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Emilee Gourley
Kelly Turnbeaugh
English 1010-028
August 3, 2014
Prolife or Prochoice?
Abortion is and will be an ongoing debate. Both sides have very strong and validating
opinions. Prolife or prochoice comes down to morals, values, personal opinion, family,
environment, religion, country. So many different things have an influence on the way people
think. For my English 1010 research project I am focusing on the opinion of a religious leader,
the father of the child, and women who had been raped. As Ive been researching I have found
that the different opinions bring out great point of views. Before researching I thought I knew
everything there was to know. I did not realize how broad of a topic this subject is there are so
many reasoning and different opinions that can back up why abortion should be legal or illegal. I
learned about many different sides and opinions about abortion being prolife or prochoice.
Before researching I said I was prolife, with the exception of rape or incest. After researching
and reading the stories of men and women who chose abortion or when a woman was raped
decided to keep the baby, it is hard to make a decision for someone else because, you are not in
that position and why should you get to chose something a women should or should not do with
her body?
I found an essay by Larry Bohannon called What about Abortion? He talks about why we
should be prolife. Larry compares abortion to the innocent people who were killed in 9/11.
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Many people have become apathetic about abortion. Since they have already been born,
abortion is no threat to them personally. Why should they care about someone elses baby? If
there is any lesson to be learned from September 11, 2001, it is that we should value and protect
innocent human life even if it is not our own. This lack of value was the direct cause of the
terrorist acts.(Bohannon) He goes on about how it is a mothers natural instinct to be a nurturer
and not to abort her child. I do agree that women are programmed to be nurturing and have that
need to care for someone. But what if the mother is incapable to care for her child? There are
other options like adoption. What if the situation is different like rape or incest?
I read some stories on women who had been raped and their decision to keep the baby or
to have an abortion. To my surprise a lot of the stories I read the women were offended that they
were given the option. Not only were they offended that they were given that option but because
doctors and loved ones said it is okay because of their situation. They felt that just because
something terrible happened to them does not mean something terrible should happen to their
child. The women share that they feel they dont get the share their side of opinion why they are
keeping their child. These women went through something traumatic but receive something
beautiful in the end. This doesnt mean it wasnt difficult for them. There is blog that is written
by a mother who decided to have her baby that was conceived by rape. She talks about the
challenges of being pregnant and seeing other pregnant women with the father and how he cares
for her and the baby and she does not have that. No matter where she turned there was a
reminder of the man who had raped her. Through all the terrible memories and challenges she
says having her baby girl was a wonderful thing and she couldnt imagine life without her.
Well, I can only tell you what it was like for me. If there is one regret I have, it is that I wasn't
able to seek good and supportive help at the very beginning.(Reddy) These events happened to
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me more than two decades ago. I couldn't live without my beautiful girl; she's one of my best
friends, and she has given me beautiful grandchildren, which also seems to have helped her heal.
Indeed, it has even become possible for her to make gentle jokes about her biological father,
which we both roar, laughter at. While I have no overall regrets, the only regret I have ever had
is that the knowledge of her conception hurt her so badly. That was the only time it ever
occurred to me that other options might have been better - for her sake. But we got through that.
She isn't a "result" of a dreadful deed that hardly matters anymore; she is just my darling girl. If
I have made the journey sound easy, I didn't mean to, because it wasn't. But it was certainly
worth it. I know I did the right thing for us. (Reddy) Helen is prolife but that doesnt mean she
didnt consider abortion she is very honest about her thoughts and struggles that came with
conceiving a child through rape.
After reading about women who had been raped and choose to have the baby instead of
abortion it got me thinking about religious beliefs. I know that most churches are prolife but I
wanted to know if they believed if it is okay to have an abortion under certain circumstances.
