When one talks about teenage pregnancy, there is a possibility that abortion would enter the discussion. With many teenagers slowly getting pregnant in a young age, many young couples opt to undertake abortion to get away from the responsibilities attached in being a young parent. Arguments have already dominated various discussion forums and mediums in allowing young couples to abort their babies legally. Many groups have vehemently argued against the legalization of Abortion as this is against the moral teachings of the Church, and it would also affect the young mother in the long run. Others believe legalization would reduce the number of abortion cases in the country, and stringent regulations would force young couples to stop their plans of aborting their children. There have been some countries that have already legalized abortion, but this is still questioned by many groups on the acceptability of legalizing an act that kills a life. Although abortion would be somewhat lessened if the regulations are enforced strictly by the government, the notion of allowing abortion in a morally uptight society would cause uncertainties, reservations for those who commit the act, and the law will not be accepted by society. Legalization would also present risks for the mother, and show the lack of responsibility over the action of many teenage couples today.
The major argument when it comes to the legalization of abortion is the concept of life, whether or not abortion could be considered as a murder of a human soul. The right to live has always been repeated constantly in the Ten Commandments and in the teachings of other religions. The importance of life does not exempt anyone, whether the subject is fetus or something with life like animals. Pro-life groups, in the leadership of the Catholic Church and other religious leaders, stress that a human embryo, no matter how old it is or how big it is, it already has a life as it has already been seen in the mother’s womb. Pro-abortion legislation believes that the fetus does not have a right to exist or can be killed legally because it has no soul. Others have noted that a fetus does not have a soul to embody its human presence or could pass as a regular human being. Although the religions have similarities to their idea of life’s importance, religions vary as to when a fetus could be considered with a soul or when it is a mortal sin to forcefully kill the fetus. In Islam, the doctrine teaches Muslims that the ensoulment of the soul happens after 120 days on the formation of the fetus in the womb. If the mother decides to abort the child after the 120 days ensoulment, Islam sees it as a mortal sin that is more terrible than committing the act before the 120 days finishes its duty .
For the Roman Catholic Church, ensoulment of a fetus happens after 16 weeks of the development of the fetus. Ensoulment can be deemed finish once the first movement of the fetus is felt by the mother. This particular belief has been revised in the 1869 amendment of the Church’s teachings on life. The amendment now states that the ensoulment process happens immediately once the fetus develops. Christianity also sees abortion as a double sin, which covers two commandments. Christianity believes that a person who commits or undergoes abortion not only takes away the life of the fetus, but also subjects it to a life without hope of salvation. This stance has maintained its position as Christianity’s ultimate rebuttals when it comes to arguing against the legalization of abortion. Judaism also follows the arguments of Christianity, however it believes that ensoulment happens after 16 weeks as noted by the Scriptures. These religious positions have cemented the majority of the moral beliefs over abortion, thereby stressing that like born human beings, foetuses also have equal rights to live as he has a soul that completes his humanity. This also proves to show that if abortion is legalized, this would signify that disabled people (such as foetuses) are insignificant as compared to a normal person .
In relation to the position of the church, many pro-life supporters note that a fetus is a full human person by the time of his conception. In this case, it is then the duty of the parent or of any reasonable adult to ensure that the fetus would come to no harm, regardless of the quality of life the parents have. Patrick Lee, a known pro-life supporter and one of the key proponents of the fetus’ personhood argument, summarized the argument through the use of a syllogism:
Intentionally killing an innocent person always is morally wrong. Abortion is the intentional killing of an innocent person. Therefore, abortion is always morally wrong.
Pro-life supporters also explain that human life begins immediately after conception, as soon as the chromosomes from the sperm of the father and the ovum of the mother combine to form the embryo of the child. They also add that a person’s genetic structure is already founded on the time of the conception, and since it is structured through conception, the genetic structure now programs the creation of the person’s individuality. From this point on, the life inside the womb is as valuable as human life. Although the arguments pertaining to the ensoulment varies, pro-life supports notes that by valuing the conception of a human child inside the mother’s womb, it is crucial that people would not act immorally and irrationally to the fetus as it is an innocent and sacred life .
Pro-life arguments also state that foetuses could still feel pain even if they are in the developing state, especially if they are entering the twenty-two week. If this is the case, according to pro-life supporters, then the fetus inside the womb has a soul that feels the pain. Therefore, it can be concluded that a fetus is already a person who could feel pain like any other person. Although there are still arguments that foetuses are still not full-fledged humans in a moral perspective in any religion or sect, it is undeniable that the fetus already contains the genetic makeup and blueprint of a human being. As the weeks pass by, the fetus slowly evolves to a person, preparing for his birth to the world. These facts are shared by Catholics in ruling that legalization would be morally wrong as abortion would remove the importance of life and deprive those innocent children life. If abortion is legalized and accepted, society would no longer have the same idea and give importance to the sanctity of life which has been regarded and respected since the early civilizations .
