Pro-life vs Pro-Choice

Abortion and the Debate Surrounding It

Abortion means the conclusion of pregnancy prior to the birth of the embryo or fetus. Some see abortion as an undisputed felony, because it is assassination and therefore punishable by statute. The pro-life party of people who talk about abortion. They propose to take the infant and to give it for adoption, as they respect the life of the unborn child, instead of having an abortion. Abortion is undisputedly considered a crime. They claim the right to live is granted to the unborn child. On the other hand. The pro-choice on the other hand is of the view that abortion should remain legal because it is not a crime before the fetus has not become a human. The opinion counters the pro-life group which equates abortion as a form of murder. The pro-choice school of thought proposes that the parent of the unborn child has got the right to procure an abortion or not because they have the authority to give or deny the unborn child the right to live. There are different opinions on abortion from different authors and different schools of thoughts.

Arguments of the Pro-Life Movement

According to Farrell (54), the pro-life movement is of the opinion that the unborn child is a human being and therefore should be given a chance to live. Therefore, terminating the life of the unborn child is a great crime against humanity, and it should be punishable by law in any noble Nation. The pro-life school of thought is backed up by the law of some countries that consider abortion as a form of crime. For instance, in Ireland, abortion is an unlawful act punishable by law, and therefore anyone who gets involved in the procurement of abortion is considered a criminal and faces the wrath of the law. Hence as the pro-life group tries to impact their opinion to the public, they have a back-up from the governments and nations that consider abortion as a serious crime. The American Medical Association (AMA) also considers abortion as a form of crime as it as murder. In some cases, the mother’s life might be at risk since she might die from complications in the process of procuring an abortion. There are also negative health implications on the mother which include, permanent reproductive health problems, psychological trauma, emotional instability, and sociological problems in the future.

Arguments of the Pro-Choice Movement

A great controversy surrounds the pro-life and pro-choice schools of thought on the opinion about abortion. Each group tries to justify their opinion on abortion and impact their view of the public. The pro-choice school of thought is of the view that the women have the freedom and all the rights to choose whether to procure an abortion or not. Thus, there should be not any interference with the woman’s decision to abort. It is illegal to interfere with the woman’s independent decision. The legalization of abortion is a form of strengthening the women’s rights and civil rights. It gives a woman a chance to have reproductive rights over her body. In a famous article “Defence of abortion” written by Judith Thomson, it is wrong to go against the will of a woman who wants to procure an abortion since the woman has the right over the life of the unborn child. It gives the woman the right over her body and her reproductive life (Haney 119). The pro-choice group also has a legal backing by the laws of countries that legalize abortion such as Canada (Farrell 73).

Judith Thomson’s Argument

Judith Thomson in her paper ”Defense of Abortion” tries to put across the point abortion should be considered as murder. She argues that the pro-life group of people considers the fetus as a human being at the point of conception, but in her opinion, this is not the case. Judith says that the fetus becomes a human being only at the last stages of pregnancy. She says that a woman has got all the rights over her body to procure an abortion at any stage of pregnancy as long as it is to the best interest of the mother. This argument clearly shows that Judith Thomson is a strong supporter of the pro-choice school of abortion advocating the termination of pregnancy. The pro-choice activists support legalization of abortion and give the women the independent right to decide whether to abort or not. In this case, the rights of a mother overrule the rights of the unborn child.

Evaluating the Abortion Debate

The debate over abortion is clearly revealed through arguments of the pro-life and pro-choice schools of thought. Despite the arguments by the pro-choice, the pro-life school of thought activists bases their arguments on the fetus as a human being and should be entitled to the right to life. The procurement of abortion is a form of discrimination against the unborn child. It is an injustice to deny the unborn child a chance to live. The human life should be protected at any stage of development (Kaczor 37). According to Haney (132), valuing of human life should be taken as a top priority since every human is entitled to live. They emphasize the importance of the fetus by stating that life starts at conception when the ova fuses with the sperm.

Conclusion

Therefore, it is evident that the abortion debate is critical, and, should not be taken lightly. The pro-life approach on abortion looks into the moral obligation of procuring abortion, the fact that the unborn child has got the right to life, and that the act of abortion should be criminalized and punished by law. However, the pro-choice approach is of the view that the women have got rights over their body and reproductive life, and, therefore the choice to abort or not should be solely left to the women. It directly advocates for legalized abortion that denies the unborn child the right to life unjustly. It is, therefore, critical to evaluate laws and policies that surround the issue of abortion to provide a constructive guideline on abortion to guide the society. The people support the pro-life and pro-choice schools of thoughts will depend on the soundness of arguments of each school of thought presents.

Works Cited

Farrell, C. The Abortion Debate, Minnesota: ABDO Publishing Company, 2008.Print.

Kaczor, C. R. The Ethics of Abortion: Women’s Rights, Human Life, and the

Question of Justice. Madison Avenue, New York, NY: Routledge, 2011.Print.

Haney, J. The Abortion Debate: Understanding the Issues. Enslow Publishers, Inc, 2008.Print.