The thought of killing to most people is bone chilling and makes the hairs on the back of the neck stand up. Abortion is unjustifiable murder because that fetus being done away with is a human being that deserves the right to live just like the people participating in the act. Abortion is an issue that should not be taken lightly because; it is a termination of what could potentially become a human being. Abortion is the intentional termination of a pregnancy before maturity. This is the removal of an embryo or fetus from the womb before maturity. There are two main types of abortion of procedures that are used in the abortion process; suction-aspiration, and dilation and curettage (D and C). These procedures are done during the early stages of pregnancy (Levy 327).
Even though abortion has been legalized in the United States, the question as to whether abortion is morally wrong, or right is still in debate. Abortion is a controversial topic, and like any other contentious subject, it faces a great number of support, and opposition depending on human perception. It has various advantages and disadvantages, and they are mainly based on one deciding whether to criticize it as ethically and morally wrong or right. There are many ways people look at abortion, which make it hard for them to decide whether or not to support it or be against it. There are a number of misconceptions about abortion whereby the pro-life, and pro-choice people hold on to different positions as to whether a woman should have an abortion or not. According to the pro-life people, the fetus has the right to life from conception onwards while the pro-choice people argue that, women have rights over their bodies and lives and can choose whether to have an abortion or not (Rocchi 610). However, in general, when arguing about whether abortion is the right choice or not, it is good to consider about its existence, and the results. In the current world, about 54 countries have legalized abortion, and this is about 61 percent of the world population (Baumgardner 45). Lee asserts that, unintentional pregnancies are said to account for half of all pregnancies and research shows that, 4 out of 10 of these pregnancies are aborted. In the United States alone, it is estimated that about 1.6 pregnancies are aborted (250). This shows how many innocent lives are being lost through this process of abortion.
Abortion should be made illegal, and it is the wrong choice to make because, the fetus being aborted is a baby, everyone has a right to live, nobody has the right deny another person the right to life, and the unborn baby is not in a position to make decisions on his/her. According to Lee (45), abortion is wrong because it is killing of a potential innocent person. While some may argue that abortion is something that people should be able to choose, it is very evident that an abortion is evil; murder and that annihilates the morals of the society. Many arguments are that the fetus is not a person, yet, a fetus is a human being from the moment of conception, and so it deserves the right to be born. From the moment of conception, the fetus is alive because it starts growing in the womb. Consequently, the fetus is considered a living being, that is growing inside the mother’s womb and is to be born after nine months, and the argument that it is not a baby is misguiding.
Abortion is not the right choice to make because; no person has the right to take another person’s life. Many skeptics squabble that, there is no specific reference about abortion in the bible (Boonin 102). They assert that, there is nowhere in the bible where women are seeking for an abortion, and where the bible states that abortion is wrong. This is misguiding because, a fetus is a living being, and the bible teaches that murder is a sin. Nobody should make a decision on someone’s life except the creator, and therefore, it is wrong to kill, and abortion is killing. Moreover, if a doctor is said to have harmed a fetus during a medical procedure, he/she is always held liable for his/her faults (Newman 34), why should a doctor be allowed to intentionally harm the same fetus and it is said to be okay? This clearly shows that, the fetus has a right not to be harmed and so, the right to live and not be murdered through abortion.
According to Knoepffler and Martin (14), every child deserves a chance to life, and this applies to a fetus who is an unborn baby. An unborn baby cannot make decisions to live or to die and so; it is not the child’s fault that the parent does not want to keep it till maturity. Many abortions happen because the parents argue that they are not in a position to take care of the child maybe financially. Moreover, others are because some women do not just want children; the question here is, if they do not want children or are not financially stable to take care of the children, why conceive in the first place, only to harm an unborn baby? The unborn baby cannot voice his/her opinion because they are helpless. Many abortions are being done thus denying children a chance to have a life. Another reason as to why abortion is not the right choice is because it affects women, mentally, physically, and emotionally. Many women who have procured abortions may end up with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, sexual dysfunction, and even end up being drug addicts (McMahan 87). Moreover, it contradicts the nature of motherhood whereby the child is to be nurtured with unconditional love.
One of the reasons in support of abortion is that, it should be allowed of certain cases for instance incest or rape, and when the pregnancy threatens the life of the mother. Moreover, they argue that, an abortion should remain legal because a woman has a right and control to her body, and destiny (Lunneborg 67). This might be true for the mother, but one thing they should put into consideration is the protection of the unborn child, and that the unborn child has the right to life too. The parent is the one who is supposed to be the child’s protector but in cases of abortion, it is the same parent that is not protecting the child’s right to life. Abortion is not the right choice for rape and incest cases because; there is adoption if one does not want the child instead of committing murder. Many families would love to have the opportunity of adopting such children to nurture and care for them since they are unable to conceive (Singer 105). Therefore, in essence, abortion is not the right choice as there are options for those mothers who are not in a position to raise a child. Additionally, women who do not wish to have children should take measures and avoid conceiving in order to lessen abortion cases.
In conclusion, abortion is an ongoing debate, day in, day out. The opposing sides always believe that they are right. With all these points made, there is no question that abortion is the right choice to make, and should be made legal. From the time of conception, the fetus is alive and even though it may not have a pulse or heartbeat, it is a living being, and terminating it is killing. In addition, no person has the right to deny another person the right to live, and this fetus is a person, and thus when it is aborted, that is murder. Also, the fetus cannot make any decision about its life on whether to live or die, and thus let us not allow it to pay for the consequences of something he/she cannot prevent. No matter what some may believe and their arguments, one cannot ignore the plain truth that abortion is not the right choice to make as it is not a; abortion is murder. Instead of a mother aborting the child, let her give birth and give the child away for adoption because every child deserves a chance to life. Moreover, the issue of abortion should be reviewed in the legalized countries so as to prevent more murders in the name of abortion. Abortion does not only take the child’s life but also has negative side effects on the mother, and the society at large. The paper concludes that, abortion is not the right choice to make; the right choice is taking responsibilities of one’s action by giving birth, and taking care of the child. The pro-life choice is the right choice to make.
Works Cited
Newman, John. The Morality of Abortion: Legal and Historical Perspectives. New York: Wiley-Inter science, 2004. Print.
Singer, Peter. Writings on an Ethical Life. Ecco. NY: HarperCollins, 2000. Print.
McMahan, Jeff. The Ethics of Killing: Problems at the Margins of Life. Oxford Ethics Series. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. Print.
Lee, Patrick. "The Pro-Life Argument from Substantial Identity: A Defense". Bioethics 18.3 (2004): 249–63.
Boonin, David. A Defense of Abortion. Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Public Policy. Boulder: University of Colorado, 2003. Print.
Baumgardner, Jennifer. Abortion & Life. Brooklyn: Akashic Books, 2008. Print.
Lee, Patrick. Abortion & Unborn Human Life. New York: Catholic University of America Publishers, 2010. Print.
Lunneborg, Patricia W. Abortion: A Positive Decision. Portsmouth: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2000. Print.
Rocchi, Benedetto. Why should the baby live? Human right to life and the precautionary principle J. Med. Ethics 39.5(2013): 610
Levy, Neil. The moral significance of being born J. Med. Ethics 39.5(2013): 326-329
Knoepffler, Nikolaus J. and Martin, J O'Malley. After-birth and before-birth personhood: why the baby should live J. Med. Ethics 39.5(2013): 11-14. Print.