Legalization of abortion would most likely cause dangers to the young mother’s life. Given that there are cases wherein a mother must undergo abortion if there is enough evidence of continuous pregnancy that may cause risks for the mother’s life, regular and pre-meditated abortion would be dangerous to the future, well-being, and the life of the mother. The dangers attached to abortion go in two aspects: the medical aspect and the psychological. In the medical aspect, the arguments concentrate on the act of abortion itself. Abortion is done by intruding into a woman’s vagina to the womb by using medical devices to destroy or remove the fetus. The medical procedure in abortion varies depending on situation of the woman; nevertheless, the risks are obvious in each step. The most common procedure to do abortion is by dilating the woman’s cervix and pass in a sharp curette, a special kind of scalpel that would scrape the whole uterus and remove what is inside. Dilatation and curettage is normally the procedure done if the pregnant woman is on her twelfth week. The risk involving this method is the perforation of the uterine wall especially by the curette, which may cause infection such as haemorrhage, uterine or pelvic infection, and possible lacerations.
Another method of abortion is uterine aspiration wherein a suction machine known as an aspirator is used to suck out the contents of the uterus. Like the dilatation and curettage method, the uterine aspiration method is usually used in the twelfth week of pregnancy. In comparison to the D/C method, the uterine aspiration method is an improvement since it no longer needs a curette to do the job. However, even if it is improve, this method like the dilatation and the curettage method, also presents additional risks in the uterus as it increases the chance of uterine perforation. The next known method for abortion is hysterectomy which is done after the twelve week of pregnancy. The pregnant teenager would be undergoing a mini-caesarean operation to remove the conceptus and the other related materials before closing the incision made. Since it is a major surgical operation, it is possible that the risks would be detrimental on how well the stitching is done by the abortionist. There is also the fact that the woman who had the abortion in this method would only be able to bear a child through the caesarean section in the future. Finally, the saline abortion is also a common abortion method which is like the hysterectomy, suitable for later pregnancies after the customary twelve weeks. This procedure normally is done through the use of a needle which is inserted through the abdomen and into the amniotic sac where the fetus is floating. The amniotic fluid is replaced by saline or prostaglandin that would kill the fetus from the womb. After twenty hours, the mother goes into labor and delivers a dead fetus. The problem with this procedure can range from the injection of the saline or prostaglandin solution inside the amniotic sac to the infection from the needle use. Aside from these risks, whether a teenager does abortion through medicine or surgery, the woman would be open to haemorrhage, uterine or pelvic infection, hematomata, lacerations and ectopic pregnancies. These risks, along with many others show that abortion would put the teenager or mother’s life in jeopardy. There might also be a chance that the teenager or mother would become barren or incapable of producing a child in the future.
Emotional and psychological risks of abortion is also plausible when it comes to allowing abortion as many experts note that abortion would be crucial in the continued well-being of the mother especially once she returns back to society after having abortion. Studies have shown that mothers have developed post-abortion depression and anxiety once abortion is done. Almost 20 percent of those women who underwent abortion experienced mild and immediate post-abortion symptoms. Almost 10 percent who had abortions also experienced depression which is lingering in nature. Some studies account that women who develop depression and post-abortion anxiety is also the result of unwanted pregnancy, thus the guilt and depression. However, some studies note that allowing abortion would have caused those with already present mental difficulties and depression would add in the psychological risks of getting abortion. In Japan, there have been studies that show that one reason why some women feel guilty or depressed regarding abortion is because of the negative opinion over abortion, thus their development of anxiety after abortion. There are also cases that note that there were mothers who developed serious psychological disorders after the first few weeks of getting the abortion done. Researchers stated that there is a possibility that mothers or teenagers would experience delays in seeking abortion methods should they get pregnant again due to the guilt for undertaking in the procedure for the first time .
Pro-life supporters also note that legalization of abortion would only constitute to a domino effect of additional crimes and total change. To explain this position, they noted Adolf Hitler’s genocide order for all the Jews and minorities in the Second World War. Pro-life supporters believe that Hitler’s orders of individual killings, tortures, and genocide began because of the legalization of abortion. With this fact in mind, pro-life supporters believe that abortion is the vulnerable spot that would start the domino effect from a personal into a societal scope as compared to other acts since abortion would open the legalities of killing and disregard the laws pertaining life. Since women do not see the foetuses unless they undertake ultra-scan, they can easily take for granted the life inside them. Once disregard is seen pertaining the life of the child by entering vices and undergoing abortion, it would then mean that mothers disregard the importance of innocent life whether or not it is unborn or born, starting the domino effect of completely disregarding the importance of life in each aspect.
