to more healthy children. According to them, they would prefer to give birth to a mentally healthy child rather than one who is mentally challenged. As much as the child could be born alive and their survival partially guaranteed, the truth about seeing them suffer from their given conditions offers a base to support their abortion. It is a medical choice to be made and not deciding to play God and decide who lives or dies. This way, numerous medical situations could affect the being and termination of a pregnancy for medical reasons. In some societies, having a child out of wedlock may be considered wrong. When one gets pregnant in such situations, keeping the pregnancy may not be advisable. The society may decide to shun her, or even people turn their backs on her. This makes it impossible to keep the pregnancy without substantial support. Despite the mother's will to or not to have an abortion, she may be forced to go for it for her sake. Some pregnancies occur as a result of intimacy mistakes such as incest. When this happens, and one is not ready to take responsibility for keeping the pregnancy and raising the normal child, then abortion can be advised. This way one gets the chance to recover their mistakes and thus helping them plans for their pregnancies. Unplanned responsibilities are out of their way, and hence distractions in making choices and advancing their lives are withdrawn. Women have the right over their bodies. This way having an abortion is their choice to make. Putting restrictions on what they can or can’t do with their freedom is limiting their rights. By-laws restricting their having of an abortion barely restrain them from exercising their rights. Therefore when an expectant woman decides to have an abortion, then she should not be restricted. This gives them a sense of belonging as they know that the society does not interfere with their lives. Also, medical complications may be developed by the mother. This way an abortion can be called for her medical security. In CASE STUDY 6 for multiple births, the use of family planning and birth control pills have made unplanned for pregnancies to occur. This way the affected mothers decide to have an abortion as they are financially challenged, and their wishes violated. As much as it sounds non-fatal, the situations are brought about by medical complications and according to the victims having an abortion is the best option. Otherwise, they could not have managed to raise the children in a healthy manner. The case of four to six fetuses in the same womb may not be a healthy case for the expectant mother as the pregnancy advances. This uncertainty may encourage abortion to safeguard the life of the mother. Some pregnancies occur due to results of shameful actions such as rape. The woman feels defiled and dishonored, and if she gets pregnant from the act, she may decide to terminate the pregnancy. This way, she has the essential reasons to involve in the act. She should be allowed to undergo the procedure so as to get rid of the fetus. This reduces chances of blame from the act that could have been directed towards the child. Also, after giving birth, the mother could become traumatized if the sight of her child reminds her of the shameful act. This could increase her chances of having psychological implications. Abortion, therefore, helps in mitigating these chances hence it is advised. When Bill and Isabel decide that Isabel has an abortion because of the sex of the likely child in CASE STUDY 5, it brings about the question of whether having several kids in a family of the same sex is good. As much as the child is deemed to grow a healthy girl they decide against it. As awful as it may be they had decided to weigh the option of having three girls and one boy and having three girls that the former outweighed the latter hence the abortion. It may be an risky decision to make but according to their perspective it was the right thing to. Not all abortions are successful especially if they are performed illegally. Some may even result in the death of the expecting mother. If performed in a healthy environment like in a clinic by a professional then the chances of survival gradually increase and in such a case abortion is encouraged. Negative marriage states may also discourage the idea of giving birth. If it’s divided and the mother is unable to support the child by herself then going for an abortion may help her avoid unnecessary complications. Separations during early stages of pregnancy may encourage the mother to go for an abortion if she doesn’t want to raise a child of the ex-husband. A clinical and legal abortion can be justified to cut the ties of the mother with the husband even though it is at the expense of the child. When Janice’s father advises and supports her to have an abortion, his reasons her based on her daughter's education. He is concerned that if she goes on and keeps the pregnancy then her education will be faulted. He advises her, together with Bob, to have an abortion so as to save her career. At this scenario, Janice has to consider the assurance of her future even if it is at the expense of the child. Being only 15 years old it is too early to leave maybe school to nurture her child. Therefore, abortion would save her career. Hence it would be wise to go for it. During pregnancy, a mother may develop complications from several triggers such involvement an accident that reduces the chances of survival of a child or fetus. These risks may also put in danger the life of the mother if the pregnancy is continued. Therefore, a decision