Abortion is a sensitive topic to men and women throughout the world. There are many individuals and organizations that debate whether abortion ought to be allowed as a decision for women to make. The belief that abortion is unethical and should not be allowed at all is an issue that becomes a primary reasoning for some; those individual stand for Pro-life laws. The idea that abortion is murder as it is killing the human fetus is one of the main arguments that pro-life supporters use when debating abortion. Others feel that the parents should have the right to choose, and it is not murder until the baby is born these views are considered pro-choice. There is a plethora of factors that need to be taken into consideration when discussing abortion. Being pro- choice or pro-life both has its pros and cons. Having knowledge for the two will give a better understanding as to why pro-choice is the right choice.
Perspective on Abortion
The problem lies in how we define the term “human” in regards to a fetus. When considering an unborn as human it can be broken down into three categories. One being the conservative perspective; conservatives believe in the extreme, and are based from the Catholic Church. Believing life begins forming from the unicellular zygote stage. The conservative perspective’s definition of personhood creates abortion to be an unethical and unlawful act, resulting in homicide. The second perspective is the extreme liberal perspective. This viewpoint believes that the term human does not begin until after birth. The last perspective on abortion is the moderate view. This view lies in between the conservative and the extreme liberal views. The moderate view states that there is a point in a woman’s pregnancy that allows abortion to be justified. It does not define the fetus as human but as a human offspring that has its own moral status (Stewart.)
Anti-abortion (Pro-life)
“To oppose or legislate against medically induced abortion.”
The choice of anti-abortion (pro-life) forms primarily from the perception that personhood starts during the zygote stage. Due to these most pro-life arguments like to include the U.S. Constitution, and think an unborn child or fetus ought to receive the same rights that living individuals obtain. To disproof pro-life arguments one may argue and ask does being human make you a person? This question creates the ability to say as a person one must have the understanding to have self-consciousness and rationale. In return pro-life advocators use the comparison of a toddler or an individual who may be mentally handicapped. They are still human and a person. The decision to end their life is not available and if acted on would be murder. The reason why the decision of pro-life should not be made into a law for women in America is because the support pro life obtains tries to use biology as its main defense when the issue of abortion lies as a philosophical and theoretical issue. The conservative view uses the U.S. Constitution as support for their argument quite often. The use of the constitution contradicts their use of biology due to the fact that constitution lacks the definition of what is to be or not to be considered human.
Pro-Choice
“Advocating legalized abortion.”
Many claim the idea of pro-choice stems from a feminist mindset. This is logical, but does not necessarily fall under the feminist movement. This being because feminism is an act on the right for women and gaining equality associated to men. One may argue that men do not have to struggle with these types of battles so women should not have to either. But men also can not get pregnant. This leaves abortion to be a topic only defined by the choice of said women. When it comes to the unborn being human this choice falls under the liberal and moderate views.
As stated, liberals believe human life begins after birth, letting the option of abortion be considered justifiable. Whereas, the moderate view could side with either pro-choice or pro-life based on the pregnancy state that the mother is in. The stages of pregnancy are broken down into three trimesters (one, two, and three.) Each trimester has its own distinct set of developments. The reason many moderate viewers of pro-choice believe the idea of abortion being justifiable is because the embryo isn’t completely developed into a fetus or a human-like form until around 12 weeks, that being near the beginning of the second trimester. Most cases dealing with abortions happen within the first trimester of pregnancy making it justifiable. Once the second trimester starts the child has developed its sex genes and major organs and body structures; allowing the child to be in a human-like form creating the moderate viewer to believe the act of abortion as being injustice.
Most pro-life activists argue that abortions should be illegal because the unborn child is human, along with women should take the steps necessary to avoid pregnancy, they continue to argue that many American families would love to adopt children that are not accessible, along with the opinion abortion can cause medical complications later on in life, and also that rape victims can take steps to avoid pregnancy before they actually become pregnant. In response to those arguments pro-choice activists state that a fetus is attached by the placenta and umbilical cord defining the unborn as dependent on the mother and not a separate entity because it cannot exist without the mother. When it comes to women taking the steps to prevent pregnancy, of the women that do get abortions eight percent of them used no type of contraception. Contraception is not a 100% guarantee, like all things there are flaws. Pro-life activist always argue that there are over 1 million American families interested in adoption, but in return there are 428,000 children that are in foster care in the United States alone. The separation between mother and child even if the child is not wanted can cause damage within child and mother psychologically. This also goes along with the idea that abortion could cause later complications. Medical abortions have less than 0.5 percent for complications, and abortions do not harm women with the ability to become pregnant again. Whereas keeping a child that you are not ready for or giving it up for adoption can create a higher risk of complications than having an abortion itself. As for rape victims forcing them to keep a child can cause psychological problems for mother and child. When it comes to any woman who is pregnant taking away their choice of reproduction and the control of her body now becomes an issue within a woman’s civil rights. When it comes to pro-choice making it illegal would create an opportunity for underground abortions which would cause more harm than leaving it legal and safe. Also creating an even bigger issue within prison systems that we already have.
In conclusion, abortion is and always will be a sensitive topic in the USA. It’s an issue that doesn’t need to rely on the mass population in this country, or the government that runs it. It is a never-ending battle to end the legalization of abortions. But this is an argument that should not be up for debate but solely on the choice of the mother who carries said child. The argument of an unborn child being human is not justifiable to taking away a women’s rights. The arguments that conservatives and pro-life activists use lack the support needed to create validity. Pro-choice should be the only view towards abortions to keep the psychological problems and complications for both child and mother that could occur if a woman was forced to keep an unwanted child.
Work Cited
- Dabbagh, Soroush. “Fetus as Human Being: Where Is the Cut-off Point?” Journal of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, 17 Mar. 2009, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3713799/.
- Eckman, Jim. “Rethinking Pro-Life Arguments in the Abortion Debate – Issues In Perspective.” Issues In Perspective Rethinking ProLife Arguments in the Abortion Debate Comments, 10 Feb. 2018, graceuniversity.edu/iip/2018/02/rethinking-pro-life-arguments-in-the-abortion-debate/.
- “Foster Care.” Children’s Rights, www.childrensrights.org/newsroom/fact-sheets/foster-care/.
- Lowen, Linda. “Common Arguments For and Against Abortion.” ThoughtCo, 19 Mar. 2018, www.thoughtco.com/arguments-for-and-against-abortion-3534153.
- Manninen, Bertha Alvarez. Pro-Life: Shared Values in the Abortion Debate. Vanderbilt University Press, 2013
- “Stages of Pregnancy.” Womenshealth.gov, 9 Feb. 2018, www.womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/youre-pregnant-now-what/stages-pregnancy.
- Stewart Gordon, John. “Abortion.” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, www.iep.utm.edu/abortion/.
