Pro-Life And Pro-Choice, Which One Is Right?

Pro-life and Pro-choice, Which One is Right?

Abortion was made legal in 1973 in the case of Roe vs. Wade, when the United States Supreme Court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment gave a fundamental right for women to obtain abortions (AbortionTV). The Roe vs. Wade decision had determined that a woman had the absolute right to choose an abortion during the first trimester of pregnancy (Rosenblatt 11). Because it was made legal many people were in belief that it can't be wrong. But can the law really tell us what is right and what is wrong? The government has made many laws that seem to be unjust and very questionable in the past. Could the legalization of abortion be one of those laws? There are immoral laws that do not make any sense. In Arkansas, a man can legally beat his wife, but not more than once a month and in Michigan, a state law stipulates that a woman's hair legally belongs to her husband (AbortionTV). However, most of the laws today are just and do seem to make sense.

Abortion is a topic often debated among people and has always been taught to me to be something very wrong. Abortion has always been an interesting topic for me. I was brought up to be a religious person because of my parents so I have always had a personal stand that abortion was wrong under almost all circumstances. I have always been strongly against it. One of my favorite teachers in Jr. high gave talks about abortion. We were shown pictures and had discussions about it. I have been taught many things about abortion, but I wanted to find out all the facts about abortion and make a decision on my own. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the two side of abortion, pro-life and pro-choice, in order to formulate an opinion or argument on the issue.

Abortion should be legal if a mother's health is an issue. A mother's health should be the priority when she is pregnant. A mother can die after giving birth if her health is not in good condition. Also a mother who has had many children before are endangered of death or health complications as she has more children (Davis 63). Child birth can be dangerous to a women's health so a women's health should be a concern for abortion and the fact that unwanted children can cause many problems can be another reason for the legalization of abortion.

It is true how in very few cases a women's health is a concern when giving birth to a child but abortion can also lead to health problems and can even lead up to death. More complications to future pregnancies are also more likely to happen. Some abortions are dangerous and may lead to death. Part of the procedure in some abortions leave the cervix open, bacteria can then travel from the vagina to the uterus which leaves a woman vulnerable to infection. In another kind of procedure women have died as a result of taking a sequence of RU - 486, a pill for abortion (English NP). Studies have also shown links between abortion and some diseases. 17 out of 37 scientific studies which have examined links between breast cancer and abortion showed an overall increase in breast cancer risk to women who have had an abortion (Arthur 7). Complications to pregnancy are most likely to occur to mothers who have had abortions. So mothers who want to hold off on a child may have problems in the future. Women who have had one or more abortions are 85% more likely to have a miscarriage in the future, 32% more to give birth to an infant with low birth-weight, 67% more to have premature births, 47% more likely to have labor complications, and 83% more likely to experience complications at delivery (Davis 7). Abortion not only have harmful effects on a women physically but it can also harm a women mentally. Abortion can lead to depression with a feeling of guilt which can produce future depressive episodes and may even in some cases create a psychosis or a serious neurosis (Committee 35). Abortion can be very harmful to a mother mentally and physically.

Many people believe a fetus isn't a person and say it should be legal for abortion to take place. Many argue that a fetus is not a person because it is not fully developed. Dr. Fletcher believes that a fetus is not a person because they do not have some minimum of intelligence or any mental capacity (Davis 11). Dr Fletcher is a professor in the Department of Geology and Geophysics, and the leader of the Coastal Geology Group at the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology in the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Dr Hodgson, a vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, does not look upon abortion as killing because he does not consider that an embryo or fetus is a person. He believes it to be a potential person (Rosenblatt 24). There are many who believe that life does not begin until after a fetus is fully developed. A fetus does not have rights because it is not a person yet so killing an unborn baby can be justified.

Life truly begins at conception and should not be argued that life doe not begin until after a baby is born or if it is not yet fully developed. An embryonic baby or fetus is a living human. Dr. Willke, an internationally renowned expert in the field of human sexuality and abortion, says that it is a simple fact that what grows within the mother is living, is human. Human life grows within a mother and if this human life is destroyed the accurate biological word for this is kill. Abortion kills an embryonic baby (Rosenblatt 23). After fertilization has taken place the zygote has its own identity. It is different from its parents genetically and possesses all the information required for self-directed development(Davis 23). Morally and religiously it is wrong to have an abortion. Many people believe it is wrong and even murder yet they still believe it should be legalized. 77% of respondents who have taken a poll believe that abortion is murder. Greeks, Romans, Jews, and early Christians believe a fetus has a soul. So abortion would be considered murder (Rosenblatt 184, 51). Abortion should be illegal because not only is it morally wrong but because a fetus is a living human being that has the right to survive.

Abortion should be kept because taking away abortion rights is like taking away some rights women have. The Ninth Amendment (1791) states that rights found in the constitution shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the law (Rubin 120). Abortion laws take away the women's freedom of choice. Her choices of planning her family size, risk of her health, avoiding a deformed child, and bearing a child as a product of rape or incest are taken away (Rubin