The Reasons Why Abortion should not be Legalized - Essay Example

 The Reasons Why Abortion should not be Legalized Thesis statement: In most cases, women find themselves pregnant but would not be anticipating that end result. Whilst people believe that women should have a choice to terminate pregnancy, the concept of abortion varies tremendously across the world (Wharton, 5). In some countries, abortion is illegal while it is recognised in certain countries. It is a fact that abortions have been carried out whether legally or illegally. However, this is a controversial topic since it is regarded as a serious moral issue which is often viewed as wrong. As such, this argumentative paper seeks to critique an op-ed paper by Antoni (01) which is entitled, ‘Abortion should be legal.’ Antoni takes a pro-abortion stance and argues that the choice should be left to the women to decide to have an abortion or not. Against this background, this paper is going to argue against abortion as suggested by Antoni since I strongly believe that abortion should be illegal. However, Antoni also suggests that abortion should be illegal. The paper will start by summarising the points made in this op-ed paper. The second part seeks to critique why abortion should not be legalised. A synthesis of the whole discussion will be carried at the end of the paper in order to articulate the position taken by this writer in view of abortion. According to the op-ed article entitled ‘Abortion should be legal,’ there are different reasons why women should be given the opportunity to terminate unwanted pregnancies. This view is also supported by Warton (6) who suggests that abortion should be seen as the last resort for women to gain control of their lives after horrific situations leading to their pregnancies they would have encountered. In some cases, pregnancy is a result of incest or rape and it is advocated that a woman should have a choice of terminating the pregnancy in such a situation. This is seen as a viable alternative of liberating women who would have been traumatised by the experience encountered that could have led to the pregnancy. In the event that the pregnancy is against the mother’s wishes and is beyond her control, I agree that abortion should be treated as the most viable option that can liberate the mother from the sad events leading to the unwanted pregnancy. Tribe (3) also concurs that rape amounts to denial of liberty to the victim who may live with sad memories or trauma which negatively impacts on her well being. In such as situation, termination of the pregnancy can be advocated. In some circumstances, pregnancy can be terminated if it endangers the life of the fetus or the mother and I share the same view with this idea. It may not be a noble idea to have a deformed child as she may not enjoy the life of a normal human being. In some instances, if the life of the mother is endangered as a result of the pregnancy, it can be terminated at an earlier date to avoid complicating her health which can lead to death. The case of Jane Roe v. Henry Wade is one good example where the US Supreme court upheld that the Constitution of the United States should not permit the government to interfere with a woman’s right to opt for an abortion. However, the anti-thesis statement of this op-ed suggests that abortion should not be legal because it is immoral. I strongly believe in this assertion given that there is no person with a right to end life. Even a fetus must be given the right to life since its life cannot be simply terminated as a result of the mother’s wrong doing in some cases. Usually, a child does not apply to be born hence it is the responsibility of the parents to make sure that the child is given the chance to be born alive. It is also my belief that ending life is ungodly given that we are all created in the image of God hence no one should have the right to end life. It can also be noted that pregnancies are not a result of accident in many instances. Teen pregnancies in particular are very common in different societies where it is estimated that more than one million teenagers are impregnated every year in America (Gutman, (2). According to the information obtained from this website, (last updated 18 November, 2009) , the US has the highest number of teen pregnancies in the industrialized world. Whilst there are about 750 000 teen pregnancies reported annually, about eight out of ten of these pregnancies are not planned. It can therefore be strongly argued that abortion is not an alternative or solution to unwanted pregnancies. The root cause of unwanted pregnancies should be addressed where concerted efforts should be made by all stakeholders involved which brings me to the suggestion that abortion should not be legalized. It can also be seen that the trend is similar in many other countries where youths in particular get involved in sexual activities without properly considering the consequences such as unwanted pregnancies. According to statistics given above, it is unimaginable that close to a million lives can be terminated through abortion as a result of reckless behaviour by the teenagers. Carelessness is the main route cause of teen pregnancies given that some of them have misguided conceptions that they can prove their adulthood through engaging in explicit sexual activities which is the main reason why I disagree with abortion. As such, it is not the problem of the unborn fetus but the parents should always behave responsibly. If they want to avoid unwanted pregnancies, they can use contraceptives such as condoms as well as the pills to avoid terminating lives of the unborn babies. From a moral point of view, abortion can be equated to murder which cannot be condoned since there is no one with the right to kill another life. In the event that an unplanned pregnancy has resulted, adoption can be treated as a viable option to abortion (Wharton, 19). Some parents may not be able to conceive children hence they will be eager to adopt unwanted children. There are also other foster organizations which can adopt children hence abortion should not be viewed as a viable alternative when an expectant mother cannot take responsibility of the child. The other reason why I think abortion should not be legalized is that it often endangers the life of the mother. It can lead to complications if it is done by an unprofessional person. Ross (22) suggests that not all abortions are held by experienced people and the result is death of the mothers. In actual fact, abortion kills the mothers and it should be treated as illegal since it poses numerous threats to the lives of the mothers. A critical analysis of the article above by Antoni shows that the author believes that abortion should be legalised as a result of mainly three reasons summed up below. If the health of the foetus is at risk, the mother should have an option to terminate the pregnancy. It can also be seen that if the life as well as the health of the mother are at risk as a result of the pregnancy, then it will be noble to terminate it. It is also prudent to terminate the pregnancy that is a result of rape or incest as this can result in sad memories by the mother of the events leading to that pregnancy. However, though I disagree with the claim that abortion should be legalized, to a certain extent, I agree with the ideas raised by this author. If the pregnancy is a threat to the life of the mother, then it will be ideal to terminate the pregnancy so as to save her life. On the other hand, if the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest, I am also of the opinion that it must be terminated as it can ruin the life of the mother. However, a critical analysis of the conditions leading to pregnancies show that carelessness among the parents is the main contributor. As such, abortion should be treated as illegal since it does not address the root cause of the problem. The problem of unwanted pregnancies is a recurrent one hence long term solutions should be implemented rather than resorting to short term alternatives such as abortion. Problems associated with abortion outweigh the advantages of using this method of terminating pregnancies. There are various moral issues that can be drawn from the practice of abortion where the critics suggests that there is no one with a right to end life which is God given. Abortion can physically harm the mothers if performed by people who are less experienced. It is my strong belief that issues related to recklessness by teen mothers in particular should be addressed first before embarking on this practice which may be deadly. Works cited Antoni, A. Abortion should be legal. 08 March, 2011. http://www.allfreepapers.com/print/Abortion-Should-Be-Legal/534.html Accessed 23 October 2011. Green, Fay. Real choices: Offering practical, life affirming alternatives to abortion. Oregon: Multnomah Books. 1994. Print. Gutman, Sally. Teen pregnancy. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications Company. 1987. Print. Teen pregnancy rates in USA (last updated 18 November 2009). Retrieved from http://www.livestrong.com/article/12504-teen-pregnancy-rates-usa/ Accessed 23 October 2011. Tribe, Howard. Abortion: The clash of absolutes. New York, NY: W.W. NORTON & COMPANY. 1992. Print. Wharton, Mandy. Understanding social issues: Abortion. London: Aladdin Books Ltd. 1989. Print. 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