Abortion is ending pregnancy by removal of under developed fetus from a mother’s uterus. There has been a lot of debate between governments and religious leaders on whether to legalize abortion or not. Many governments have introduced laws that prevent abortion by introducing punishments of both the person who performs the act and the person who helps in doing the act. Some countries, Kenya for example, have legalized abortion only when it is necessary to save a woman’s life (Guttmacher Institute). The Kenyan law allows abortion to be done only at the hospital in presence and with certification of three medical practitioners.
There is a general consensus that abortion should be allowed under certain circumstances (Solinger). While some governments have fully legalized abortions, many of them have put in place laws that legalize abortion but with some restrictions. According to Fida Kenya forty four countries in the world have allowed abortion to take place without any restrictions. Other countries put some restrictions on abortion including permission of abortion only when it is necessary to save the life a woman. Other forms of restrictions imposed by different countries include protection of life of a woman, her physical and mental health, and abortion based on social and economic grounds.
People are divided between pro-life and pro-choice (Stanton). Stanton in his report on American Public Opinion and Law on Abortion found that both the pro-life and pro-choice agree that abortion is not a good moral behavior. The pro-choice is of the view that abortion should be done within the first three months with legal restrictions followed (Public Agenda). They added that it is after the three months when movement is felt in the womb and it is when the child is capable to survive on its own.
Stanton concluded in his report that about 60% of Americans support abortion to be done legally but they have different point of view on the restrictions which should be in place to control the act. The pro-life, on the other hand, do not support abortion. They argue that the both the life of the mother and that of the fetus are very important and should be taken care of.
The pro-life groups are against legalization of abortion. They are of the view that it is the duty of the government to preserve life of both the mother and the unborn. An embryo in a woman’s uterus is a human being and has life. They argue that it is against religious belief to kill an unborn child since life begins at conception. The pro-life activists do this even at the time they know that most of the abortions occur due to pressures from parents, boyfriends or husbands. Some abortions occur due to lack of finance required to raise the child.
The pro-life activists argue that the death of a child is a big blow to a mother. When a child is dead, the mother is given chance to mourn and bury her baby. This helps the mother psychologically to adjust to the situation. Mothers who abort their babies are however not given the chance to mourn or burry their babies. They will not have anything to remember about their aborted children. They always suffer psychologically. They become depressed, full of guilt and some could even anticipate committing suicide.
Abortion has made relationships cheap and faded morals in the society. Pro-life activists therefore teach women and young girls on the dangers they put themselves in when they perform abortion. They also tell them that it is an immoral act which is against both religious and secular beliefs.
