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Ali BarneyEnglish 1010-069N. ColeDecember 10, 2012Issue Exploration Essay Final DraftAbortionWhat is abortion? The definition of abortion is the fetus, in the uterus of her mother, can be removed or die before the fetus can survive outside the mother’s uterus. In other words, this means the fetus is killed accidentally or by some medical procedure before it’s born. There are two types of abortion, spontaneous abortion and induced abortion. These two different ways have their own characteristics. As abortion being my chosen issue to investigate, I chose to put the focus on induced abortion, which is a huge issue today. I plan to present the science and history of abortion, along with the ethical views of the Pro-Life supporters versus Pro-Choice supporters that concern the colossal issue and controversy to do with aborting disabled babies in the womb will be stated. Furthermore the statistics associated with abortion will be thoroughly looked at and explored in grave detail in order for me to share the most reliable scientific facts which will benefit the conclusion of this issue. Arguments for and against abortion will be examined in order to draw an appropriate conclusion to sum up these ethical theories and information. There are two views about abortion; whether it is legitimate to abort a baby acquiring a?disability?or by the choice of the mother or whether it is wrong, inconceivable and ought to be recognized as manslaughter. I believe abortion, in any way, shape or form, is wrong, unless the mother or child is in danger. Abortion has gotten out of hand because some people just don’t care about an innocent life. Abortion is a devastating act for a mother and the child. It is an end to all ends, it is final. You can't take it back, ever! Aborting an infant can affect many people, not just the mother. According to the American Life League (ALL), including only the surgical and medical abortions, there are a total of 1.2 million per year. They perform 3,288 abortions per day, 137 per hour, 9 abortions every 4 minutes, or in other words 1 abortion every 26 minutes. Like other issues, abortion has a history behind it. Abortion practices and laws dates back to the 1820s. This first law was put into act forbidding abortion after the fourth month of pregnancy. ”… most abortions in the US had been outlawed by 1900. The performing of abortions was considered to be unethical.” (2) In 1900, abortion had been banned at any time during pregnancy (except when necessary to save the woman's life) by every state in the Union. Why the reversal in views? Religion had little to do with it, but rather, drastic economic and social conversions were turning this country to an urban-industrial society. America was changing from having one of the highest birthrates in the world to one of the lowest. Abortion played a role in that change. Then, in 1973, Roe v. Wade was the historic Supreme Court decision overturning a Texas interpretation of abortion law and making abortion legal in the United States. The Roe v. Wade decision held that a woman, with her doctor, could choose abortion in earlier months of pregnancy without restriction, and with restrictions in later months, based on the right to privacy. I believe this is when abortion got out of hand and should still be considered unethical. No fetus or infant should be treated this way. Statistics show that from the year 1973 to 2011 there have been 54.5 million abortions in the United States. These outrageous numbers are sickening and it shows that not enough women care about the child inside of them. It also shows that both men and women don’t care and aren’t willing to stop it. “Abortion is one of the most difficult, controversial, and painful subjects in modern society” (2). The issue of abortion is a highly explosive subject, as it touches on two of the fundamental codes of belief for modern civilization; an individual’s right to live and an individual’s right to decide. “To say that someone is "pro-life" is to say that the person believes that the government has an obligation to preserve all?human life, regardless of intent, viability, or quality-of-life concerns.”(3) Pro-life supporters essentially reject the idea of abortion based on religious, moral and ethical grounds. They believe abortion is immoral, unethical and should be permanently banned from practice. They support the rights of the unborn child. They seek to overturn the decision that was made in 1973 from the Roe v. Wade case, which they blame for approximately fifty-four million cases of abortions since. Pro-life supporters have alternatives to abortion they feel are more appropriate, one of those being adoption. “… (They) argue of its more humane approach in dealing with the subject of unwanted children.”