Abortion

How would you feel if you, your sister or your mother’s rights were taken away? Abortion challenges this, with many wrongly believing that it is a negative action, or a taboo subject. This leads to people believing that abortion should be banned, despite the fact that this is a completely inhumane view. Banning abortion is a violation of human rights. Would you want the law to dictate what you can do with your own body? Aborting an embryo only directly affects two people: the mother and the father.

In addition to this, carrying a baby should be a choice, and not an obligation, and so it should be up to the individual. To make matters worse, 90% of anti-abortion leaders are male, despite the fact that none of these men will ever be pregnant. Many see abortion as being against their religious or moral beliefs, failing to remember that these are views not everyone holds, and so shouldn’t be imposed on the public. If these views were forced on us, it would bring forward more questions – why would you bring an unwanted child into the world? Isn’t this cruel on their behalf?

As well as this, would you want to bring a child into a world of poverty if the parents know they cannot afford to provide for a child? Some may argue against this suggesting that an alternative is to put the baby up for adoption. When faced with the reality of this though, it is proved to be a much harder decision than believed. Would you carry a baby for nine months, go through any complications, and then go through the pain of birth for no gain at the end? This again relates to the fact that pregnancy should be a choice for the individual.

Psychologist Mary Green of the Royal London Psychology Association has said, “It has been proven through extensive medical research that women who have been through pregnancy and proceeded to give their child up for adoption are 80% more likely than other women to suffer from post-natal depression and a variety of other long-term mental health problems relating to this. ” Some people also take the view that abortion is killing a life. However, when life is created is up to the individual’s perspective.

Nearly all abortions are done within the first trimester of pregnancy. During the first week of pregnancy, the baby is a zygote and is approximately 1mm big – that’s about this tiny. As a zygote, it hasn’t developed any signs of human life at all. After this, it becomes an embryo up until the end of the second month of pregnancy. At this point, the baby is still only half an inch big and has no properly developed organs. All of this is the first trimester, and all of this is when the majority of abortions are performed.

How can this be substantial enough to count as human life? If you were to say that aborting something this tiny with no organs is murder, then isn’t the concept of stopping a human life from developing also murder? This would mean that one would be against using any form of contraception, including even using condoms. Unless you are also opposed to any form of contraception, then this is a very hypocritical view. Some also argue that by allowing abortion, it will encourage young people to use abortion as an alternate form of contraception.

This is not true. 2% of all women who have had abortions had used effective methods of birth control such as condoms and pills, and it is a known fact that these cannot always ensure complete protection from pregnancy. If someone has used birth control, why should they still be subjected to the burden of a child they do not want? If abortion was made illegal, it would force women to find alternate ways of preventing the child from developing, such as forcing miscarriage by harming oneself, or getting back-alley abortions which can often lead to death.

Here are two case studies, with the first from Bethany White who had an abortion: When I was 24, I found out I was pregnant by my short-term boyfriend. At the time, I was living alone on benefits in a one bedroom flat in an unsafe area. After I had told my boyfriend I was pregnant, he broke up with me. I was mature enough to know that it would be destructive to bring a baby up in that environment, and so I made the decision to get an abortion. Five years on, I am so glad I had my abortion as it was the best choice for me, and the potential child. Right now, I am married and have a child, and have no regrets for getting an abortion. ”

The second is from Sandra Hampton, who did not have an abortion: “I was 16 when I found out I was pregnant. I’d used a condom when having sex, but it still happened. Before that, I had plans to carry on to college, and later go to university to study medicine. However, my boyfriend told me that he’d stick with me, and because of that I decided to keep the baby. I’m now 18 with a 2 year old child, and although I love her, it is a struggle to bring her up. My boyfriend left me 3 months ago, and it saddens me every time I see my old friends and see that they’re going to uni, being teenagers and out having fun.

I know myself even now that I am too immature to bring up this child properly, but I am trying the best that I can. If I had the option again, I would have had an abortion when I was 16 and instead waited until I was older and more mature to have a child. ” As you can see, abortion is the best choice in many cases, and also the most realistic. It has the most pros, and if you find yourself doubting it by questioning the matter with an argument, think to yourself again – how would you feel if your civil rights to choose your path in life were taken away?