Abortion rights supporting Pro-Life - Essay Example

Abortion rights supporting pro-life Introduction Abortion has attracted intense debate on whether it should be legalised or banned. Pro-life arguments are against abortion and assert that every child has a right to life and unborn babies’ rights are equal to those of the mothers (Lee 18). In addition, childless couples who need children can adopt the unwanted babies. The opponents of abortion point out that aborting the foetus is equivalent to murder since life starts at conception and foetus can feel pain (Beckwith 45). One would argue that no civilised society that allows intentional harming others and taking human life without punishment. Pro-life arguments assert that abortions are unsafe and lead to medical complications that increase the chances of pelvic inflammatory diseases and miscarriages (Kaczor 76). However, pro-choice arguments assert that pro-life arguments are based on religious beliefs that vary depending on the cultural values of the society and modern medical abortion procedures are safe for the mother (Lee 56). The proponents of abortion assert that abortion is effective in birth and population control since mothers do not have sufficient resources to take care of unwanted children. According anti-pro-life arguments assert abortion is essential in cases of rape since it minimises the psychological trauma and stress that is associated with unwanted pregnancies (Singer 34). This paper will critically discuss the pro-life arguments of abortion and demonstrate why abortion should be banned in the society. Abortion should be abolished since human life is sacred and aborting amounts to killing innocent unborn babies. The unborn baby has same rights as the mother who should be protect the right to life since life begins at conception (Lee 88). In this case, no civilised society allows for murder or intentional harm without any punishment and abortion should be treated the same. Abortion should not be used as a contraceptive or population control method since there are millions of childless couples willing to adopt unwanted children in the society (Beckwith 87). Reinman asserts that abortion is associated with severe medical complications that endanger the life of the mother (p 56). According to available medical statistics and expert opinions, women who abort have a higher likelihood of developing pelvic inflammatory disease and may experience miscarriages in the future (Beckwith 121). In this case, about 15 percent of the first-trimester miscarriages are related to prior abortion experiences. It is evident that abortion endangers the health of the mother by increasing the risks of reproductive diseases, cancer, ectopic pregnancies and infertility thus women should not undertake a process that can permanently damage their body. Physicians and gynecologists have a professional responsibility of safeguarding the dignity of life in their practice and observing the ethical guidelines that prohibit abortions and inducing the patient to undertake medical procedures that may lead to death. In this case, doctors must be on the forefront in discouraging abortions and encouraging other scientifically accepted and safe birth control methods. Abortion only provides an opportunity for medical personnel to make money as most of the abortion cases are not documented in the health facilities. In this case, abortion is not helpful the affected women and taxpayers’ money should not be wasted in setting up abortion clinics in the health facilities. Abortion eliminates the potential future societal contributions of the unborn baby thus reducing the economic, social and political benefits to the society (Kaczor 63). The society would be worse if national heroes such as scientists, presidents, entrepreneurs and other people who have made great changes to their communities and entire country were aborted (Lee 98). In this case, abortion must be abolished since the society has the duty to grant the unborn babies a chance to serve the community and make a difference on the lives of millions of people. Reinman argues that abortion leads to severe psychological stress and trauma to the mother ( p 66). Women who abort suffer from guilt due to killing innocent unborn baby thus culminating to severe depression. In addition, abortion should not be used as a contraceptive or population control policy. Permitting abortion encourages other unsafe and social problems in the society such as unprotected sex, early marriages and unwanted pregnancies in the society (Singer 87). Accordingly, abortion encourages prostitution and other immoral activities in the society (Lee 167). There are safe contraceptives that are available such as use of pills and contraceptive devices that are safe to the health of women (Beckwith 223). According to medical experts, there is proper medical care and procedures that are undertaken to ensure than rape victims do not get pregnant or contract sexually transmitted diseases thus abortion should not be used as an excuse in case of rape. Medical experts agree that life begins at conception and the foetus encounters pain during abortion. Abortion procedures are worse than all forms of child abuse since child’s limbs are torn off, brains sucked out and foetus starved to death during abortion (Kaczor 94). In this case, abortion is a horrific experience