Gill 1 Kendra Gill Professor Alex Fuentes ENGL 1010 10 December 2013 Exploratory Research Project: Abortion Why

is this topic so controversial in todays society? It seems as if it gets justified more and more as time goes on. Before I started this project I was dead set on my opinion, which was that abortion was not acceptable under ANY circumstance. After researching a little bit about it, it seems as if most of my research stated similar thoughts and ideas related to each other, on what circumstances that abortion is acceptable. I still feel like I have a strong opinion on abortion, and it was very hard for me to open up to other peoples opinions. The question that I am going to be exploring is Under what circumstances is abortion acceptable? We must respond to all tragic circumstances of pregnancy from the unshakeable foundation of two indisputable premises: human life begins at conception, and it is always wrong to intentionally kill an innocent human being. (Physicians 1). Yes, it is wrong to intentionally kill a human being. This makes me so extremely mad when I hear of selfish mothers who just dont want their baby, and choose to have an abortion. The things that I have read about, researched, and watched just make me so sad. I saw a clip of this lady who was a recipient of an attempted abortion. Her biological mother was about a month away from giving birth and she decided she didnt want it anymore. She went in to get a poisonous fluid injected into her stomach so it would kill the baby. The baby sat in this fluid for five days, and when she went back to the hospital to remove the baby, it was alive. That is amazing that she survived that and what the mother did was absolutely wrong and extremely selfish. Abortion procedures are not a

Gill 2 bad thing; they are just too commonly used, and therefore promote irresponsibility. (Goldsberry 1). Goldsberry states that when used in the right way, under the right circumstances, that abortions are not a bad thing. It is just hard trying to justify what is acceptable. When I decided this is what I wanted to be researching, there was only three circumstances that I figured abortion would be acceptable. I turned to my most reliable source, I thought, which was my religion. The three justifiable exceptions that the LDS church gives, are: If the pregnancy was the result of incest or rape, if the mothers life is in jeopardy, and if the fetus were to develop severe birth defects that would not allow it to survive beyond birth. (True to the Faith 4.) This is a very tough decision to make, but I do agree that abortion could be an option if the mother counsels with medical staff, as well as prays about it. I believe that if you seek out the proper counsel, and pray about it, then you will know what is best. Out of all of my research, I found that this was the one that I agreed with the most, because it comes from the leaders of my church. I found in one of my sites that specified, Such societies usually lay down a maximum age after which the foetus must not be aborted, regardless of the circumstances. (Reasons for Abortion 1.) This is interesting because there are some societies that say an abortion is okay up until a certain age. How do we decide what age to draw the line? That opens up another controversy and many opinions on that as well. I believe that new life is created from the time of conception, so it doesnt matter what age you abort the child or up until what age would be acceptable, because either way you are still destroying the life. That should not be the determining factor of if an abortion is acceptable. There was also an opinion from one of my sources that stated that abortion was okay regardless of the circumstance because fetus arent considered humans until outside of the

Gill 3 womb. (Williams 169). I strongly disagree with this opinion because like I mentioned before, a fetus is a human from the time that fertilization occurs, and new life begins at that point. I think it is wrong for someone to say that a fetus isnt a human until birth. Dont all humans kick, move, eat, and sleep? This is what a fetus does in the womb so it is definitely classified as a human. Should an abortion be solely a womans right and entirely her choice to do so? Would that make it any more justifiable because she has the choice to do whatever she wants with her own body? One of my sources comes from a feminist approach, and pro-abortion site that proposed that abortion could be considered a positive event. She overlooks the tragedy of having one, and compares an abortion to having open heart surgery. She says that it is just like any other procedure and that a woman should have a right to do so. (Jill 1). I assure you that an abortion is much more than just a typical procedure as compared to open heart surgery. Whatever stage you may be at in pregnancy, and whatever circumstance you feel that it is right to abort the baby, then it is more than just a simple event and should not be looked at it in that way. To say that having an abortion is compared to having having open heart surgery makes me sick. It is much more than just a procedure. One of the circumstances that I have a hard time with is in cases of incest or rape. It isnt the babys fault at all in that case, and I would strongly encourage the mother to put the baby up for adoption. That to me just seems like the most reasonable conclusion, instead of taking an innocent babys life. Beckwith uses a quote from Bioethicist Andrew Varga stating that Pregnancy caused by rape or incest is the result of a grave injustice and that the victim should not be obliged to carry the fetus to viability. This would keep reminding her for nine months of the violence committed against her and would just increase her mental anguish. (Beckwith 1). I

Gill 4 understand that this would be a tragic thing for the mother to have to go through, and the whole nine months I guarantee the mother would have negative reflections on what has happened to her, and it would be difficult to look at the pregnancy in a positive way. But, is it really worth it to take an innocent babys life because of something wrong that happened? It is hard because I havent been in that situation, so I wouldnt know what to do. I just feel like it is not the babys fault and shouldnt have its life taken. As for the mothers health, this can be taken a couple different ways. When I researched a little bit on this circumstance, one of my articles was straightforward with what the mother should do. We should not kill an unborn baby to alleviate the suffering of the mother any more than we should kill her infant to alleviate her suffering. (Physicians 1). This statement is pretty blunt. In a way, I do agree with what they are saying because when you are having a baby, you have to take into consideration some of the possibilities that could happen. The article does go on to say that, When the life of the mother is truly threatened by her pregnancy, if both lives cannot simultaneously be saved, then saving the mothers life must be the primary aim. This is super tough to agree or disagree with, because it is going to be a hard decision no matter what. Its a lose-lose situation, but I think it is justifiable that if not both the mother and the baby can be saved, that the mother lives. There is such a thing as an ectopic pregnancy, which is when the embryo attaches in a place in the mothers body besides the uterus, and this could be very harmful to the mother. The baby typically implants in the fallopian tube, and if it implants anywhere else, then problems may arise. The Physicians website states that there are times when this type of pregnancy could work out, and both the mother and the baby could survive, and it has happened before. There are also more times where this type of pregnancy does not end up working out as well. The initial

