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Mackenzie Drury
English 11
8/31/13
Persuasive Essay


Should Abortion be Justified in the United States?


Do you consider something with a heartbeat to be living? Do you believe that the life of
an innocent child should be taken as a result of their parents mistake? Should abortion be
justified in the United States? Should it be okay for someone to have the gift of life taken away
from them before theyve even had a chance to explore it? In my opinion, abortion is wrong in
almost every circumstance. Abortion should not be justified in the United States because it is just
like a murder. We dont allow people to murder others their own age, how is that any different
just because the child is small and defenseless?
How is abortion any different than committing a murder on any other human being? Most
abortions are received between the sixth and twelfth week of pregnancy. At just six weeks a baby
has a functioning brain, heartbeat, and spinal cord. They are also developing vocal cords, a
tongue, and are able to move their feet. Within eight to nine weeks the baby is constantly
moving. They have shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees, ankles in which all joints are working
properly and give them the ability to move. Between the tenth and twelfth week the baby has
fingernails, unwebbed fingers and toes, hardening bones, and tooth buds. (Baby Center) With
this being said, even though the baby is very small, and may not look exactly like the babies we
know and love today, it is still a human being. A brain, spinal cord, nervous system, and heart
are the main components of life. When an abortion is done a baby has those main components,
but they are being taken away. Which means a life is being taken away from a human. It is the
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same as if someone were to commit a murder, they are stopping someones heart and brain from
functioning. Its the same thing just in a different perspective.
Abortion is not only wrong, but it has some severe side effects and risks that can come
with it. There are many physical risks and side effects, emotional side effects, and mental side
effects caused by abortions. Cervical weakness or tear, infection, nausea, incompetent cervix,
scar tissue on uterine wall, and future infertility are just some physical risks of getting the
procedure done. (Abortion the Facts) A major physical risk that can come as a result of
abortions is an increased vulnerability for breast cancer. Sleeping disorders, eating disorders,
new/increased dependencies on alcohol or drugs, depressions, grief, and guilt along with regret
sadness, anger, and suicidal thoughts are some mental side effects that may come after an
abortion. A big side effect is a mental disease called, Post Abortion Syndrome. Post abortion
syndrome is common in females and males after an abortion. It includes all of the symptoms
above and can last for extremely long periods of time. Once an abortion is done, its done. There
are no take backs or redos, that childs life is gone forever and you will have to live with that
for the rest of yours.
As citizens of the United States of America we have many rights and opportunities. We
have freedom of speech, the right to vote, and have the right to choose government officials. But
in with all of those rights and many more, do you ever hear about having the right to take
someones life? Big or small, born or unborn, its the same. As stated in the 14
th
amendment to
the United States Constitution. No state shall deprive a person of life (Legal Information
Institute). What makes people think that just because a baby is not born yet does not mean its
not alive. An abortion is taking away the life of a person. Depriving a person of life, this in
reference to the constitution sounds pretty illegal to me. Why do people think that it is acceptable
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to take away a life due to their irresponsibility? If you chose to be irresponsible and oblivious to
the possible results of your actions then you should have to face your consequences. If you
believe you will be an inadequate parent, adoption is always an option. Should an innocent
childs gift of life be taken away because you believe it will be a burden to you and/or your
family? There are so many women in this world that are continuously trying to conceive a child
and due to medical or fertility issues are not able to. Adoption will help these women and also
your child. Instead of taking away life you are giving a person life and completing another
persons life by giving helping them create the family theyve been trying so hard to get.
Now, a reason why people may say that abortion is acceptable is if a woman is raped.
People feel that if a woman is a victim of sexual assault they should not have to take
responsibility for that child. Another is that teenagers are not capable of being good parents.
People feel that teenagers have other responsibilities and are still children themselves. They feel
that there is no possible way they are capable enough to care for a child of their own. Another
reason people say that abortion should be okay is if caring out the pregnancy will harm the child
or mother.
In response to the previous counterarguments, people say that if a woman is raped she
should not have to be responsible for that child. Only one percent of aborting woman claim to be
survivors of rape. Another argument is that teenagers do not make adequate parents. Teenagers
only obtain seventeen percent of abortions. Also, people say that abortions should be allowed for
women who have physical, mental, and health problems. Again, statistics show that only twelve
percent of woman includes these problems in their reasoning for receiving the abortion.
Although these counterarguments make very valid points, the statistics show that they are not in
the majority for reasoning in abortion. So if those arent the top reasons then what are? Statistics
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show that on average women give three top reasons as to why they are getting the abortion
(Facts About Abortion). Seventy five percent say that having a child would interfere with
works, school, or other responsibilities. Seventy five percent also say that they cannot afford a
child. About fifty percent of women say that they do not want to be a single parent or that they
are having troubles with their husband/partner. Adoption will solve all of these problems. If you
dont have time for a child, dont have money for a child, or feel as if you wouldnt be capable of
being a good parent, adoption agencies will help you find the best adoption plan for your child.
You then know that your child will be in a safe and loving place.
Abortions can cost anywhere from $450- $1,000, all depending on what stage of
pregnancy the mother is in and which type of abortion procedure is going to be done. In some
cases that kind of money is very hard to come up with. Abortion is expensive, morally wrong,
and risky. In just the United States around 1.4 million abortions are performed each year. This
number has actually decreased from a high of 1.36 million abortions in 1996. That is 1.2-1.36
million lives taken from innocent children a year. Its millions of memories not being made,
millions of childhood experiences being missed, millions of people unable to create a family,
because they are unable to have children of their own, and millions of people that are never
going to grow up and have children of their own. Do people deserve to have all this taken away
from them just because of some mistake two people made? Be smart and make the right
decisions. Life is precious, dont ever take that for granted; its a gift. We have no right to take
life away from someone else. Stand up against abortion. Share your opinion; stand up for what is
right.


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