Parenthood is an important period in the life of any family and avoiding mistakes on that path is crucial for creating a cohesive family unit. Sometimes, the unexpected happens and the couple is waiting for a child, even though it was not planned. For many of them, it causes frustration and determination to change it so that the carefully laid plans they had before are not ruined. However, the morality is in question. There are varying points of view regarding this idea.
There are many clashes nowadays between the supporters of pro-life and pro-choice stances on abortion. The pro-life ideas are very conservative because they aim to keep importance on the family unit. Nonetheless, there are a lot of people who disagree with their ideas because when it comes to abortion and euthanasia, people see the attempts to forbid it as a way to hinder their freedom of choice (Head, 2014).
There are also cases when scientists ignore any moral guidance try to obtain a human embryo. They claim that the resultant embryos will help develop a cure for Alzheimer’s disease and others. However, it is immoral take one human life to save another. One life should not be valued over someone else’s life. This is not an equal exchange. There are other parts of a human body where they can get the stem cells, for example, a bone marrow, fat cells, skin cells, adult blood and so on. Some of the scientists are even trying to use stem cells to carry out experiments with cloning that is also against nature. (Sperm Cell Research).
There is also a scientific research conducted with in vitro fertilization (IVF) which is meant to give women an opportunity to bear a child without a sexual intercourse. The eggs are taken from the women’s bodies and then combined with a sperm in a lab. The embryos that appear as a result of these actions can be later inserted into a woman’s body. However, not everything always goes that smoothly. The figures tell us that only 10-20 % of all the embryos can develop into the healthy infants. Many embryos die because of their fragility; many are kept in freezers for long periods of time, and many don’t end up getting used at all. It cannot be condoned because this is an artificial way of having a child and disrespect to human dignity to a potential child is treated like a science experiment. This is reminiscent of the famous Huxley’s dystopia “Brave New World” when the children were created in tubes and constructed for a particular role in society. We should not play god with birth just because we feel we are qualified and knowledgeable enough.
However, there are counterarguments as well. Unfortunately, many doctors have to deal with the violent actions of a pro-life movement. These include death threats, murder, harassing phone calls and others. There are laws in 17 states and the District of Columbia that protect the clinics from this kind of violence. However, the people still do not feel safe working in such health centers, and even the visitors are targeted (Pro-choice America).
Secondly, after the former President George W. Bush passed the Federal Abortion Ban in 2003 women do not have a choice to do an abortion even if it is a threat to their health. This law is one more attempt to downplay the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision in 1973 to ensure that women could resort to healthy methods of abortion instead of illegally attempting it and inevitably harming their health (Pro-choice America). The Supreme Court of the United States under Bush Presidency supported the anti-choice laws despite the fact that in 2000 it opposed the Nebraska decision to prohibit abortion after 15 weeks.
During the 40 years of legalized abortion, the percentage of women’s deaths reduced exponentially. However, in 1992 the Casey Court in Pennsylvania made a new decision regarding abortion that enabled the other states to impose restrictions on the women’s right to choose. From that time on, 9 states have prohibited abortion after 20 weeks and some of them managed to severely limit access to abortions (Roe V. Wade).
However, these arguments are specious at best for continuing the barbaric practice of abortions. There are many options for sexually active women who are thinking of abortion as a means of contraception, including but not limited to, adoption, contraception pills, and the venerable condom (American Life League).
The American life League’s website is clean and clear on the issue. It should not be permitted to endanger new life for the sake of contraception alone. There are many options that I did not know were available to women before and their website really reminded that life is precious and should not be thrown away for the sake of scientific research or used as a contraceptive method.
In conclusion, I want to state clearly that if we want to preserve human life, dignity, and its value, we must struggle for the pro-life healthy options for women. We cannot tolerate this kind of violation of human dignity, when the unborn is thrown away so easily as if they were merely bacterial cultures. Science has done many wonderful things for us, however we cannot forget about traditions and moral obligations that must guide us throughout our life.
References
Abortion Bans Throughout Pregnancy. (n.d.). NARAL Pro-Choice America. Retrieved October 1, 2014, from http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/what-is-choice/abortion/abortion-bans.html
Clinic Violence. (n.d.). NARAL Pro-Choice America. Retrieved October 2, 2014, from http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/what-is-choice/abortion/abortion-clinic-violence.html
Head, T. (n.d.). What Each Side in the Pro-Life vs. Pro-Choice Debate Believes. About. Retrieved September 29, 2014, from http://civilliberty.about.com/od/abortion/tp/Pro-Life-vs-Pro-Choice.htm
In Vitro Fertilization. (n.d.). American Life League . Retrieved October 2, 2014, from http://www.all.org/nav/index/cat/NTk/heading/OQ/
Roe V. Wade and the Right to Choose. (n.d.). Pro-Choice America. Retrieved September 30, 2014, from http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/media/fact-sheets/government-federal-courts-scotus-roe.pdf
Stem Cell Research. (n.d.). American Life League. Retrieved October 2, 2014, from http://www.all.org/nav/index/heading/OQ/cat/MTkw/