Gill 5 decision of whether or not the pregnancy should continue is the hard part. The article says that if the mother decides to go through with the pregnancy, and the issue does not resolve to where the baby and mother would be able to survive, then surgery may be necessary to save the mothers life. This procedure may not kill the unborn child at all, because the child has likely already been deceased if surgery becomes necessary. But if the baby is still living, the procedure is necessary to save the mothers life, and the death of the unborn baby is unavoidable and unintentional. In cases like this, it is better to let the fetus die off by itself, rather than assist. As for cases of possible deformity in a child, this same article says, We should not commit an abortion of a malformed fetus in order to prevent his or her suffering later in life. Being handicapped is not a capital crime. The intentional destruction of health is not compassionate and it is not healthcare, it is assault. I think it is wrong to end a fetus life just because it could have some possible deformities. My friend was supposed to have severe down syndrome, and the doctor of her mother encouraged her to have an abortion because he did not see it surviving after birth. Her mother decided to go through with the pregnancy and the baby ended up being perfectly fine. I think in that case you would just have to decide for yourself and seek religious guidance on what you should do. I believe in miracles, and I think this was definitely one. I think her mother did the right thing, because even if she did have Down syndrome, it doesnt mean she wouldnt have been able to live her life. In cases like this where the baby was supposed to have severe deformities, I think that the mother should just have to pray and decide what the best option is. The Physicians website gives a great example on the circumstances in which the baby may be experiencing problems. It says, If a rescuer is venturing into a burning vehicle to try to save its injured occupants, and is only able to save one of the two occupants, is it justifiable for

Gill 6 him to then take out his gun and shoot the occupant he was unable to save? Of course not! Intentionally killing those you were not able to save is never justified in healthcare. This is perfect. It kind of puts into perspective what you should do in that case. If the baby has severe deformities that may or may not allow it to live outside of the womb, then let it be. I think that if the baby is going to die, then the death should not be assisted. There are miracles that do take place, and I feel that there are possibilities that it could happen, but if the baby were to be aborted, then no one would ever know. In conclusion, I feel that it is best to seek counsel on what the best option would be for the mother and the baby. I dont feel that there are a set three certain circumstances that are acceptable (rape, health of the mother, deformities of the child) but that there are many circumstances that each mother could potentially experience and would just have to decide for her what is best. It is hard to just point out the circumstances that are okay, and that only are okay, because miracles could happen. A mother does need to consider the possibilities of things that could happen to her or the baby, and be prepared for the possible outcomes. It is wrong to intentionally abort the child for selfish reasons, and that if the mother just plain doesnt want the baby, it is not okay. As time passes, it seems as if more and more women are having abortions as a way of shunning responsibility. According to the AG Institution, fifty percent of women who have abortions use it as their sole means of birth control. (Goldsberry 1). This is why this topic makes me so angry. Mothers that act upon abortion are doing it as a form of birth control? That is in no way, shape, or form, ethical at all. There are other ways to prevent getting pregnant, and if you do not want to get pregnant, then you need to take extra precautions in order not to. If you do happen to get pregnant, it is your own fault for not taking the precautions to do so, and you should have to carry out the pregnancy.

Gill 7 So the answer to my research paper remains unknown because there are just so many different possibilities that could happen. Like I have said at the beginning, when I first wanted to research this topic, I was really close-minded on the ethics of abortion. I didnt believe that it was acceptable at all. I feel like I can say that it is justifiable, or acceptable under certain circumstances, but what are those circumstances? I still do not know for myself what I think the circumstances should be. I do know the circumstances that are not acceptable, which are already some that I have named, and there are many more. This is why abortion is such a controversial topic in todays society.

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Works Cited Beckwith, Francis J. Is abortion justifiable in cases of rape or incest? 1991. 1 November 2013. <http://christiananswers.net/q-sum/q-life005.html>. Goldsberry, Alice. Abortion: Where Do We Draw the Line? . 2003. 3 November 2013. <http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/biology/b103/f03/web3/a1goldsberry.html>. Physicians, Association of Pro-life. Are There Rare Cases When An Abortion Is Justified? . n.d. 1 November 2013. http://www.prolifephysicians.org/rarecases.htm Jill. (2007, February 23). Abortion is a Moral Good . Retrieved October 31, 2013, from Feministe: http://www.feministe.us/blog/archives/2007/02/23/abortion-is-a-moral-good/ Reasons for Abortion. n.d. 3 November 2013. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/abortion/legal/when_1.shtml>. True to the Faith . (2004). Salt Lake City : Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . Williams, R. (2008). Abortion, Potential, and Value . Utilitas , 169-186.