Term Paper on "Pro Life Abortion"

Term Paper 4 pages (1818 words) Sources: 0

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Pro Life

Abortion may be in the news more today than in times past, but it is certainly not a new issue. Abortion may well be as old as pregnancy itself, as there is some evidence of abortion-like behavior among animals in the natural world. In prehistoric and ancient times, medicine women and witches would see to women's pregnancies and would be the ones to perform abortions. Women reminiscent of the feminists of recent decades have performed abortions in back alleys and secret locations for centuries. Today, institutionalized, impersonal abortion clinics lure in women to have their pregnancies terminated in a sterile environment. There is a great deal of controvercy over the issue of abortion, and the pro-choice and pro-life advocates both feel and act passionately about the subject, demonstrating, preaching, and proselytizing the morality of their viewpoint. However, most people seem to have a black-and-white opinion about abortion, either feeling that women should always have the right to terminate their pregnancies or that they never should have the right. It is good to have a strong understanding and firm stance on one's moral beliefs and not let those morals be compromised, however the absolutely right or wrong judgment about abortion does not usually take into consideration the most important factor. In the natural world, abortion-related behavior only occurs in times of great stress for the animal, such as the mother being ill, or the developing babies having some kind of deformity or illness. Abortion should not be used as a regular form of birth control, or as a matter of convenience, or even as some kind of sick fad. Abortion should only be used when it is necessary to improve the quality of life for society as a whole and assist in the evolution of the human race. The problem with the legality of abortion in our society is that it allows for (and sometimes encourages) the wrong pregnancies to be terminated.

In cases where the mother has been raped, the fetus has health or development problems, or the mother's health is at risk, abortion should not only be legal, but also be encouraged as the appropriate choice. However, children that are healthy physically and mentally should be carried to term and allowed to live. The law should state that abortion is illegal unless there is a police report confirming rape or if a doctor has confirmed that there is something wrong with the health of the mother or fetus.

There is a great deal of literature on this topic that support my viewpoint. For example, Allan G. Roper discussed the history of eugenics in his 1913 prize-winning essay. The term eugenics was not introduced until the 1800s, but it has been in practice since prehistoric times. The pre-civilization tribes would leave the sickly or unfit children to die because otherwise they would be a burden on their society. Today, we have the ability to do this in a far less barbaric way and end the pregnancy before the child is even born rather than letting a sickly or deformed baby die on the mountains! The reason that people have such a fear reaction to the idea of eugenics is because of instances such as Nazi Germany where there was some outside force trying to breed superhumans in order to perfect the human race. However, in the case of simply allowing abortion as an option for women in certain situations, but not allowing it for those who will have fit children, there is no Big Brother deciding who lives and wo dies. It simply stacks the odds in favor of more healthy children being born, and gives the choice back to the people to help evolve the human race. "Human Eugenics, to be effective, can never be a cold-blooded selection of partners from without; it must be voluntary, and from within, resulting from a new ethical sense of the individual's relation to the social group." (Roper) Another factor which has been discussed in a great deal of literature is the fact that criminals share a common genetic flaw, and that criminal and antisocial behavior is significantly increased in people with certain inheritable genetic patterns. This means that a woman who gets pregnant from a rapist is likely to be carrying a criminal-to-be within her womb. "A study of a family of Dutch criminals revealed they suffered from a defect in the gene that determines MAO a production....The chain of evidence linking genes, brain chemistry and criminal behavior was complete." (Wilson) by allowing women who have been raped to terminate their pregnancies, even if they themselves or the fetus appear to be otherwise healthy, it will help to prevent more rapists from being born. However, it is not fair to women to make it a legal choice to always have an abortion despite all circumstances because it actually puts pressure on them to terminate for the happiness of those around her. According to one female doctor, pro-abortionists use vocabulary that makes abortion sound empowering and as if it is her choice alone, but this is rarely the case. Shauna Hollingshead writes, "These phrases speak to the subconscious of women in the voices of their employers, partners, teachers, and parents: 'Yes it is your body, and you had better choose what we are expecting of you, so as to make our lives easier. This burden is yours alone, and we support only one choice, that which will save us hassle and worry.' In essence, the woman often feels abandoned rather than empowered and supported." (Hollingshead)

If abortion were not a legal option except for those cases in which it is necessary, then women could not be forced into making this decision. The idea of therapeutic abortion, or abortion to preserve the health of the mother, is not a new one. According to the E-Medicine Journal, "The use of abortion to preserve the life of the mother has been widely accepted. Early Jewish scholars' interpretation of the Talmud required that the fetus be destroyed if it posed a threat to the mother during delivery." ("Therapeutic Abortion.") Therapeutic abortions only make up a small percentage of the actual number of abortions that are performed, and passing legislation that would make it so that therapeutic abortion (especially in the wider sense which can also include babies with defects) was the only abortion allowed would reduce the numbers of normal pregnancy abortions and allow for an increase in the percentage of therapeutic abortions.

There are many different viewpoints about abortion, and there are varying degrees to every proposed solution. Many people believe that abortion should always be the choice of the woman that is carrying the child, regardless of the circumstances involved. These people believe that the unborn child is the property of the mother, and therefore er right to decide what happens to it. Strictly pro-choice arguments also suggest that an unborn child is not really a child, but rather just a lump of tissue that does not deserve any rights. Pro-choice propaganda also revolves around factors such as overpopulation and poverty, claiming that allowing women to terminate their pregnancies will reduce the human population, therefore making the world a better place for everyone.

On the other end of the spectrum, the pro-life viewpoint is equally extreme. Pro-lifers will argue that abortion is not a viable solution in any situation whatsoever. There is no conceivable way to justify abortion, to a pro-life advocate. This group of people holds the philosophy that unborn babies are babies nonetheless, and that there is nothing that could possibly make ending a pregnancy the right decision to make. Pro-life advocates will go to great lengths to save unborn children despite the circumstances, and they harshly judge anyone that supports abortion in any way. Pro-lifers believe that all human life is sacred and therefore unborn babies are sacred as well, and deserve the same rights as people that born children and adults already have.

The reason that my proposition, which is to make abortion legal only in the cases that police can confirm a rape report or that medical doctors can confirm that the women or fetus is suffering from a significant medical condition, is superior to the other suggestions is because my solution is aimed at helping the human race as a whole. My suggestion does not limit itself to individual circumstances to find justification for why it is the right choice; this solution does not need to make exceptions for anyone, because they are already built in to this policy. The decision to let women kill their unborn babies over and over again is a barbaric one. With abortion being legal across the board, many unborn babies die for no reason. Women will often get an abortion because it is the more convenient option when weighed against the others presented to them.

This is completely immoral. Babies are the future of the human race and therefore not disposable! People often suggest that women should have the right to… READ MORE

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