may have to be made to terminate the pregnancy so as to minimize these risks. Abortion, therefore, could be advised as the only solution. Against Abortion Humane moralities teach us that having an abortion is wrong. As it involves the process of ending the life of the fetus, abortion becomes uncalled for. As she was growing up, Janice had been taught by her mother on the importance of safeguarding life through her spiritual guidance. Janice, therefore, knows that despite all the screaming reasons in front of her to have an abortion that it is wrong to. Nobody has the right to take another one’s life, and legal measures should be taken upon them. Based on these facts, abortion should, therefore, be not discouraged unless there is a substantial reason to. In some circumstances, having an abortion may not be advisable. As it generally involves taking away the life of the child. Encouraging abortion as Janice’s dad and Bob encouraged her to will be an act of supporting murder. From the spiritual point of view, abortion is a sin. It is discouraged in the Holy Scriptures notably the Bible. It should never be encouraged, and its practice is against Gods will. Taking a person’s life intentionally is a mortal sin. All the teachings taught by God through his words always discouraged against taking another human's life. God created each and every one of us in his image. This belief makes Janice, and her mother fight the idea of Janice having an abortion. According to their faith, having an abortion is wrong as it is an act of sin before God. In We are in no position to call the shots on who lives and who dies as we are not God. All life should be given a chance to grow and survive as we all are. Everyone has a right to live, and we can’t be justified by taking that away from them through abortion. The most basic argument against abortion can be raised through answering the question; what would have happened if I was aborted? According to an article by Bob Seidensticker on October 13, 2013, on the Patheos, “Murder is wrong because it takes away a future like mine. If we found intelligent humanoids like us on another planet, killing them for sport would be wrong for this reason. And this is why abortion is wrong—it takes away a future like mine.” One gets to understand more the essential aspect of respecting human life and refraining from abortion. If we all had been aborted, then there would be none of us living. We are no different from a developing foetus and we are not better off as we went through the same stage of growth. This gives us a big reason to appreciate and support life n matter the stage it is. We don’t chose who we are or to whom we are born to hence the necessity to give a developing foetus a reason to be alive as us. In some societies and cultures, abortion is thought as being an abomination. Depending on what society an expectant mother has been brought up in, having an abortion may not augur well for her. Beliefs such as curses and disrespect to gods may make her people banish her. This way life would be hard for her if she was not fully adapted to the ways of life and nobody could be readily available to support her. In such a case, she may be forced to keep the pregnancy for fear of what may befall her. There are many child adoption agencies. If one conceived a child and had no plans for it they can give it up for adoption through those agencies. One can visit these agencies after giving birth and give up their child for adoption. As such there will be no need to encourage abortion. An unborn fetus can be given a chance to live. As it may be, abortion is not safe. Most abortions are not regulated and are mostly performed by inexperienced people under unsafe conditions. Opting to go for one in such conditions is basically attempting to gamble with death. According to an article on TFP Student Action, the National Cancer Institute commissioned a study lead by Dr. Janet Daling, an abortion supporter, and her colleagues at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center which found a link between abortion and cancer: "among women who had been pregnant at least once, the risk of breast cancer in those who had experienced an induced abortion was 50% higher than among other women." The Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer reports: "28 out of 37 comprehensive studies have independently linked induced abortion with breast cancer. Thirteen out of fifteen studies conducted on American women report increased risk. Seventeen studies are statistically significant, sixteen of which found increased risk. Most of the studies have been conducted by abortion supporters." Clearly, abortion has not only an almost immediate chance of death but also long ones. In many countries, the governments have introduced child support programs which help mothers who have given birth financial support to raise their children. Expectant women could capitalize on these initiatives and instead of going for an abortion help themselves raise their babies. This way the governments are giving unborn babies a chance to live hence discouraging chances of abortion. Janice and Bob can manage to keep their unborn baby and raise it as its father and its mother. If both Janice’s parents had offered to support her and help her bring up the child, then Bob could have gotten convinced against going for an abortion. In this situation, the division of the parents’ opinions virtually misguides her, and she is torn between whether to or not to have an abortion. Bob on the hand may not be able to give a strong opinion as he is more