Persuasive Essay Abortion: The Moral Dilemma The argument over abortion has been a subject for dispute

for a long time. The arguments span over many issues. All these have been, and are currently being debated. But the issue that is of most concern is the question: is abortion moral? That is the question I will try to answer. Even though the Supreme Court found that a States Criminal Abortion law violates a persons fourteenth amendment right, a woman still has to decide if her decision is right and whether it will affect others than herself. Thus, is it right to have an abortion? A young woman gets pregnant with her boyfriend, both are too young and immature to raise a child, so she decides to get an abortion. This decision is made out of haste due to her youth and immaturity. She decides that the solution to the problem is an abortion. Its quick, and not many will know. Like many girls of her age, this is viewed as the solution to premature sex pregnancies. But I wonder: if she were ten years older, would her decision be different. Has her lifes experiences equipped her to make a decision that will follow her the rest of her life? The problem is that she has made a selfish decision resulting from a selfish choice that she made. Why make the baby suffer? One option would be for her to have the baby, and give it up for adoption. There are thousands of couples that want to have a child but cant. Another decision could involve the commitment to not to having sex until shes ready to be a parent; i.e. being married. Others might elect to employ a dependable form of birth control. By deciding in advance, consequences that impact an innocent life can be deterred. What is abortion? Clinical abortion is the voluntary destruction of the unborn fetus with the use of surgical means or pills. This is not to be confused with spontaneous abortion, or miscarriage. Some of the arguments towards anti-abortion range from the mothers right to choose, to medical reasons. Pro-choice (for abortion) groups would say that the mothers decision to have an abortion is hers. According to the 1973 United States Supreme Court ruling concerning the Roe vs. Wade case, they decided that a woman and her doctor may freely decide to terminate a pregnancy during the first trimester; state governments can restrict abortion access after the first trimester with laws intended to protect the woman's health; abortions after fetal viability must be available if the woman's health or life are at risk; state governments can prohibit other abortions. This landmark case meant that the government couldnt prohibit a woman from having an abortion due to fourteenth Amendments Due Process Clause. But recently Mr. Justice Rheinquist issued a dissenting opinion. He noted that there was no proof that Roe was in her first trimester when she filed her original suite. He said: "While a party may vindicate his own constitutional rights, he may not seek vindication for the rights of others." Noting that an abortion requires the services of a physician, he felt that such an operation is "not 'private' in the ordinary usage of that word. Nor is the 'privacy' that the Court finds here even a distant relative of the freedom from searches and seizures protected by the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution." He felt that the court was not justified in declaring the entire Texas statute to be unconstitutional. Rather, it should have been declared unconstitutional as applied "to a particular plaintiff, but not unconstitutional as a whole." This means that with the writing and verbal context the court decision, it wasnt made on the current issues presented at that time. These groups might also argue that the fetus isnt a real human, so it isnt murder. But isnt taking the life of a human murder? Which side of the womb the victim is on should not matter when it comes to the potentiality of life. At conception, all that is needed for a complete human being to form is present. Some Pro-life group (against abortion) arguments are based mostly on religious principles and their moral beliefs. Some religions believe that life begins at conception, others teach that when the fetus develops a brain life begins while others hold that it starts when the baby is born. This is important so it can be determined when it is OK to destroy a potential life. But most go with the basis that it doesnt matter when life starts; its taking away the chance for a person to live a full potential life. The Christian beliefs are based on the God of their Christian/Judeo heritage. They believe in what the Bible says. Some of their arguments are based upon verses that are found in the Bible. If you believe

