Taylor 1

Emma Taylor
Period 1
3/6/16
Ms. Paxton
Reality Check: Pro-life or pro-choice.
Worldwide, there are about forty-two million legal abortions performed each
year (Curley, Johnston, 279). Abortion has always been a controversial subject
starting from the time it was introduced in early America at the beginning of the
nineteenth century. As technology advanced and abortions became easier to
perform, the amount of abortions carried out each year increased. With this
dramatic growth in abortion procedures also came the expansion of opinions
throughout the nation. Soon, two sides developed: pro-life and pro-choice. People
who are pro-life are against abortion and believe that the embryo and fetus are
living beings from the point of conception, and as such have human rights.
Individuals who are pro-choice are for abortion and believe it is the womans right to
decide about her reproductive status, and whether or not she keeps the baby.
However you may look at it, abortion is still considered murder by many
because the unborn child, if given the chance, would become a fully functioning
person. Because the unborn child is still a human being and, therefore, has the right
to live, abortion should be made illegal. Abortion also has many detrimental effects
on society and the family unit including the aftereffects on the womans mental and
physical health, changing family relationships, and the energy expended on arguing
whether or not abortion is murder.
The morality of the situation is open to interpretation because if it is
perceived as murder, then of course it is not moral, but if it is not considered

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murder, then individuals see it as acceptable. Abortion is considered cruel by many
because of the manner in which the baby is expelled from the womans body. In
some cases, the baby is pulled apart limb by limb and then its head is cracked open
to get the brain and the skull out. Another method is just simply suctioning the baby
out of the uterus, and because it cannot survive outside the womb yet, the babys
lungs are not fully developed and cannot breathe; its heart is not strong enough to
pump blood either, and it dies.
After the abortion is performed, the child is usually disposed as medical
waste. Sometimes the fetus is used for organs, depending on how old it was and
how developed its organs are when it was aborted. In other cases, aborted bodies
may be used for research, which is controversial because it could be encouraging
women to rationalize aborting their babies for the higher purpose of research.
The question of when the unborn child is technically alive is still being
debated. At this point, there is no unanimously-accepted point of view that the fetus
is a person, though studies have shown that even at the embryo stage it contains
all of the human components consistent with life (Lazar, 371). The embryo develops
rapidly during the first few months in the womb; this is when most of the organ
systems develop and the fetus heart starts beating. Between the tenth and the
fourteenth week, neurons in the brain start their rapid activity. By the twenty-sixth
week, the connection between the cortex, the brain matter, and the thalamus, the
center of the brain, has been established and the fetus is definitively able to feel
pain and pleasure (372). After this time period, only ongoing growth and
strengthening/maturation of bodily systems and muscles are needed for the baby to
be completely viable out of the womb, though many twenty-two to twenty-four
week fetuses are able to survive birth with ongoing medical intervention. As

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regards their nature, there is no difference between an embryo, a fetus, an unborn
child, young, adult and old, all these being successive forms of human evolution
(Lazar, 372). Birth is only the end of a period in the humans life and the beginning
of another one (372). These quotes state that the developing fetus is a human
because every person alive has gone through these stages of development and a
child growing in the womb is no different than the rest of us in regards to biological
nature.
The people that do not believe that the fetus is a human think that its life
technically begins when it is born. This does not make much sense because how can
an unborn child not be alive at all and then suddenly live in the time that it takes
the woman to give birth? From conception, cells are rapidly multiplying and growing.
If someone is pronounced dead when their heart stops beating, then why are they
not pronounced alive when their heart begins beating?
Because some individuals consider the unborn child a person, it follows that
the child has rights that go with its existence. The Declaration of Independence
actually states, We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created
equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that
among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. This means that all
men, regardless of which stage of life they are in, have a right to life. According to
the Christian religion, The unborn child is in fact a human being and so is entitled
to the right to life (Crescio, 57). The question is not whether fetuses are human
life; this is a biological question. But biological facts alone do not entail moral facts
(Manninen, 140). Because fetuses are alive, then this brings up the moral side of
things. Abortion is in fact the shedding of innocent blood, which is murder.