that no human being would desire to undergo through thus women must abstain from abortion. Licensing abortions will open doors for more unethical medical practices such as use of genetic testing that will allow for more tests in order to avoid having non-ideal children. This practice is unethical since it denies many innocent unborn babies the right to life (Beckwith 189). In addition, most of cases of abortion involve teenagers and young adults who do not have the cognitive capability and maturity to understand the adverse impacts of abortion on their bodies. However, proponents of pro-choice advance several arguments that support their position and right of women to undertake abortions. The fist pro-choice argument asserts that women have a right to choice and control to their body and productive health (Boonin 62). In this case, abortion should be a personal choice and women must access professional abortion services in order to minimise the chances of injury and harm to their bodies (Lee 90). Pro-choice arguments outlines that pro-life arguments are biased towards religion and ignore the existing secular society that forms the laws of the country (Beckwith 135). In this case, the right to self-determination and right of choice should be a fundamental right of women since freedom of religion and right to self-determination is the cornerstone of the Constitution. It would be unfair to abolish abortion from the religious perspective since citizens have the freedom of religion. The pro-choice arguments go further to claim that abortions take place in the first trimester when the foetus is attached to the mother through the placenta and umbilical cord (Boonin 71). The health of the foetus is dependent on the health of the mother thus not a separate entity that can exist independently outside the body of the mother (Lee 218). In this analysis, it is wrong to claim that abortion is equivalent to killing innocent unborn baby; human life does not start at conception since vitro fertilisation will also be equated to human life before the eggs are implanted in the mother’s womb. Accordingly, pro-choice proponents argue that abortion is a safe medical procedure and less than 1 percent of the abortions lead to future medical complications or infertility of the mother (Boonin 92). They go further to assert that even other birth control measures like pills have their own side effects such as risk of infertility or hormonal imbalances thus abortion should not be abolished on the basis that it is unsafe to the health of women (Kaczor 199). The pro-choice argue that rape victims should not be forced to undergo pregnancy and abortion should be availed in those instances (Beckwith 223). About a third of women undergo violent sexual assault and rape in their lifetime thus, abortion should be used as a method of controlling unwanted pregnancies. In addition, reproductive health determines the poverty levels and wellbeing of the society. In this case, abortion will control the population statistics and ensure women have the right number of babies that can be supported by the available resources (Singer 110). It is illogical to have a high number of babies that will suffer from poverty issue like malnutrition, lack of education and poor health. Conclusion I believe that abortion should be abolished since it amounts to murder of innocent unborn babies. Human life starts at conception since the foetus breaths, feeds and have movement capabilities thus inferring with the growth of the foetus amounts to killing. From the above analysis, it is evident that abortion leads to severe economic, health, and social impacts on the lives of the mothers who procure the abortions and the society. Abortion leads to negative health impacts such as infertility, future miscarriages and reproductive diseases and in extreme cases the death of the mother. Accordingly, aborting unborn baby denies the society the benefits that the unborn baby would have made to the society thus leading to low societal and economic development. Abortion is associated with feelings of guilt, shame and depression thus it affects the social and psychological wellbeing of women who undertake abortions. Birth control and rape should not be used as excuses to abortion since there are other contraceptives such as pills that control unwanted pregnancies and safe medical procedures that are available in unfortunate instances of life. From a religious perspective, nearly all religions condemn murder and abortion. I my view, I am convinced that abortion should be abolished since it amounts to degrading the dignity of human life, it is unsafe to women reproductive health and will leads to more social problems to the society. Works cited: Beckwith, Francis. Defending life: a moral and legal case against abortion choice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2007. Boonin, David. A defense of abortion. New York: Cambridge University Press. 2002. Kaczor, Christopher. The ethics of abortion: women’s right, human life, and the question of justice. New York: Routledge. 2013. Lee, Patrick. Abortion and unborn human life. London: CUA Press. 2010. Reinman, Jeffrey. Abortion and the ways we value human life. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. 1999. Singer, Peter. Practical ethics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1983. Read More