The Issue of Abortion - Essay Example

Abortion has been legalized more than 30 years ago and since that time approximately 30 million American women had abortions. The issue of abortion has become more than merely the matter of controlling the body and life. It has become the matter of human murder. Clinical research has proved that despite of the anesthesia, 90 percent of women having abortions reported having physiological pain during the procedure. 30 percent of these women reported having severe and intense pain which is more painful that the bone fracture and is of the same severity as the cancer pain. Moreover, the scientific evidence supports the notion that abortions cause psychological harm to women. Society has divided in its opinion over the right of women to have abortion. The pro-life movement was initiated with the aim to persuade women in preserving human life. The pro-life thinking is based on three foundations: people (even criminals) have the right to live and it is morally wrong to kill, fetus is the distinct human being from the very moment of conceptions, and women have the duty to preserve the life even if the pregnancy is not wanted. Fetus is the human creature Science tells that the pregnant woman has the new life inside which is completely new human being. Notably, when most abortions take place, the baby has already beating heart and brain waves. The unborn baby, fetus, is the unique human being, just as his mother and father, and he deserves being protected by law and granted the right to live. According to statistics, most of the abortions are performed after nine weeks of pregnancy and the potential mother becomes the murder of the fetus who already has active brain and beating heart. It can be argued that fetus is the human being and is not a person. However, medicine points out that the fetus is the living organism, he is alive from the moment of conception (Klusendorf 12). Of course, it is possible to say that the living organism is not yet a person, but fetus is nothing other than the human creature. At the moment the sperm and egg are united, 23 chromosomes from the father and 23 chromosomes from the mother are brought together. Fetus has unique DNA from this very moment. Fetus is not the potential life, he is the human being who is growing and getting older. Fetus depends on nutrition so that he can grow. The fetus is not the sperm or an egg and he is not the unity of the both. His development is self-directed and progressive. Sperm and egg cannot develop, while the fetus can. Moreover, fetus shares all characteristics with the born child or the adult human. He has his own blood system, heart, brain, two arms, two legs – he is the human being but incapable of independent existence and dependable on his mother. Society punishes murders because it is illegal and immoral to kill. Abortions are also murders because in the result of this procedure the human creature is deprived of the right to live. Fetus is the distinct person In addition to being the human creature, fetus is the distinct person, not part of the female body like similar to lips or hair. The woman has no right to decide whether the fetus should be killed or not because even though fetus depends on nutrition on his mother, he is not part of her body. If this assumption is false, how it is possible that mother and the child have different blood types – their blood is not mixed as it should be if the female and fetus are the same body. Notably, if the blood of the mother and the child is mixed, it can lead to the fatal result for the child (Alcorn 211). If the doctor kills the born child, it is the crime. How can be the killing of the unborn child be considered normal? If to live the religious aspects of the debate out of the current discussion, it still can be stated with confidence that the life of the child begins not at the moment of birth, but at the moment of conception. The beginning of the life is not the religious issue, it is the biological fact. The unborn child is the human creature. It is interesting how these unborn humans can be denied life and later be granted rights. The unborn child can die in the accident, inherit the house and become the CEO of the multinational corporation. The American legislation has even delayed the capital punishment of the pregnant women (in 1974). Thus, the key question is when the child receives the right to live? The answer is easy and logical – at the moment he receives life, which is the moment of conception. Unwanted Pregnancy Some of the females try to justify their choice of abortion with the unwanted pregnancy, rape or other social issues. Some people claim that the unwanted children are often abused. However, if the mother does not want to have the child, it does not mean that the child is not wanted in another family. There are millions of couples who are not able to have children and they are willing to give all their love and care to the child. In addition, the right of humans to live does not depend on someone’s desire to want them. The pregnancy in the result of the abuse is seen as psychologically difficult to bear by some women. However, today society developed numerous social programs which provide counselling, housing and even job training for the women with unwanted pregnancies (Baird 132). It is important to note that no correlation has been found between unwanted pregnancies and abuse of the child. Moreover, statistics shows that wanted children are more often abused. If the woman does not want to have the child, but she is pregnant, it does not give her the right to decide whether the child should be born or killed. For example, someone may not like the neighbour living across the street or may not want to pay taxes, but this dislike does not give the person the right to kill the neighbour or to avoid paying taxes based on purely dislike. The same attitude should be applied to the unborn child. Research indicates that most of the unwanted pregnancies are not the result of the abuse, but the result of the indifference and improper birth control. Rebuttals Pro-choice, as the opposite opinion to pro-life, is based on the assumption that fetus is the part of the female body and woman should be granted the right to decide whether or not she wants to give life to it. As it was already noted, fetus is the separate, even though dependable, part of the female body. The child is a living human since the moment of conception. In addition, most of the pro-choice supporters forget about the psychological outcomes of having an abortion. Women suffering from Post-Abortion Syndrome are vulnerable to the drug abuse, communication difficulties, and even the attempt suicide. The syndrome may last for the many years. Thus, not only the unborn child is lost for society, but also the woman. Even if the syndrome is not experienced by the women after having an abortion, the feeling of guilt and regret will be definitely experienced. In conclusion, even if the woman does not want or did not plan to have the child, abortion should not be seen as the solution. The unborn child is not the problem which should be solved, he is the living creature from the very moment of conception. Fetus is not the part of the female body, he is the dependable human creatures who develops within the female body. Women pregnant with the unwanted child are not obligated to raise this child, there are many families who dream about taking care of the little human. In addition, many women with unwanted pregnancies became loving mothers – it is very common that the motherhood feelings appear only after the birth of the child. The supporters of the pro-choice side take the issue of personal choice of the woman into account, but none of them thinks about the rights of the unborn human. Abortion is not the solution, it is the murder. Works Cited Alcorn, Randy. Pro-Life Answers to Pro-Choice Arguments Expanded & Updated. Multnomah Publishing, 2000. Baird, Robert and Stuart Rosenbaum. The Ethics of Abortion: Pro-Life Vs. Pro-Choice (Contemporary Issues). Prometheus Books, 2001. Klusendorf, Scott. Pro-Life 101: A Step-by-Step Guide to Making Your Case Persuasively. Stand to Reason Press, 2002. Read More