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One of the things people dont think about that is extremely important is how
many people are murdered or killed per year vs. how many abortions are had each
year. Why do people spend their time talking about drunk driving and shootings
when they kill a smaller proportion of people than abortions do? Yes, the value of
human life has not decreased, and everyone is a person who has a right to live, but
why is taking persons live that has started their mortal existence on earth murder
and not okay, but taking the lives of innocent, unborn children not perceived as
murder and is alright to follow through with? There is no difference between the two
except potential. The fetus has potential to grow into a person, and once it is a
person, taking its life would be illegal. If we do not want people getting killed or
having innocent bloodshed, why are we not focusing more of our time on preventing
abortions?
One of the main arguments for the pro-choice side is the fact that women
have certain rights involving her ability to choose what happens with her body,
specifically its reproductive capacity. In January 1973, the court case Roe v. Wade
decided that women have the right to make their own personal decisions
concerning their bodies, including aborting an unborn child that she no longer
wants. There is a hypothetical case called The Violinist Case, which explains some
of the responsibilities that women deal with when they are pregnant. In the situation
of The Violinist Case, you wake up one morning attached to a professional violinist
who requires the use of all of your organs to survive. Like pregnancy, this requires
you to take care of another persons body with your own involuntarily. Some
compare abortion to this as having the moral right to unplug the violinist from your
body because you no longer want to foster him. Unwanted pregnancies are often
looked at like this, but many women choose to have sex, and as such know that

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there is always a possibility of getting pregnant. Letting the violinist use your body
is like having a wanted pregnancy and granting the fetus the right to live there
(Nobis, 60).
A huge influence on abortion over the course of the last century is Planned
Parenthood. Founded in 1916 by Margaret Sanger, Planned Parenthood promotes
womens health and rights, educates individuals about contraceptives and sexual
education, and provides women with birth control and information about abortion.
Planned Parenthood is a pro-choice organization. Their perspective is that every
woman has a right to do what she wants with herself because it is her body. The
opposing point to this contention is that if the fetus had been granted the right to
live, then it would have been able to decide what to do with its body. The problem is
that the woman destroyed someone elses body by not giving them a choice to live.
If it is the fetus body, then they should be able to choose.
Some may say that because the fetus isnt born yet and it does not have a
personality or a fully functioning body that it cannot decide whether or not it wants
to live. Every person has the right to live though. What would have happened if any
of the individuals who have had a large impact on our country had been aborted
and not been given the right to live? We certainly wouldnt be where we are today.
Every person has a purpose for being born onto this earth, and if we abort babies
we take away the potential of each one.
There is a mental disorder called Post Abortion Survivor Syndrome. These
are Individuals who could have been aborted but mere chance or the fact that they
were wanted saved them from termination (Ney, Peeters-Ney, 189). Symptoms
include depression, anxiety, guilt, self-doubt, inability to trust, and seeking others

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approval to determine worth (189, 190). People who have this mental disorder were
told that they were almost aborted and start to believe that maybe they should
have been aborted and they dont deserve to live. They struggle with their selfworth. This is one reason why abortion shouldnt be an option. PASS individuals feel
like they were fortunate enough to live, but all of the babies that were and are
aborted never get the chances that they did get.
There are a few different reasons that women have abortions, including the
desire to delay or avoid childbearing, the woman had unprotected sex when
pregnancy was not a planned outcome, birth control measures were taken but
failed, the woman was raped, the fetus has severe abnormalities, or it is causing
illness in the mother. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Website
states, Approximately one-half of pregnancies [are] unintended, i.e. either
mistimed or unwanted at the time of conception (2010) (Nobis, 60).
However, there are cases when a fetus could or should be aborted. In rare
cases, when the fetus is causing harm to the mother or absorbing more nutrients
than it needs and not leaving enough for the mother, when the fetus has severe
abnormalities and wouldnt be able to survive outside the womb without aide, or in
cases of rape. All of these need to be taken on a case by case basis. In some
situations, a mother may choose to keep the baby even if she was raped.
One of the main reasons that abortion is harmful is because of the negative
aftereffects it has on the mother. Abortion poses more risks to women than giving
birth (Coleman, 53). TFMHA (Task Force on Mental Health and Abortion) wrote that
it is clear that some women do experience sadness, grief, and feelings of loss
following termination of a pregnancy, and some experience significant disorders,

