To abort or not to abort???

Abortion: Should It Be Banned Indefinitely?

Abortion can easily be branded this generation’s most divisive topic. Abortion is seen by many as sadistic, inhumane and unethical. Many others believe that each person should have the choice of abortion. Abortion is the removal of an embryo or fetus from the uterus in order to end a pregnancy, usually within the first six months of pregnancy. It is a problem because to many, abortion is considered a senseless murder of an innocent fetus. Should abortion remain legal or should it be banned? Abortion should only be legalized in certain situations such as extreme poverty, extreme health problems, rape and incest. Just as there are many advantages to abortion, there are many disadvantages.
Abortion is a very touchy subject among Americans and is creating many mixed feelings. Many people are debating, rallying and protesting, sometimes with violence, about whether abortion should be banned or kept legalized. Abortion is quickly being able to be compared with the fight over slavery in which both issues are/were virtually splitting the country.
Those who are against abortion are “Pro-Life”. They believe that abortion is a form of murder and degrades the value of human life. These same people believe that because there are other forms of birth control available (The Pill, condoms, abstinence), abortion shouldn’t be necessary. It has also been proven that the to-be-mother often suffers psychological damage after acquiring an abortion. In some cases, the to-be-father also suffers psychological damage. It has been argued that many advances in genetic testing may prompt more pregnant women to attain an abortion to avoid having the non-ideal child (a child with down-syndrome, genetic/physical abnormalities, FAS). There are many compassionate, caring and able couples who are unable to have their own child due to physical problems that spend several years on a waiting list trying to adopt children. Those who are “Pro-Life” argue that they have the right not to see their tax dollars go to something they find immoral. The decision of abortion is often made by immature, inexperienced minors and young adults who lack life experiences to make a proper decision. A major argument that a person who is “Pro-Life” will presumably argue is that an aborted child could possibly have made a cure for cancer, invented cold fusion or solve the world’ global warming problem.
Just about for every person who is “Pro-Life”, there is someone who believes the exact opposite. These people are “Pro-Choice”. These people, who are usually feminists, believe that banning abortion would give the government control of a women’s body. These people believe that banning abortion would increase “back-alley” abortions (person giving the abortion lacks the necessary skills and takes place in an environment lacking the minimal medical standards, or both). These “back-alley” abortions would, in turn, increase long-term damage or disease, infection, haemorrhaging, and injury to the internal organs, such as puncturing or tearing of the uterus. People who are “Pro-Choice” also believe that raising a child properly is a full-time labor-intensive process. The children who are neglected or abused are usually the ones that grow up to be drug addicts, lifelong government aid recipients, and criminals, causing society to have the highest burden. Contrairy to what “Pro-Life” believes, “Pro-Choice” believes that giving a child up for adoption can be just as psychologically damaging as an abortion. Women develop an emotional bond with a child when they carry it through the full term and go through the experience of delivery. Giving up that child for adoption might be the only reasonable option for a young girl too immature or poor to raise a kid. Giving up a child for adoption can cause a female to feel imense guilt, sorrow, emptiness, depression, lonliness and a feeling of abandoning their child for the rest of her life. Those who believe in “Pro-Choice” believe that a fetus isn’t human until it is born, therefore terminating a pregnancy isn’t murder. These same people argue that abortion can save a female’s life. Having certain health problems, such as heart failure, severe hypertention uncontrollable diabetes, and serious renal disease, can cause many complications in both the fetuse and the mother. Sometimes, the only solution is an abortion. A major argument that people who are “Pro-Life” use is that some pregnancies are the result of incest and/or rape. Once the child finds out it is the product of incest or rape, it will potentially feel a great deal of guilt and self-hatred.
There are many solutions to the debate over abortion. One such solution is the banning of abortion indefinately. This solution would put an end to the murder of innocent babies and the heartaches caused by these murders. If we ban abortion, many women will simply look for other ways to get rid of the child. They could starve themselves or seek unlicensed "back alley" abortions. Putting an end to abortion will cause taxpayer’s money to go to things they find moral, such as healthcare and education. But making abortion illegal will also cause the number of people on welfare to increase and the level of poverty to increase.
Another solution to the debate over abortion is keeping abortion legalized. This will not cause a significant change in the “back-alley” abortions, while at the same time causing the number of senseless murders to skyrocket. Keeping abortion legal can help keep poverty levels where they are. Although keeping abortion legal will not decrease the number of cases of rape and incest, it can reduce the numbers of babies born because of incest or rape.
A third solution to the debate over abortion is to keep abortion legalized, but only in certain circumstances, such as incest and rape. If a female becomes pregnant due to incest or rape, and has proof, she should be allowed to have an abortion. Another circumstance where abortion should be allowed is when all other forms of birth control are proven to have failed (contraception AND condom) after being used the correct way. A third situation is extreme poverty. This would entail that the parent(s) don’t have enough money for their current bills, and a child would only worsen their financial burden. This, again, would have to be verified.
One final circumstance where abortion should be allowed is when a health problem is causing life-threatening complications for the to-be-mother or the fetus. These health problems could include, but are not limited to, heart failure, severe hypertention, uncontrollable diabetes, and serious renal disease.
Every person should have the choice to seek an abortion, adoption or parenthood, even though abortion would never be the right choice for me. I would choose adoption over abortion or parenthood if I weren’t ready for a child, for the simple fact that the child has a great chance at life with another set of parents to become something great. If it were my choice as to which solution should be used, I would choose the third. The third solution that makes abortion available in certain circumstances would cause innocent lives to be saved.
There are many possible solutions to the problem presented. Abortion should only be justified in certain circumstances. Make your opinion heard by writing your local and state government and congress. Do your part to put an end to the discrepancy. Once the fight over abortion is ended, the country will have a better perception of a women’s right to choice.