abortion issue

Pro-Choice and Pro-Life Perspectives on Abortion

For years, the abortion issue has been widely debated without finding a consensus. As this topic comes up, two main points of view appear to emerge: pro-choice and pro-life. Pro-lifers contend that abortion is immoral and it constitutes murder. Pro-choice advocates argue that since mothers are the ones who raise the fetus, they should be in the right place to make the critical decision on whether to terminate or carry the baby depending on the circumstances.

The Contention Points

Many people are split on this issue, and this paper summarizes some of the main points of contention. It, therefore, analyzes views from both sides so as to provide ideal knowledge on the matter of abortion which is of assistance in case one is found in such a dilemma.

Factors Contributing to the Decision

It has been noted that more women than men advocate for the practice. However, not all women advocating for the rights of women are in support of this practice, instead, they are attempting to come up with more workable solutions to the complications that impel women to go through abortion.

To begin with, there are many factors contributing to the decision to conduct an abortion for many women. Pro-choice activist argue for being able to give birth to planned children, mainly because such children have high prospects in their lives as their parents are prepared adequately to provide support to the baby financially, emotionally and physically. According to pro choice debaters, each child is entitled to living in a world where they are cared for, wanted and loved (Laws, Terri, Duncan, and Michael, 39)

In another argument, according to the pro-choice, the fetus is not a human being just yet considering it cannot subsist outside the uterus alone. This implies the fetus is not self-sustaining and is in dire need of the mother’s body and other physical resources to outlast. It therefore disqualifies the argument that abortion is an act of murder. In this argument, the body of the mother should be given first priority hence; it should be her duty to decide on matters touching on her mental and physical state.

Many women who fall under this category also argue that their bodies are rightfully theirs. It implies she has the freedom to do what she deems fit for herself and her general health. I agree with the next argument although I choose to be a pro lifer in this matter. There are some cases where women face traumatizing experiences such as rape and incest. In such cases, the resulting young one tends to remind the mother constantly of the trauma she encountered. According to research, it has also been observed that such babies end up being neglected or abused by their mothers. On this note, I would bend my opinions just slightly as I don’t agree entirely to rape.

Many pro-choice activists attest to the fact that abortion is today a very safe procedure to go through. Research shows that less than 1% of abortions that are carried out 21 weeks before delivery lead to complications such as excessive bleeding and getting an infection. It would therefore make a big difference if abortion was decriminalized as it would prevent many women going ahead to seek secret abortions which are associated with poor standards and conditions. Illegal or secret abortions have been associated with the deaths of thousands of women around the world. On the contrary, safe abortions do not pose health complications on the life of the mother. In other words, medical abortions do not interfere with the mother’s ability to deliver more babies in future unlike the illegitimate abortions (Laws, Terri, Duncan, and Michael, 50).

Another pro-choice argument claims one should not put up adoption as an option to practicing abortion. They argue this decision be left to the mother of the child to either allow the child to be born or not. According to some statistics, there are a high number of mothers who are willing to deliver their children and still put them up for adoption. It shows that adoption is not an effective solution or alternative to abortion.

A group of pro choice activists argue that unplanned pregnancies especially in the case of teenagers can come as very tough experiences for such girls. In most cases, the mothers are forced to abandon what is going on in their lives and their dreams to focus more on raising the new born. Teenage pregnancies have also come off as one of the leading factors contributing to school dropout cases. On this note, pro choice debaters argue abortion needs to legalized in some cases if not all (Altshuler, Anna, Helen, and Sarah, 200)

Pro-Life Perspective on Abortion

In this debate, I choose to be a pro-lifer, that is someone who views the issue of abortion from a human perspective and attest to the practice as to being an evil act which needs to be discouraged. In my opinion, abortion is more like taking away the life of the innocent which I find very inflicting on the unborn baby. Below are some of the arguments of other pro-lifers like myself.