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including depression and anxiety (Crescio, 57). These feelings may be caused by
feeling the need to hide their abortion, the perception of a stigma, or the fact that
they could be looked down upon by society for their choice. The British Journal of
Psychiatry concluded there was a highly increased risk of mental health problems
after abortion (58). The primary emotion felt is guilt; feeling that they could have
saved the baby, they should have done something else, and they could have
prevented the pregnancy or the abortion. There are higher rates of suicidal
behavior, PTSD, and substance abuse in women who have chosen to terminate
pregnancy. Nearly ten percent of mental health problems are directly linked to
abortion (Crescio, 58). Young women are more susceptible to these outcomes,
especially if their relationship status is single and thus receive a lack of social
support from their partner, they have immature coping skills, or unpredictable mood
swings. Adolescent women experience far graver risks of mental and emotional
health problems from abortion than they do from carrying unintended
pregnancies (Coleman, 53). This is because young womens brains are not fully
developed and they do not have the mental capacity to make rational decisions. It
would be better if the adolescent woman carried the pregnancy to full term and
then put it up for adoption because it wouldnt have as big of a risk on her health.
Nearly a quarter of abortions in the US are performed on girls under twenty (53).
These are girls who made mistakes and accidentally conceived. They arent ready to
handle the responsibility of being a parent so they want to eliminate the child from
their lies, but rather than put it up for adoption, they choose to abort it instead.
Women of this age who have had an abortion also have three times as much trouble
sleeping and five times more likely to seek help for psychological and emotional
issues after (53).

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Not only are there emotional and mental issues, but physical challenges are
presented as well. Some are caused by mental concerns, such as not wanting to eat
and low levels of energy, but there are others such as not being able to sleep and
nausea that are caused by having the abortion. Not all women who have abortions
experience these feelings though.
Society has certain opinions on abortions. Part of society encourages
abortion, because no one should have to be tied down to responsibilities or be made
to do anything they do not want to do. The other part strongly discourages
abortions and even stigmatizes those who have had one. The truth lies somewhere
in between; society should not place labels on those who have had an abortion
performed, because no one knows the motives behind the abortion. Society also
should not compare women who have had an abortion to those who have not.
Communities often send mixed messages of when something is acceptable and
when it is not. All stigmas should be erased and everyone should love people for
who they are, even if they dont agree with their choices.
While the woman is the one carrying the child, both the mother and the
father created the baby. It is still the fathers child too, and he should be able to
participate in the decision to have an abortion or not. The feelings of the parents of
the mother and the father should be considered, as well. This is not a decision that
should be made in isolation, just as raising a child is not solely a mothers
responsibility. The relationship between the mother and the father may be strained
also, if the father wanted to keep the child and the mother didnt want to. Society
should not have any influence on the womans decision. The woman should discuss
it with her doctor and people who matter to her and she should take their opinions
into consideration. An individual should not get an abortion because it is the

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popular thing to do. A woman should make her choice based on her personal
circumstances and what is going to work best for her and her situation. This does
not mean that she should disregard the responsibilities of her actions, it means she
needs to put things in perspective and think about the possible outcomes of
whatever she may choose.
Through education, abortions might be able to be prevented. Teaching young
adults abstinence or safe sex could decrease the amount of abortions each year.
Offering up other alternatives such as adoption and foster care could also reduce
abortions. Education concerning abortions might be beneficial also because many
people are often disgusted when they find out how abortions are performed and
what happens to the fetus after it is aborted.
Adoptions are one of the greatest alternatives to abortion. Many women have
trouble conceiving and would love to foster someone elses child as their own. The
birth mother gives the child a chance at life and she does not have to deal with the
guilt and other issues that come with aborting a child. If she chooses, she can also
keep in contact with her child throughout the years.
However, there are possible circumstances where abortion would be
acceptable, such as rape, incest, medical complications, or fetal abnormalities.
These are only in extreme circumstances, but a woman should not get an abortion
simply because she made poor choices or because she no longer wants the child.
Abortion is important in the long run because individuals and families are the
building blocks of society. People do not realize the effects that they can have as
individuals on society. Once a woman has an abortion, her view of human life could
be distorted. The value of human life decreases and the woman no longer feels she

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has to be responsible for her reproductive actions. In addition, family relationships
are changed and family values decline. This also changes societys view of the
family and the value of human life, which could potentially have precarious effects
on future generations, like the acceptance of the shedding of innocent blood or a
decrease in the importance of human life. Every individual has the right to life.

Works Cited
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Looking Glass." Issue in Law and Medicine 30.2 (2015): 209-15. Sept.-Oct.
2015. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.
Coleman, Priscilla. "Pro-Life Update." A Journal of Mere Christianity 19.8 (2006): 53.
Oct. 2006. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.
Crescio, Anthony. "Abortion: A Threat to the Actualization of the Mother."Human Life
Review 41.1 (2015): 57-64. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.
Curley, Maureen, and Celeste Johnston. "The Characteristics and Severity of
Psychological Distress after Abortion among University Students."Journal of
Behavioral Health Services and Research 40.3 (2013): 279-93. July 2013.
Web. 16 Feb. 2016.
"The Declaration of Independence: A Transcription." National Archives and Records
Administration. National Archives and Records Administration, n.d. Web. 08
Mar. 2016.

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