abortion arguments Essay Examples

Which are the Different Arguments About Abortion? (Essay Example)

What is abortion? Well, this is when a pregnancy is terminated before it results in childbirth. There are several arguments which arise in the question of abortion. Is right or wrong? Here, we’re going to discuss abortion by looking at the positive and negative aspects. We’ll also go through women’s views concerning this practice.

Anti-Abortion Arguments

1. It’s Murder!Because life starts immediately after fertilization, abortion is the same as killing as it terminates a human life. It’s simply a direct defiance of the normally accepted concept of preserving human life. 2. Those Who Abort Should Be Punished In a civilized society, no one is allowed to intentionally take or harm someone else. Those who do so should be punished and the same principle should apply when it comes to abortion. 3. There’s No Reason for a Person to Abort Instead of aborting a young infant, a good alternative is adoption as it brings successful results. A majority of Americans are looking for a child to adopt, there’s nothing like an unwanted baby. 4. It’s a Risky Process Even though it may seem successful, abortion comes with various medical complications in your life. For instance, the problem of miscarriages, ectopic pregnancies, and inflammatory diseases increases. 5. Incest and Rape Are No Longer Excuses For Abortion Of course, we greatly discourage incest and rape as an immoral vice in society. However, through proper medical attention, pregnancy is easily avoidable. Proceeding with abortion is merely punishing the innocent infant. In any case, it’s the person who aborts who needs to be punished. 6. Is It Another Type of Contraception? Some people have the misguided notion that abortion is another method of controlling pregnancy. Well, this is totally false as it does not prevent but terminate the entire the growth of the fetus. So, if you want total control over your body, you should prevent the chances of such unprepared pregnancy through responsible contraception mechanisms or abstinence. 7. It Causes Huge Regrets Reports show that those who commit this crime are mainly young women or minors with little knowledge and life experience. Therefore, not many of them understand what they are doing and eventually, they start ‘hating’ themselves because of the intense stress and pain that comes with it.

Are There Arguments Which Support Abortion?

There are those who support abortion and some even term it as a legal practice. They use the following reasons to support their ideas: 1. Abortions Only Happen At the Start of the Trimester This is the period when the fetus is fixed to the umbilical cord and placenta of the mother. Therefore, its health depends on the life of the mother, and can’t exist outside the womb. 2. It’s Not a Person! The idea of personhood varies from the human life concept. Such is because human life starts at conception. However, those fertilized eggs that don’t implant themselves are thrown away. If this is not murder, then how can we call practice as a crime? 3. The Best Alternative is Not Adoption Although most people feel that it’s better to abort instead of adoption, most mothers have a hard time giving up their child. Reports even show that just a few women opt to surrender their children for adoption. These are only less than 3% of unmarried white women and fewer than just 2% of unmarried black women. 4. It’s a Medically Safe Procedure A good number of women who abort do this within the start of their trimester. Medically approved abortions have a 0.5 less risk of getting severe complications and don’t affect a woman’s future, health, and the chance of getting pregnant and eventually giving birth.

5. Pregnancy As A Result Of Incest or Rape Can Cause Psychological Damage Forcing a pregnancy causes stress and other mental risks to the woman. In most cases, the woman feels too afraid to even speak or does not even know that she’s pregnant. Hence, taking the morning after pill fails to work in such situations, making the woman turn to abortion. 6. Women’s Arguments and Rights Which Favor Abortion Below are some of the women’s rights which support abortion:

• Women have the right to choose what they wish to do with their lives and bodies.
• The abortion right is crucial for gender equality.
• Abortion is essential if women are to enjoy their complete potential.
• Banning abortion forces women to result to illegal means.

Such arguments remind us that even in the debate of abortion, we should still consider women as people and not just a simple fetus carrier. Therefore, we should consider all their needs and rights. Besides, it also affects them more than it does men. It disrupts the movements in her body, education and chances of employment as well as her whole family life. 7. Bodily Rights Which Support Abortion Many people look at the right to control one’s body as an important moral right. If we keep denying women the right to abort an unwanted fetus, we are just infringing on their rights. Other arguments here include:

• As a woman, you have the right to choose what you want to do with your body.
• The fetus grows inside the woman’s body.
• The woman should decide if she wants to keep the fetus.

Such issues make some people feel that it’s unethical to abolish abortions as it commands the woman to take care of an unwanted child. Despite this, counter-arguments show that a fetus is not just like any other part of the body like the liver or kidney. Hence, it should be banned since it denies the child the right to live. 8. Childbearing, Equality and Freedom Groups like the women’s liberation movement view abortion as a vital right when it comes to gender equality. They feel that if a lady is not allowed to abort, she’s just being forced into the pregnancy. Apart from that, she’s expected to look after the child for several years to come. They go on to add that if only women had the chance to choose if they want to have a child then they’ll become equal to men. Furthermore, they feel that the freedoms of a woman are limited once she starts bearing children. It also comes with a lot of social customs, stereotypes and somewhat oppressive duties. Lastly, they view lady’s ability to control what happens in her as crucial to preserving certain civil rights. Once you take away such a reproductive choice, you open the doors to other health regulations. For instance, if the law can make a woman to proceed with an unwanted pregnancy, it can also force her to go through sterilization or use contraception.

Conclusion

In the past, abortion was criticized because of the medical complications that came with it. However, with the growth in technology and new methods of surgery as well as medical treatments, it’s now a safe process. Although it still raises different questions about its morality, it carries positive results, too, such as:

• Women need abortion to become fully political, economic, and socially equal with men.
• Also through abortion, women gain full control over their own bodies. They can, therefore, make the decision of whether they want to carry the developing fetus or not!