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Abortion

Abortion? Just saying the word brings up controversy. Pro-choice or pro-life? It seems like everyone has an opinion and support it strongly so let's take a look at both sides of the argument. The main argument from the pro-choice perspective is that every woman should have the right to choose whether or not they have the baby or not because it is them who are bringing the child into the world. They believe that a women should have every right to have an abortion with absolutely no restrictions since it is the woman’s body. However, people who are pro-life say that the unborn child has the right to live and the right to live is more important. But how can we be sure that an unborn child has actually begun life?
People who are pro-choice usually do not consider abortion murder because they believe that life des not start at conception like most people who are pro-life believe. Let’s take a look at some facts to see what it shows. The following facts are taken from JustFacts.com. and tells about the development of a fetus.
Just four weeks after fertilization, the heart begins beating and after only seven weeks the portion of the brain associated with consciousness has divided into hemispheres. Nine weeks into pregnancy, more than 90% of the body structures found in a full-grown human are present and the pre-born human moves body parts without any outside stimulation. Only a week after that, all parts of the brain and spinal cord are formed, the heart pumps blood to every part of the body, the whole body is sensitive to touch except for portions of the head, and the preborn human makes facial expressions.
At week fourteen, the preborn human makes coordinated movements of the arms and legs. Just eighteen weeks after fertilization, the portion of the brain responsible for functions such as reasoning and memory has the same number of nerve cells as a full-grown adult. Up until week twenty-four, a pregnant woman can abort at will. After which a pregnant woman can only abort to preserve her health. However, one example from Roe vs. Wade of what may be considered harmful to a mother's health is the "stigma of unwed motherhood. Finally, during week twenty-eight, premature infants are more sensitive to pain than infants who are born during week thirty-eight, and infants who are born at thirty-eight weeks are more sensitive to pain than older infants (3 -12 months old.)
So after reading about the growth of a fetus it seems as if an unborn child is more alive than most people would believe. Let’s look at more sides of the debate to help make our decision.
What kind of dent is abortion putting in our population? Well according to statistics, almost one in every three conceptions result in abortion. That would mean that the estimated 297,700,000 that live in the U.S. right now would easily be over 335 million people and that is just a VERY rough estimate. Approximately 3,700 abortions take place each and every day. That’s over 6.7 million abortions since the year 2000. That is quite a bit of women as you probably already knew so let’s see how people who have chosen to have an abortion have been affected. Much of the following information was gotten off of Wikipedia.com.
“Each phase of the abortion carries separate risks, and practitioners are not in agreement as to the best methods of mitigating those risks. The degree of risk depends upon the skill and experience of the practitioner; maternal age, health, and parity; gestational age; pre-existing conditions; methods and instruments used; medications used; the skill and experience of those assisting the practitioner; and the quality of recovery and follow-up care.” The better the practitioner and conditions are, the less the risk of complications will be.
“Instruments are placed within the uterus to remove the fetus. These can, on rare occasions, cause perforation or laceration of the uterus, and damage to structures surrounding the uterus. Laceration or perforation of the uterus or cervix can, again on rare occasions, lead to even more serious complications.
Incomplete emptying of the uterus can cause hemorrhage, and infection. Use of ultrasound verification of the location and duration of the pregnancy prior to abortion, with immediate follow-up of patients reporting continuing pregnancy symptoms after the procedure, will virtually eliminate this risk. The sooner a complication is noted and properly treated, the lower the risk of permanent injury or death.
In rare cases, the abortion will be unsuccessful and the pregnancy will continue. Most practitioners recommend a second procedure to terminate the pregnancy due to the possibility that the first attempt has caused injury to the fetus. An attempted abortion which results in the birth of a live infant, or neonate, is termed a failed abortion. This is more likely to occur later in pregnancy. Some doctors who have induced a failed abortion have faced the prospect of letting the neonate die, but are voicing concerns that doing so may be unethical and possibly subject them to criminal sanctions. As a result, recent investigations have been launched in England by the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health (CEMACH) and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, in order to determine how widespread the problem is and an ethical response on how to treat the neonate.”
However even though physical health can be at risk during abortion, mental health can also be at risk. Some women feel really awful after an abortion about having chose to end their child’s life and can sometimes suffer mentally. Clinical depression, mental illness, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicide are all known to have occurred with women as a result of their stress caused by choosing to abort their child.
Now to analyze the reasons that there are for abortion. We’ll start with the most common which is that the person wishes to postpone having kids. This is not a good enough reason to prevent a child from entering this world once it has already been conceived but it is a tough situation. The best thing to do would be to either put the child up for adoption. Possibly temporary adoption if that is available. The other is to simply to take responsibility and to accept the child.
Another common excuse I mentioned before is that the person who is going to have the baby simply cannot afford the baby. However this too is a dumb reason. Not only can the child be put up for adoption but the government can also help fund the child through welfare and other programs.
Another of the most popularly known reason for abortion is that the mother herself is too young to have a child. But I strongly believe that anyone who thinks they’re old enough to have sex should not be allowed to end the life of the baby who she is pregnant with and be required to take care of the baby. But sometimes that is not possible but adoption is ALWAYS an option. From any viewpoint abortion should always be a last resort and avoided when necessary.