Abortion Essays (2519 words) - Abortion, Free Essays, Term Papers

Abortion LaTeisha Davis SOC 203: Social Problems Melissa Reed April 12, 2012 Abortion Abortion is the expulsion of the fetus or embryo from the uterus before it is due for delivery. It arguably tops the list among the controversial issues of our time. It is rightfully so because what is at stake is the health of both the unborn baby and the mother. This issue has been made even more controversial by the involvement of politicians who have tirelessly campaigned to win some groups for their positions. In the American political system, Democrats and the people known as liberals are known to be strong supporters of the right of the woman to choose what she wants as far as abortion is concerned. Conservatives and Republicans on their part believe that it is not about the right to choose but the right to life for the unborn. In this respect, they oppose abortion indiscriminately. In between these two groups are people who believe that abortion should not be done for the sake of simple reasons such as the woman not being ready to give birth. Instead they support abortion in cases where the mother and the baby?s lives are at stake. In this paper, the ideas put forward by all the sides will be considered so as to support the thesis that abortion should not be declared illegal in all circumstances neither should it be available for everyone other than cases where the lives of the mother and her unborn child are in danger. Such a condition should be determined by a qualified medical doctor who will be required to demonstrate that indeed the pregnant woman?s life and that of her unborn baby are at risk, and therefore an abortion is necessary. In the vindication of the main argument, the prolife stance will be examined first followed by the prochoice. The rational position that is central to the claim made in this paper will then follow. Beginning with the anti-abortion stance, people who are strongly opposed to abortion argue that abortion is a violation of the individual?s right to life. Kapp and von Herzen (2009) point out that in some cases, abortion is carried out when fetus is in the third trimester, meaning that chances of such a child surviving after birth are very high. In fact, there are several children who live to be healthy adults even after being born prematurely, when they were on their sixth or seventh month in the womb. When a woman has an abortion during this time, it is not a formless mass of cells that is expelled from the body, but a human being. Intimately connected to this argument of the entitlement to life is the notion of the sacredness of life. Under this idea of sacredness, there is societal consensus regarding the respectful manner in which human life should be treated by everyone. It is clear that when a child is expelled from the mother?s womb at the sixth month, it is a life that is ki lled. The anti-abortion or the pro-life group members in society have made strong arguments regarding the inconsiderate destruction of life that takes place in such late abortions for whatever reason. The blame naturally goes to the whole idea of allowing abortions in the first place. They therefore take the position that if all abortions are declared illegal, the women who get the chance to have abortions in their sixth or seventh month of pregnancy will not have this chance and thus the lives of these unborn babies will be saved. With all the good intentions of the pro-life people, a very important idea is left out, which is, in the process of trying to keep the pregnancy, there are circumstances where keeping the pregnancy will mean the death of pregnant woman as well as the child she is carrying. There are numerous medical conditions that are dangerous to both the two parties, that is, the unborn child and the mother, and in this case, the prolife group needs to think seriously about saving one of them or losing both. Since the chances of the unborn child surviving outside the womb in the absence of the mother is practically impossible, the rational option is to abort the