Legalization of abortion would also open up possibilities of unprotected sex, which would increase the health risks for teenage couples. One of the major reasons why abortion happens is because of the lack of responsibility by the teenage couple once their sexual activity takes into fruit. Some argue that they are not prepared for the responsibility attached to early pregnancy because of various reasons – from school, financial incapacity, to family discord. In lieu of financial incapacity, human life should still be given utmost importance even if the parent does not have financial means to support the child. Many pro-life supporters and anti-legalization notes that if parents truly do not want the child, they could have the child sent to adoption houses for them to be cared for and not resort to killing them. Normally, if the woman becomes pregnant, she should share the financial responsibilities and legal rights with the father of the child, especially once the child is born and must be raised together by the couple. If they cannot perform these responsibilities, there are many institutions and agencies that could provide support and care for the children or for those who do not want to part with their children, institutions that provide financial assistance to women no matter what their situation is at after pregnancy. Families, no matter how financially unstable they are, should not immediately rule in death for the child by abortion once they become pregnant. It must also not be used as a reason to take away the life of an innocent and unborn child to escape problems or the responsibility.
Responsibility is also asserted by sexual activity and pregnancy which is why the couple who undertook the activity must take into their responsibility to ensure the future of the child if they indeed get their female partners pregnant. Even if one cannot accept the responsibility, the other should ensure that the child must life and must not be sacrificed because of their carelessness, ineffectiveness of the contraception device, and lack of preparedness on any possible situation that may arise after the act. It should be understood that either the couple or one of them take responsibility of their act as they wished to do the sexual activity without preparation or consideration. A woman who allows herself to become pregnant without preparation and should she had wanted to prevent getting pregnant, she could have used the various possible methods to prevent pregnancy. If pregnancy occurs, it is the major responsibility of the woman to push through with the pregnancy and allow her child to live. Should the pregnancy be caused by rape or incest, pregnancy should still continue even if there is resentment in the child or it was an accidental pregnancy. Even if they do not want the pregnancy in the first place, they could still go through the pregnancy process and have the child put up for adoption or place them in child homes. Even if the conception of the child is not wanted by the woman, the child is still innocent from the crimes done by their “father” and they must not be used as a means for the mother to vent on the sins of the one who got them impregnated. They were only the result of the act and did not have anything to do with the crime committed to the mother .
Abortion destroys a future of value and a life which could have a beautiful future, which is a shame in its own way as the life that would be taken due to parent’s irresponsibility might have been a key factor in the future. In depriving the small being to experience everything the world could share, a fetus will no longer have a chance to do these things and even see the things outside the womb. That fetus would have been an influential person in the world, and more ways than one, it can bring happiness and joy to many. The child would have discovered and invented items and skills which have not been practiced at present. Most people value a person’s capacity to contribute to society, which then becomes a reason as to why many see the children as the next hope for mankind. Killing a potential actor would reduce the chances for these unborn children to contribute to society and learn in the process. Even if the fetus does not have a soul on time of its conception, the idea that it has a bright future would be put into waste if abortion becomes legal. An example is given to explain this claim is the life of a painter and his most influential work. Should he suddenly feel that he wants to burn his canvas and burn it, he deprives people to see his art. Some would have felt immense joy and happiness while some would have commended the artist. Should he have burned the item, he may have a reason for doing so. The artist would have done a fatal mistake if he doesn’t have a reason for burning his work. Failure to put the masterpiece into action is one action that an artist sees as a sin. This is the same case as a fetus. A fetus can be considered a work of art. If it is destroyed in any form, its future would no longer be of value without its presence upon its birth. If it is allowed to live, his family and the world around him would feel immense joy and happiness upon seeing him. Failure to allow the child to live is an action that could be considered a sin in both moral and social context .
In a personal stance, these noted arguments have its points and it is to my belief that one does forsake the future of the fetus and the chance to allow it to see the world. Teenagers nowadays often undergo abortion because they feel they are not ready for the responsibility. If one commits the act of sexual intercourse, it is suffice to say that the couple is prepared for any consequences the act would bestow on them. If the young woman got pregnant because of the sexual act, then the couple should have been prepared for the responsibility that goes along with their act, not kill the life that they created together. It is unfair for the life they would try to kill just because they see they are not ready for it. In the first place, they should have done safeguards to prevent getting pregnant or just abstained from intercourse. Abortion should not be a thing that should be flicked around in the eyes of many and become legal. It is a thing or an act that begets future of the next generation. Should Abortion be allowed in some form, it should be the time when the parent or the child is at risks for continuous pregnancy. Other than that, it should not be legalized in any form.
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