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Stephanie Harris
ENC 1102
4 November 2010
On The Issue of Abortion

Not that long ago the issue of abortion was not spoken of. People shunned the idea of

terminating a pregnancy, or did not think of it being possible at all. However in this day and age

many women have abortions and the numbers are growing. Even though it is more common

today there are a lot of controversies on the subject. Many still question the morality of abortion

and whether or not it is the right choice.

There is a compassion and understanding for the rights of women. The baby is growing inside

of a woman’s body and not the body of someone else. Her life will be affected by the baby. A

woman feels the need to maintain the dignity in her life. The woman has the “absolute need to

consider her own needs first.” (Barr, 57) Many feel this way and feel that no one else can make

the judgment because it is the woman who must live with the results. A pregnancy can come at

the wrong time in a woman’s life, a time when she is unprepared. If a woman feels that having a

baby is a mistake, many believe the choice is hers to terminate the pregnancy. She will have to

deal with the physical and emotional pain of her own decision.

The other side on the issue of rights is that the fetus inside the woman also has a right, a right

to life. Citizens who lean more to the conservative side would agree that there are fetal rights.

According to people who agree with this side of the argument, the baby becomes human at

conception. With this idea, that makes abortion murder. They feel that the baby has as much of a
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right to live as the mother has. They believe it is a human being growing inside of the mother, a

human being with rights.

There are many positions as well on when life begins. According to the Shinto faith, the fetus

is not human until it is physically outside of the womb whereas the Catholic faith forbids

abortion because there is life from the moment the egg is fertilized. Judaism believes “prior to

actual birth, the unborn infant is not deemed truly to be a living soul, a human being.” (Lader,

97)

This issue is the hardest to prove one way or another. There is no scientific way of proving

when the child actually becomes a human. The position you take is your own and it is your word

against someone else’s. I am just as right to say that life beings at conception as someone else is

to say it begins at birth. I am sensitive to the opinions of others, and understand that someone has

the right to believe what they believe. However, I will also stand firm on my beliefs.

Apart from rights and the actual beginning of life, another issue is rape. Many woman fall

victim to rape crimes and unfortunately become pregnant as a result of the crime. If a woman

becomes pregnant as a result of rape it is clear that the pregnancy is unwanted. She has suffered

enough from the rape, and many would say she has the right to terminate the pregnancy. After

all, she was harmed and impregnated against her will.

Along these lines is also the issue of age. If a young woman is rape, a lot of people would

magnify her unwanted pregnancy. Even if she was not raped and simply made a mistake and

ended up pregnant, many people would make her the victim. However the conservative ones
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would say that regardless if it was her decision to have sex or not, the baby is still human and

deserves a chance at life.

The truth of the matter is that abortion is the wrong decision. Scientifically, there are

complications that can happen when performing an abortion. Not to mention the mental and

emotional consequences of abortion. Based on my own religious beliefs, the baby is in fact a

human being and has the right to life. The woman does have a right to make the decision, but in

my opinion abortion is the wrong choice. Adoption is strongly recommended as opposed to

abortion. Many people other than just the woman will be affected with an abortion. Everyone,

including the baby should be taken into consideration.

It has been proven that women who have abortions face regret later on in life. This regret can

be because of guilt, emotion or even physical complications. Abortion is a tricky operation that

can sometimes leave an impactful scar in your life. Many women who have had abortions have

not been able to have kids later in life due to the one choice they made. Abortion can be harmful

to your body and kills the baby living inside of you. The impact of this one decision is not

something to be taken lightly.

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Work Cited

Barr, Samuel J. A Woman's Choice. New York: Rawson Associates Publishers, Inc., 1978.

Lader, Lawrence. Abortion. Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc. , 1966.

Welton, Kent B. Abortion Is Not A Sin. Costa Mesa: Pandit Press Inc., 1987.