Abortion

Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy. Abortion has been an intensely debated issue in the United States today. It is very difficult to find someone who doesn't have an opinion about abortion, and probably a strong opinion at that. Our country remains divided over what many consider the most conflict-ridden American issue since slavery. There are usually two sides. The pro-life side and the pro-choice side. Both sides make a good case. However, an agreement exists among pro-lifers and pro-choicers that when human personhood starts the person must be protected.

The endless debates on the topic usually go nowhere, leaving the rivals even more committed to their positions and the open-minded observers readily confused. One reason the debate goes nowhere is that each side focuses on a different topic. They make no progress because they are not talking about the same thing. The pro-abortionist prefers to discuss choice and all of the social problems important in an unwanted child. As pro-abortionist Leonard Peikoff says, "It is only on this base that we can support the woman's political right to do what she chooses in this issue. No other person--not even her husband--has the right to dictate what she may do with her own body. That is a fundamental principle of freedom." Now the anti-abortionist is interested mainly in protecting the life of the fetus. Kerby Anderson, an anti- abortionist, protests that a fetus is a living thing. "A flat EEG (electroencephalograph) is one of the most important criteria used to determine death. If the cessation of brain wave activity can define death, could the onset of brain wave activity define life? Individual brain waves are detected in the fetus in about 40-43 days. Using brain wave activity to define life would outlaw at least a majority of abortions." Basically, the pro-abortionist focuses on a woman's rights and the anti-abortionist focuses on a fetus' rights. Though interconnected, a grown woman and a fetus are in no way, shape or form similar, let alone the same topic.

Though neither side realizes it, there is actually much more agreement than disagreement between the opposing views. Most would agree that the life of a child is a precious thing that deserves the full protection of the law. There would also be a general agreement that it is a woman's exclusive right to make decisions concerning her body. The disagreement is if the fetus is a human being. If one believes it is not a person, then it is simply part of the woman's body and subject to her complete control. "That tiny growth, that mass of protoplasm, exists as a part of a woman's body. It is not an independently existing, biologically formed organism, let alone a person" (Peikoff). Peikoff sees it as a non existent being, a bunch of cells. And any attempt to belittle that control is an infringement upon a woman's rights. However, if one believes the fetus is a person, then one may be obligated to protect it, even to the point of restricting the actions of the woman carrying it. "Physicians around the world subscribed to the Hippocratic Oath ("I will not give a woman a pessary to produce abortion"). The unborn were protected by various international documents like the Declaration of Geneva and the U.N. Declaration of the Rights of the Child." (Anderson). It seems to me that the objectives of both groups are somewhat the same; it is to reduce/eliminate the number of abortions, and to make any needed abortions safe and avaliable. However, they have very different methods of achieving their goals, and they have opposing beliefs about which abortions are justifiable. They are thus unable to cooperate and fulfill both of their goals.

A woman may want to get an abortion for many reasons. The woman may be too young or too old. It may be the wrong time in her life. "Raising a child demands time, effort, thought and money. It's a full-time job for the first three years, consuming thousands of hours after that--as caretaker, supervisor, educator and mentor. To a woman who does not want it, this is a death sentence" (Peikoff). Maybe her baby is likely to be born with serious disabilities. She is pregnant as a result of rape or incest. She has no home or secure base. She may have a serious disease which would be made worse by pregnancy; there is a hereditary disease in her or her partner's family. Another "issue here is the proper role for government. If a pregnant woman acts wantonly or capriciously, then she should be condemned morally--but not treated as a murderer." (peikoff). Many women are frowned upon when considering abortion. This causes many women to not go through with the abortion, which in turn creates larger, complex problems.

Many anti-abortionists have strict beliefs that they trust in. They believe that abortion should not be legal. Pro-lifers sometimes define abortion as an intentional interruption of the development process, at any time from conception to birth. To most pro-lifers, human personhood begins at the instant of conception and it has the right to life under all circumstances. Pro-life advocates typically believe that the transition from life to human life happens at fertilization, when a unique DNA is created. "Try sticking an infant with a pin and you know what happens. She opens her mouth to cry and also pulls away. Try sticking an 8-week-old human fetus in the palm of his hand. He opens his mouth and pulls his hand away" (Anderson). A fetus is no different from a human baby. They both feel. They are both alive. Pro-lifers also believe that any intentional termination of the developing process from conception to birth is thus considered a form of homicide. They argue that abortion is profoundly immoral, and should be downright outlawed.

A few would make no exceptions, even if an abortion is needed to preserve the life of the woman. Most would allow exemptions in cases where