Should Abortions Be Illegal - Essay Example

?Every month, many women realise that they are pregnant and would rather not be. Then the problem that begs more questions than answers is: What are the choices facing them? Many people believe that women should have the possibility of choosing an abortion in certain circumstances but the consequences of abortion vary the world over (Wharton, 1989). However, it is a “fact of life” that abortions occur and have always occurred in every society, whether legally or not. The subject of abortion is controversial especially during the contemporary period given that it is a serious moral issue that is often regarded as wrong. As such, abortion should be illegal given that it does not provide a long term solution to the recurrent problem of unwanted pregnancies especially among the teenagers. Abortion should not be treated as an option but concerted efforts should be made to address the root cause of this problem in every society. Against this background, this argumentative essay is going to argue in favour of the topic which suggests that abortion should be illegal. However, the second part will look at the topic from the other angle where some advocates argue that abortion should be legalised. A synthesis will be drawn at the end of the paper to summarise the main points discussed and defend the argument in favour of the topic. Tribe (1992, p. 3) posits to the effect that “no right is more basic than the right to live and the untimely death of a young child is among life’s most awful tragedies.” To cause such a death to an innocent soul is a great wrong which deserves to be treated with the contempt. The right to life is an inalienable right that is conferred to every person upon birth. However, in some instances, unborn babies are denied this right before even seeing the earth as a result of aborted pregnancies. Basically, abortion can be described as the process of terminating or ending unwanted pregnancies (Wharton, 1989). What is mind boggling is the fact that teen pregnancies are more common in many societies whereby it was estimated that more than one million American teenagers become pregnant every year (Gutman, 1987). On the other hand, according to information obtained from the following website, , The Center for Disease control says “that the United States has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the industrialized world whereby one-third of girls get pregnant before the age of 20.” It also states that Teenpregnancy.org, a site which is managed by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy has revealed that about 750 000 teen pregnancies are reported annually where eight out of ten of these are not planned. The trend is similar in many countries and abortion should not be treated as a viable option given that teenagers for instance indulge in sexual activities without properly weighing the consequences hence they should not have any legal right to terminate life unless otherwise it is beyond their control. There are many reasons why unplanned pregnancies occur and carelessness is one of them (Gutman, 1987). Some teenagers have misguided perceptions that they want to believe that having sex at an early age can prove their manhood or woman hood which is not correct. As a result, unplanned pregnancies are reported and this cannot be the problem of the unborn fetus in the womb given that it is life already developing which must not be ended unceremoniously. It is the responsibility of the mother in particular to ensure that they take preventive measures against unwanted pregnancies. For instance, the use of contraceptives such as pill as well as condoms is another viable way of preventing unwanted pregnancies. Instead of preferring abortion as the last resort, both men and women need to take responsibility for contraception since this is the best alternative to abortion. Abortion is therefore considered as murder hence cannot be condoned. No society likes abortion and the main task is to enable the women to avoid becoming pregnant when they feel that it is wrong to have a child. Contraception, education and enhancement of the women’s self esteem are key tools that can enable the women to make informed decisions about their lives. On top of that, one alternative to abortion is adoption (Wharton, 1989). Adoption during the contemporary period is becoming considerably acceptable among many societies across the globe. Instead of terminating the life of the baby, it is better to spare the life of the kid and let it be adopted by other foster parents or organisations which can take care of it. Legally, it is not good practice to terminate life of someone regardless of age. In this particular scenario, a developing fetus is treated as a living person who deserves to be given the opportunity to see the earth. It can be noted that abortion means terminating or ending life which should not be advocated. Babies do not apply to be born hence it is not their responsibility if the pregnancies are a result of unplanned sexual activities. The other reason why abortion should be illegal is that it can pose serious complications which can be fatal to the mother if administered by someone who is not a health care professional. According to Ross (2010), many women are endangered by abortion. He argues that not all abortions are handled in a manner that is both sanitary and done by professional people. As a result, the innocent lives of women are put into danger as they will seek help to terminate their pregnancies from inexperienced people which will pose a threat to them. In actual fact, abortion kills the mothers and it should be illegal since it is a threat to the lives of many people who can contribute to the development of the country or support their families. Life threatening practices are not advocated in society hence abortion should be illegal since it does not only end the life of the baby but will also expose the life of the mother to danger. However, unwanted pregnancies at times do occur and the very difficult decision to have an abortion is not taken lightly. For many it is the last resort in a desperate situation while some women during the contemporary period are viewing abortion as a positive step towards gaining control over their (Wharton, 1989). As such, abortion is seen as a viable tool to emancipate women from the bondage of unwanted pregnancies. Advocates of abortion have suggested various reasons to support the practice of abortion and in some countries with more liberal law, the state acknowledges that women have a right to make a decision about abortion. Countries like Denmark, Holland Sweden and France for instance have laws which