(1) I agree that adoption is a better option for both the mother and the child. If the mother didn’t want the child in the first place, why wouldn’t she be willing to let it live its life with someone who cares for it? Mothers shouldn’t be selfish by killing their child, just because they don’t want infant. They need to think what would be best for the child and give them the opportunity for life. On the polar opposite side of the debate, are the pro-choice supporters. These activists declare it is a women’s constitutionally protected right to do with her body as she pleases. Pro-choice individuals don’t necessarily promote abortion as a way of contraceptive but rather feel rules and restrictions shouldn’t govern their bodies. “To be "pro-choice" on?abortion?is to believe that individuals have unlimited autonomy with respect to their own reproductive systems as long as they do not breach the autonomy of others”. (3) Pro-choice activists use the argument of constitutional rights; it’s my body, my life. Democrats usually support Pro-choice or the loosely restrictive laws that are in place now but have no intentions of revising them. These are broad generalizations, but typically hold true.There are many arguments between the pro-choice and pro-life supporters. Some of the arguments are about the topics of the nature of preborn life, the rights of women, and the quality of life. I agree with the arguments of the pro-life supporters because they are in accordance to what I believe is right and what is wrong when it comes to abortion. My values have a big part in this issue and the pro-life side goes along with what I believe. When it comes to the nature of preborn life, many pro-life activists say that life starts at conception, which is true. On the other hand, pro-choice supporters say “it’s just a blob of tissue, not a baby”. (3) They also state that the preborn child doesn’t have enough size, ability to feel pain, viability, or self-awareness to be granted rights of personhood. I disagree and believe that such qualities develop over time. Yes, a newborn is smaller, less developed, less aware, and more dependent than a young adult, but that doesn’t make him less of a person. In the arguments about the rights of women, I believe that the women do have their own rights to their own bodies, but the baby has its own body and they should have those rights too. It’s unfair when the baby has no say in whether they should live or be killed. On the pro-choice side, the women say that it is their body and they can do with it what they want. But when you are pregnant, there is another body ... the baby’s body. Nobody should have the right to tear a baby’s body into pieces. Another big issue in this argument is whether or not to abort a baby after a woman has been raped. This is when I believe it is up to the woman. “Abortion does not undo or alleviate the rape, and there is evidence that abortion further compounds the harm that has already been done to her”. (3)It’s not fair to kill someone else (the baby) for the crime of another person, but with compassion the woman should be able to abort if she chooses. The quality of life is also a big argument between the pro-life and pro-choice activists. When a baby is seen to have a disability before it is born, there are many different opinions on whether or not the baby should live. Pro-choice argues that if a baby is horribly deformed, it would be better to spare him from a life of suffering. Pro-life disagrees and says that nobody has the right to kill another person because he perceives that the other person might have a low quality of life. (3) I agree that everyone should be created equal, no matter how different they are. Along with the quality of life argument, pro-choice say it’s better to abort a child than for him to live as an unwanted child. Every child should be and is wanted at some degree. We should never kill a born child simply because his parents decided they don’t want him anymore. That is why there are adoption possibilities for the parents to give their child a better life. If the parents feel they don’t want the baby or can’t take care of it, they probably should have been more careful in the first place. Becoming pregnant can be unpredictable but you need to be ready to raise a child not kill it. Give the child that chance to live its life, just like you did.Abortion is no longer an underground procedure done in back alleyways and dark basements. It sadly has become a fairly common procedure with which a large number of women take advantage of. Most people have their beliefs and they take the side of pro-choice or pro –life. This reality doesn’t change the fact that some individuals agree with abortion and some do not. While these two sects defend their stances on a political battlefield there will never be a resolution, let alone a compromise. The only way to gain ground on changing the partial-birthed abortion ban act is through a bill proposal. This is how it was done in the past and it is the way progress will be seen in the future. Undoubtedly the debate on abortion will rage on and this humble proposal will quickly be forgotten but I hope at some point in this debate, people will understand the damage of abortion and try to stop it, unless it needs to be done.Works Cited BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. "Abortion." 2012. 2012.republican-. 31 October 2012.2. Abortion, Alabama Alliance Against. "History of Abortion in America." n.d. world/history_of_abortion.html. 10 November 2012.3. Abortion, Alabama Alliance Against. "Pro Life vs. Pro Choice Arguments" world/history_of_abortion.html. 10 November 2012.4. ALL-American Life League. “Abortion”. 26 July 2012. Brown, Judie. 1979. October 31, 2012. . Garret, Major. “Platforms Reveal Deep Divide on Hot-Button Issues”. 6 September 2012. 31 October 2012. 6. Natan, Ben and O. Melitz. “Nurses' and nursing students' attitudes towards late abortions”. March 2011. 31 October 2012. . Stephens, Moira, et al. “Religious Perspectives on Abortion and a Secular Response”.December 2010. 31 October 2012. . Williams, Daniel. “The GOP’s Abortion Strategy: Why Pro-Choice Republicans Became Pro-Life in the 1970s”. October 2011. 2012 31 October. ................
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