Living in Utah the LDS religion is the most common religion. As many of us know the church is
prolife. When I was researching I found that the LDS religion is prolife but accept abortion under
certain circumstances. Latter-day prophets have denounced abortion, referring to the Lord's
declaration, Thou shalt not . . . kill, nor do anything like unto it (D&C 59:6). Their counsel on
the matter is clear: Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints must not submit
to, perform, encourage, pay for, or arrange for an abortion. Church leaders have said that some
exceptional circumstances may justify an abortion, such as when pregnancy is the result of incest
or rape, when the life or health of the mother is judged by competent medical authority to be in
serious jeopardy, or when the fetus is known by competent medical authority to have severe
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defects that will not allow the baby to survive beyond birth. But even these circumstances do not
automatically justify an abortion. (Packer, Boyd K.) The LDS church believes that the eternal
plan is to come here receive a body and start a family. With that being the LDS church is prolife,
this is why I think religion plays a big role in what we believe is right or wrong we are taught
different morals and values.
When I think of abortion my first thought is I am prolife but is it up to the mother of the
child to make her own decision if she should have an abortion or not? I never think about how
the father feels or if he even has an input. I did some research about fathers and the effect
abortion had on them. I found a story about a man whos at the time girlfriend had four
abortions. Three of the four were with his consent. The girlfriend became his wife and they now
have four children together. The man shares that the guilt and pain was overwhelming and
cannot hold back the tears after 20 years. Now married for two decades and the parent of four
other beautiful children, he recounts how his marriage was difficult and tumultuous for years
until they sought counseling. The root of their conflict and strife? The abortion.(Fisher) The
rest of the story talks about how men can sleep with whomever and dont have to worry if the
women get pregnant because it is up to the women what she does with the baby. There are also
an estimated 15 million fathers who, for whatever reason, lost children to elective death in the
womb. Men have failed their families and their children. The tide is beginning to turn, however.
Men are realizing no one escapes the hell of abortion. We are waking up and realizing that
children are killed and women are exploited. We are just now considering, though, that we
victimize ourselves. Depression, guilt, shame, a loss of self, a loss of honor, and destroyed
relationships are common male consequences of abortion. In our heart of hearts, we are coming
to grips with what were doing. We are willfully taking the lives of those we are wired to
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protect.(Fisher) I believe that men should also get a say if the woman should have an abortion
or not. Abortion is not only mentally, physically, and emotionally hard on the women but also
for the father. He may not be carrying the child but it is just as much his as it is hers. We can see
from this story how abortion can have a traumatic effect on the father and mother even years
later.
In conclusion I am still prolife with exception of incest or abortion. I would like to say
personally if I were in that situation of rape or incest I would have the baby but give it up for
adoption. It is hard to say because I have never been in that situation so I dont understand the
emotions that come with it. Being a part of a religion that is also prolife has had an effect on me
that was the way I was born and raised and that is what I was taught. I strongly believe that
morals, values, personal opinion, family, environment, religion, and country play a role in your
why your opinions are your opinions. I also think whether you are with the father of your child
or not he should have a say in if you are keeping the baby, adoption, or abortion. I dont think
people look at the aftermath of decisions like these and the different emotions it comes with.
After many days of research I am still prolife I think we should make abortion illegal with
exception to certain circumstances.





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Cited Works
Bohannon, Larry. "What About Abortion?." <i>What About Abortion?</i>. N.p., n.d. Web. 31
July 2014. &lt;http://www.abortionessay.com/files/essay2.html&gt;.
Fisher, Brian. "Abortion and fatherhood -- a man's take." <i>Fox News</i>. FOX News
Network, 13 June 2013. Web. 30 July 2014.
&lt;http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/06/13/abortion-and-fatherhood-man-take/&gt;.
Reddy, Helen. "Surviving The Memories - A Mother's advice about having and raising a rape-
conceived child." Surviving The Memories - A Mother's advice about having and raising a rape-
conceived child. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Aug. 2014.
<http://www.pandys.org/survivingthememories/mother.html>.