concerned about his future and his studies. In this case, the support of the parents for the child could determine its survival hence abortion wouldn’t need to be a necessity. Being of the right age to give birth and being able to support a child doesn’t encourage abortion. The child could grow up and realize its potential unlike if it had been aborted. Therefore, in this case, it is necessary to keep the pregnancy despite its scenarios of being and raise the child rather than going for an abortion. This way a new happy life gets the chance to live. As life begins before conception, deciding a certain stage of growth as the stage a fetus can be called a person is not right. According to Victoria Woodhull, the first woman to run for president (in 1872), concurred. In her newspaper, Woodhull and Claflin’s Weekly, Woodhull wrote: “The rights of children, then, as individuals, begin while they yet remain the foetus.” Woodhull and her sister, Tennessee Claflin, declared, “Pregnancy is not a disease, but a beautiful office of nature.”(America. The National Catholic Review, 2015). Accordingly, life at all stages of growth should be respected. Many considerations are put in place before an abortion is induced. Many more risks are involved in having an abortion. These risks may pose a danger to the mother or the people around her. Some of these post-abortion risks that are involved include, Hemorrhage, which is excessive bleeding. When this occurs, the chances of damage to the mother or even death are increased. Hence, the procedure for abortion should be clearly analyzed, and the pregnancy advancement confirmed. The state of the mother's body is also put into consideration to avoid such cases Psychological trauma. After abortion has been done, the feeling of guilt may engulf the woman. This brings about psychological damages which unless a therapy is given may get physical and even lead to physical damages. In such cases, the expectant woman should first be given psychological help before performing an abortion to avoid the maybe-resulting trauma. Post-abortion counseling is also advised to help the mother accept the process and to settle her thoughts. This reduces chances of succumbing to self-guilt after the act Also, physical damage to the mother’s womb may happen. To minimize this, a clear and safe method of abortion should be considered. Just because one wishes to have an abortion doesn’t mean they don’t want to have more children in the future. To avoid a scenario of no more children, great care should be taken to avoid damage to the mother Damage to the cervix can be a resulting flaw of abortion. Surgical abortions should be carried by properly qualified and trained personnel to minimize the chances of this happening. Chances of contracting an infection during the act of abortion. In the case of use of a suction machine that involves its introduction inside the woman’s vagina, if it’s not sterilized, it can cause infections to the mother. This could endanger her life hence the process of abortion should not be entirely advised. During later stages of pregnancies, surgical methods of abortion are usually advised. In such cases, the resulting incisions may develop implications in the future. This could be maybe if they were not carefully made or attended to after. They may develop conditions that would endanger the life of the woman. Also during an abortion, there is never a full certainty of success. One may die in the process. Its induction should, therefore, be entirely and carefully analyzed to reduce the chances of that happening. In unfavorable conditions, abortion should never be advised or encouraged so as so as to safeguard the life of the expectant mother Accordingly, having an abortion sometimes remains the only option. From the essay, these reasons can be summarized as the following points; Abortion is advised only if continuation of a pregnancy poses a risk to the mother and the child In the case of unforeseen triggers such as an accident and the chance of survival of the pregnancy and the kid is minimized. When a fetus develops advanced health and growth complications which reduce its chances of survival If the continuation of a pregnancy and eventual conceiving of the fetus will psychologically affect the mother a greater deal. This may be if the pregnancy was due to an act of sexual harassment such as rape or because of shameful acts such as incest. Many initiatives have been put in place to encourage or discourage abortion. Depending on one’s take on the issue, one can deduce their course of the way to abortion. Many medical complications justify its being done. Unless with an original condition or solution, abortion should never be a choice. People should learn to protect lives and encourage pregnant women on the importance of having a child. This way as a society we will help each other to fit comfortably without any chances of segregation. References Messerli, Joe. "Should Abortion Be Banned (Except in Special Circumstances Like Saving the Mother's Life)?" Balanced Politics 17 March 2007 Joffe, Carole (2009). "1. Abortion and medicine: A sociopolitical history". In M Paul, ES Lichtenberg, L Borgatta, DA Grimes, PG Stubblefield, MD Creinin. Management of Unintended and Abnormal Pregnancy (PDF) (1st ed.). Oxford, United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. ISBN 978-1-4443-1293-5. Archived from the original on 21 October 2011. Spitz IM, et al. (1998). Early pregnancy termination with mifepristone and misoprostol in the U.S. New England Journal of Medicine, 338 (18): 1241-1247. Read More