In a pro-lifers perspective, abortion is an immoral act and looking at it from a Christian viewpoint, it goes against the laws of the God, particularly the commandment that states; thou shall not kill. The morality constituting religion requires that all individuals to treat unborn babies with dignity and respect. The unborn baby in the mother’s womb is usually accorded a divine spar of life. It implies that no room should be left for conducting abortion.

Today many are the couples that have been unable to conceive and raise their own kids, for this reason mothers should not be encouraged to engaging in abortion. Many pregnant mothers abort because they feel they are not yet in a position to provide their new born babies the lives they deserve. It may be mainly because they cannot afford caring for the child at that point in time; that is providing them with the basic necessities such as food, shelter, medical care and education. However, pro-lifers deem this argument void considering many individuals feel the need to adopt children due to their lack of the ability to conceive. It implies there can be established a system of unwanted babies in the adoption agencies in the US where they can be linked to loving parents with the ability to up-bring them. It thereby shows that abortion is not necessary and is therefore not called for (Sumner, Leonard, 100)

Abortion should also be discouraged as it endangers the life of the child’s mother. In some cases, abortions have been noted to cause serious harm and complications of the mother’s life. In worst case scenarios, the mother may lose their life and other cases the mother may never conceive again. Many mothers undergo psychological trauma after undergoing a bad abortion and it also heightens the risk of ectopic pregnancies and miscarriage the next time the women is pregnant. In, addition, the mother is faced with the risk of contracting a pelvic inflammatory disease which poses serious dangers to the mother.

I am pro life for other reasons as described further; aborting an offspring is not a fundamental right for the child, as a matter of fact it can be viewed as antithesis of female empowerments and equality. I regard motherhood as a serious matter and in my opinion, abortion and lacking a supportive society robs the women their chances of becoming mothers. In recognize the fact that intentional childbearing or rather planned pregnancies assist families and couple lunch from the vicious cycle of poverty. However, this does not make abortion of unwanted pregnancies right. Many people are ready to adopt and make these unwanted children parts of their family.

Pro life activists also consider morality as a form of well being of human beings which include those that are not yet born. Abortions are not justified because the mistakes of the parents or rather faulty man made creations should not have to cause suffering to the preborn. My stand is also because I believe in compassion, mercy and grace. This is the reason that all mothers and pre born children should be protected and honored by the law (Nynäs, Peter, 93)

In my opinion, when pregnancy arises from carelessness from the mother’s end, that is she failed to take the necessary precautionary steps to prevent herself from unplanned pregnancy, she should have to face the repercussions of her actions. It is the responsibility and duty of the woman being the one vulnerable to getting pregnant to take necessary measures to prevent herself from getting pregnant especially when it is unplanned for.

It would be wrong to justify abortion to the world and to the society. It is important to note that when abortions are carried out easily and unconditionally, individuals will develop the tendency of regarding the practice as a birth control strategy. This should be discouraged at all means.

In the case where the parents claim they are not in the position to cater for the upbringing of the child, pro-lifers find this argument unreasonable. Pro-choice activists need to understand that any unborn baby has high chances of turning around life and may become highly important people in the society. There is no predicting the unseen future of the baby to the point of resulting to abortion.

Lastly, the federal government requires each individual to take on their moral responsibility to care and protect the unborn baby. According to federal laws there is no constitutional right entitled to conducting abortion. However, many supporters of the federal ban on abortion still make considerations for few exceptional cases. It is so in the cases of rape, when the mother’s life is at stake and in case of incest.

Works cited

Altshuler, Anna L., Helen L. Gerns Storey, and Sarah W. Prager. “Exploring abortion attitudes of US adolescents and young adults using social media.” Contraception 91.3 (2015): 226- 233.

Laws, Terri, W. Duncan Wadsworth, and Michael O. Emerson. ”‘Making Babiess: Religion and Moral Diversity in Views on Abortion and Human Genetic Engineering.” (2013).

Nynäs, Peter. Religion, gender and sexuality in everyday life. Routledge, 2016.

Sumner, Leonard Wayne. Abortion and moral theory. Princeton University Press, 2014.