legalize abortion in the early weeks although the time limit varies from country to country (Wharton, 1989). In some cases, pregnancy will be a result of circumstances beyond the mother’s control such that abortion will be the only viable solution. “Nothing is so devastating than life without liberty and a life in which one can be forced into parenthood is just such a life,” (Tribe, 1992, p. 3). Rape is among the most notable denials of liberty whereby compelling the women to keep the rapist’s child will be an assault on her humanity given that she will live with the trauma forever which will be detrimental to her wellbeing. In some cases, some pregnancies are life threatening to the mother such that the only viable alternative will be abortion. If the pregnancy is a result of rape, the mother will be traumatized for life hence it will be more prudent to terminate the pregnancy while still in the early weeks in order to save the life of the victim. In as far as the aspect of legalizing abortion is concerned, the principal case that behind this initiative is named Jane Roe v. Henry Wade, a case in which the Supreme Court said that except in narrow circumstances, the Constitution of the United States does not permit the government to interfere with a woman’s right to choose abortion (Tribe, 1992). Abortion was legalized in some states in the US as a result of the verdict that was passed by the Supreme Court which upholds the woman’s right to make decisions about her life with regards to termination of unwanted pregnancies. Other advocates of abortion suggest that abortion must be legalized as a result of various reasons. Green (1994) suggests that problems that arise after birth are more daunting than the pregnancy itself hence abortion will be the best solution. Many people choose abortion as a solution rather than give up their education or long term plans about their work as a result of unplanned and unwanted pregnancy. As outlined above, more than 80 per cent of unwanted pregnancies are reported among teenagers who are of school going age. It becomes a bit challenging for the expecting mother to take responsibility of the child as well as educational requirements. In such a scenario, the only viable option that will be left to the mother is to terminate the pregnancy so as to be better positioned to pursue other important things in life such as obtaining an education which can lead to better employment. On the other hand, abortion is chosen as an alternative as a result of economic hardships. Poverty is cited as one of the main reasons why women opt to terminate pregnancies since children are often viewed as expensive to keep especially if the mother is not working or is still of school going age. Other people opt to terminate their pregnancies as a result of different social reasons. Teenagers in particular will feel that having a baby will be too much responsibility for them given that they cannot independently sustain themselves. It is not easy in many societies to become a single mother especially without the support of the extended family (Wharton, 1989). On the other hand, it becomes apparent that men will leave their girlfriends if they become pregnant accidentally. The other social reason why people opt terminate the pregnancy is when they discover the sex of the child to be a girl. In some societies, girl children are not treated as valuable. From the discussion above, it can be noted that abortion should be illegal as a result of various reason. A summary of the main points raised in favour of this topic include the following: Tribe (1992) suggest that no one has the right to end life through abortion given that the children do not apply to be born. On the other hand, abortion can pose complications which can be fatal to the mother if administered by someone who is not a health care professional. According to Ross (2010), many women are endangered by abortion. He argues that not all abortions are handled in a manner that is both sanitary and done by professional people. It can be noted that no society likes abortion and the main task is to enable the women to avoid becoming pregnant when they feel that it is wrong to have a child. Contraception, education and enhancement of the women’s self esteem are key tools that can enable the women to make informed decisions about their lives. On top of that, one alternative to abortion is adoption (Wharton, 1989) which entails that life must not be ended for no apparent reason while there are some people who are prepared to look after the unwanted children. On the other hand, there are suggestions that some pregnancies should be terminated as a result of their origin as they deny other people their liberty (Tribe, 1992). Rape is among the most notable denials of liberty whereby compelling the women to keep the rapist’s child will be an assault on her humanity given that she will live with the trauma forever which will be detrimental to her wellbeing. Some argue that pregnancies should be terminated as a result of social and economic reasons whereby they may not be able to look after the kids as a result of financial problems. Many people choose abortion as a solution rather than give up their education or long term employment plans given that child rearing is a great responsibility which requires full commitment and adequate financial resources. In view of the main summary points of the argument above, it can be concluded that abortion should be illegal since the problems associated with it are more pronounced than the advantages that can be derived. Abortion is an issue with moral connotations and it postulates that there is no person with a right to end life. Abortion itself also has physical complications since it can be fatal if it is administered by an unprofessional person. Many cases of unwanted pregnancies are a result of reckless and careless behaviour hence measures should be put in order to ensure that life is not unnecessarily terminated. References Green, F.M. (1994). Real choices: Offering practical, life affirming alternatives to abortion. Oregon: Multnomah Books. Gutman, S.B. (1987). Teen pregnancy. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications Company. Ross, A. (21 May, 2010). Seven reasons why abortion should be illegal. Retrieved from http://allwomenstalk.com/7-reasons-why-abortion-should-be-illegal/ Teen pregnancy rates in USA (last updated 18 November 2009). Retrieved from http://www.livestrong.com/article/12504-teen-pregnancy-rates-usa/ Tribe, L.H. (1992). Abortion: The clash of absolutes. New York, NY: W.W. NORTON & COMPANY. Wharton, M. (1989). Understanding social issues: Abortion. London: Aladdin Books Ltd. Read More