Abortion Should not be Legal - Essay Example

Abortion Should not be Legal Abortion has been a controversial for centuries across the globe. Althoughthe fetus may not be scientifically a human being, there is budding humanity within it; and hence trying to terminate fetus must be considered as criminal offense of killing a human being. Not many of the world’s population have realized the effects caused by the abortion and its impacts on the society. Abortion is considered to be immoral crime affecting not only the mother but also the family, the community, and most significantly the fetus. To undergo an abortion is not an easy decision that makes rather complicated condition and tied up with severe consequences. The pregnant woman who might soon to become a mother should endure the process of abortion where the fetus is slaughtered within the uterus and extract from the mothers body. The decision making regarding the abortion often turns out to be a regrettable option. The parents may think abortion is the only right thing to do at the time but in a while, they may recognize that they actually needed to keep the child and it is too late. And thereon, it affects individuals, family, and the society who said ‘yes’ to the abortion process to be done. Therefore, by legalizing the act, no one is left with a choice, where anyone who says ‘yes’ to abortion must be liable for punishment. Abortion adversely affects the teens and youths by perverting them that there is a crooked way out of the unwanted pregnancy. The awareness should be given to the teens on the effectiveness of abstinence from unwanted sex, by which they do need not worry about the consequences of unwanted pregnancy. The abortion has circulated erroneous belief among the teens that there will not be any serious consequences for premarital sex and unwanted pregnancy as they can be erased out with the help of abortion. Thus, the first step taken at the implementation of the restriction on abortion must be to provide the teens with adequate information about unwanted pregnancy and its adverse effects. In addition, another point to illegalize abortion according to Wardle and Nolan is, it affects families and influences the ethical culture and background of the family; and the younger siblings or relatives can be defectively swayed by the conduct of the elders in the family (137). It simply means that aborting a fetus will not contribute to any role modeling skill to show off to your younger ones. Such decisions made regarding abortion can even tear families apart. It becomes tougher for a female to live in a family that forced her to undergo abortion. The consequences are too hard that even the parents of the girl who had an abortion may ask her to keep away from her younger siblings in order to avoid bad influence. Subsequently, such situations may cause more psychological traumas to the girl. The greatest impact of abortion is on the women who must suffer the most out of the process. Many of the major medical journals published recently shows that abortion contributes to increased suicide, clinical depression, and psychiatric problems in women. A renowned psychotherapist Theresa Burke, PhD, has written in her recently published book Forbidden Grief that in many ways women can be tormented for the abortion undergone for years (Beckman). She had brought forward many personal accounts and events that contribute more than the sufficient evidence to reject the particular political view point that abortion not mattes. She puts in that 65-70 percent of women who undergo abortion hold a negative attitude towards the procedures (Beckman). The effects of the abortion on women start at the very beginning of the abortion process. As Barnes describes, the most conventional method of abortion is the surgical method vacuum aspiration, where the mother suffers form excess bleeding, pelvic infection, abdominal swelling, cervical tears, and in extreme cases death too. Another method used for abortion is taking mifepristone followed by misoprostol which often puts the mother into severe health issues such as excessive uterine bleeding and ruptured ectopic pregnancy (Barnes). The women also have to face the after effects of the process in terms of recurrent uterine pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. It is horrible to note that nobody else is affected by the aftereffects of abortion as the mother of the aborted child faces with psychological as well as health problems throughout her life. Some of the most terrific physical and mental problems faced by the women after abortion are – ‘stress, anemia, depression, inability to conceive again, guilt of conscious of abortion, suicide attempt, cramping, and vomiting’ (“Pregnancy”). Apart from the health issues, the women after abortion have chances of substance abuse from the public. After abortion women are more than twice tended toward the consumption of drugs, for the purpose of forgetting the events and to feel better. They feel emptiness within themselves after the abortion and always try to fill it. They undergo psychological disorders after the abortion as suffering from shame and guilt, sometimes even for years. Reports show that 42% of the women who terminated their pregnancies suffered major depression, 39% of them with anxiety and 27% of them experienced from suicidal ideation due to post abortion stress (Barnes). Wherever abortion is legal, the girls are faced with terrible pressure from their family and boyfriends to terminate their pregnancy, often against their will. No one is affected or lives with the consequences of the abortion other than the girl who had endured one. She is told that there is no other option other than abortion and never given a chance to weigh out all the possible options. All religions around the globe are in opposition to abortion and it is against God’s law in their Holy books such as Bible and Quran. It is God alone who decides who should live and who else should die. Many religious teachings say that killing babies is sinful and immoral and against the religious norms. Abortion is regarded to be a regrettable decision for the parents as they cannot reverse or change the decision once executed. Therefore the law must make sure that people are not getting any chance to make such decision. If the parents of the unborn child are not in a position to bring up the baby, they could opt for adoption rather than abortion so that they would at least know that their child is alive. Most unfortunately, not many people are kind enough or at least logically ample to understand that fetus too have rights, the right to live. It is true that if a person shoots down an eagle, the symbol of United States, the judiciary will put him behind the bars but the same is not happening in the case destroying a human being inside the womb. Such an issue should be looked into not only in terms of the personal right of a citizen but also in terms of criminal law. The civilization does not mean that the life of the unborn can be spared or they don’t deserve the right to live. It is alarming to find out that life of the unborn are considered so inexpensive and it thereon has created a situation where hospitals have been made into butchery house and doctors into slaughters. It is unethical and morally unacceptable that children though not born are thrown out into the landfill. It is an important factor to make sure that the rights of fetus are protected. There are rays of hope that the figures tends to come down in the most recent years. The number of abortions per 1,000 women, between the age of 15 to 44 are depicted in the following illustration. The figures are form 1973 to 2008. (Source: “Facts on induced abortion”) Another illustration is given below stating the time-percentage rate of abortion in the year 2006. From the figure we find that most of the abortions are done within the period of first 9 weeks and eighty-eight percent of abortions occurred in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy during 2006. (Source: “Facts on induced abortion”) In total, abortion has no logical aspect at all. It is an irreversible procedure that destroys the individual and the families. There are other numerous options rather than killing ones own child. Therefore, abortion should be made illegal in all the nations or else people would easily make way out of offences they made. Works Cited Beckman, Bill. Psychological impact of abortion on women. Illinois Right to Life Committee: Spring/Summer 2003 IRLC News, 2003. Web. 11 Aug 2011 Barnes, Sarah. The long term effects of abortion on women. The –Gospel.org. 2011. Web 11 Aug 2011 “Facts on induced abortion in the United States”. Guttmacher Institute. 2011. Web 11 Aug 2011 “Pregnancy: Side effects of abortion”. Parentingnation.in. 2011. Web Aug 2011 Wardle, Lynn D and Nolan, Laurence C. Fundamental Principles of Family Law. New York: William S. Hein & Co., Inc, 2006. Print. Read More