in God, theres evidence that we are a human before we are even born. In Jeremiah 1:5 God states, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you." This implies that we were loved by God before we were born and thus have a soul. Having a soul means that you are a human being. Another assertion is in Psalms 139:13: "For Thou didst form my inward parts, Thou didst weave me in my mother's womb. This means that God created us before we were physically born of this world, and that we were meant to fulfill our life by being born. Abortion halts this process. If you dont believe in God, I hope that you would respect that it was important to the writer of these books that the life of the unborn child is valuable. Pro-choice groups argue that abortion is good for the sake of the mother, the child, and society. It helps with population control and other things. They argue the point that if a woman was raped, it can eliminate an unwanted birth that has resulted from trauma. But, what about the natural rights of humans? They say that abortion is the right of the mother, that its her body, that the baby is merely fetal matter and that the mother has the right to the choice of abortion. What about the unborn fetus? Even though it isnt considered fully human yet, does it deserve a chance at life? Equal rights should be given equal time for the unborn child. According to Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court, a fetus is not human. But if this ruling were to changed, millions of women would be considered to be committing murder under the law. Some may ask if abortion isnt a sort of population control. The response to that argument is, the world is not over-populated. So using abortion as a form of population control isnt needed. There arent any more babies being born now than before. So birth control couldnt be considered as a need for an abortion. The problem lies in the death rate. Everyone will die, of course, but for now this has resulted in increases in population. In recent years fewer people have died than have been born because the average age life expectancy has been extended. In the U.S., as well as in many other western countries the increase in population is due to immigration. More people want to come to the U.S. and Canada versus another country like Cuba or Russia. Abortion as a form of population control can not be an argument for this increase in population. There is enough food to feed the world. The problem there lies in distribution. One question that no one asks is: can a fetus feel pain? The answer to that is, yes! At some stage during pregnancy, a fetus becomes capable of feeling pain. But, there appears to be no consensus among experts about the point in the pregnancy when this happens: Many physicians and researchers into fetal development, who are not pro-choice, believe that synaptic connections within the fetus' brain are necessary to perceive pain. These are not formed until well into the third trimester, when fewer than 1% of all pregnancy terminations are done. Others, who tend to be prolife advocates, believe that a fetus as early as 7 weeks after conception can feel pain. Thus, they believe that a fetus can feel pain part way through the first trimester, when most abortions are performed. It would appear that some of the experts' opinions are so heavily biased by their prolife/pro-choice stance that they are incapable of making objective observations. Pain in an adult, child, newborn or late-term fetus originates as an electrical signal in the body's pain receptors. This signal is sent via nerve pathways to the spinal column, then to the thalamus- an egg-shaped structure within the brain. Finally, the signal is transferred to the cerebral cortex where it is sensed as pain. In a fetus, the pain receptors develop around 7 weeks after conception; the spino-thalamic system at about 13 weeks. Finally, the connections to the cortex are established at about 26 weeks into pregnancy. Some pro-life advocates believe that pain can be felt by the fetus when these systems are only partly formed. Most pro-choice advocates believe that the complete system has to be "wired up" before the fetus can feel pain; i.e. at about 26 weeks into pregnancy. But, no doubt, the fetus does feel pain. And depending when you have the abortion, you have the possibility of hurting that fetus. This is another indication that a fetus is more human than we treat it. The final argument that is most widely argued is: if a woman gets pre gnant through rape, couldnt she have an abortion due to the fact that it was conceived illegally, against her will? Well, if you look at the facts: The Justice Dept., from 1973 to 1987, surveyed 49,000 households annually, asking questions on violence and criminal acts. The results of those reported were: 1973 95,934 completed rapes; 1987 82,505 completed rapes. The study stated that only 53% were reported to police.

Accordingly, the total numbers were: 1973 181,016; 1987 155,667 The Washington Times, Jan. 14, 1991, A-5 A more recent Justice Dept. report, using a study designed differently with more direct questions, returned a result of 170,000 completed rapes plus 140,000 attempted rapes. Nat. Crime Victim Report, US Justice Dept. Aug. 95, R. Bachman And how many pregnancies resulted from them? About 1 or 2 for each 1000. Using the 170,000 figure, this translates into an overall total of 170 to 340 assault rape pregnancies a year in the entire United States. Proportionally, this isnt a lot. The reas on is: There are about 100 million women in the United States old enough to be at risk for assault rape. Lets use a figure of 200,000 forcible rapes every year. The studies available agree that there are no more than two pregnancies per 1,000 assault rapes. So much for the numbers. Of these 200,000 women who were raped, one-third were either too old or too young to get pregnant. That leaves 133,000 at risk of pregnancy. A woman is capable of being fertilized only three days out of her 30-day month. So divide 133,000 by 10, and 13,300 women remain. One-fourth of all women in the United States of child-bearing age have been sterilized. That drops the figure to 10,000. Only half of the assailants penetrate her body and/or deposit sperm. Cut it in half again. We are down to 5,000. Fifteen percent of men are sterile; that drops the figure to 4,250. Fifteen percent of non-surgically sterilized women are naturally sterile. That reduces the number to 3,600. Another 15% are on the pill and/or are already pregnant. Now the figure is 3,070. It takes from five to ten months for an average couple to achieve a pregnancy. Using the smaller figure, to be conservative, divide the 3,000 figure by 5, and the number drops to about 600. In a healthy, peaceful marriage, the miscarriage rate ranges up to about 15%. Consider finally that the woman is experiencing inconceivable emotional trauma. Her body is upset. Even if she conceives, the miscarriage rate is higher than in a normal pregnancy. If she follows the statistical pattern of 20% of 600 miscarrying, 450 women are left. Finally, we must factor in one of the most important reasons why a rape victim rarely gets pregnant, and that is psychic trauma. Every woman is aware that stress and emotional factors can alter her menstrual cycle. To get pregnant and stay pregnant, a womans body must produce a very sophisticated mix of hormones. Hormone production is controlled by a part of the brain which is easily influenced by emotions. Theres no greater emotional trauma that can be experienced by a woman than an assault rape. This can radically upset her possibility of ovulation, fertilization, implantation and even nurturing of a pregnancy. So what further percentage reduction in pregnancy will this cause? No one really knows, but this factor certainly cuts the last figure by at least 50%, and probably more, leaving a final figure of 225 women pregnant each year, a number that closely matches the 200 found in clinical studies. Through this long explanation, this show that the likelihood of getting pregnant from a rape is slim and thus limits the need for rape abortions. But for those small percentages of pregnancies from rape, the study showed that the victim who didnt choose abortion and instead gave birth to the child, became closer to her family due to the trauma she went through. This is an example that abortion isnt a choice to an unwanted child. My beliefs are that every child that is conceived deserves a chance at life. He might someday grow up to find a cure for cancer, or be a homeless bum. But with my religious beliefs, I feel that everyone is born with for a reason, and deserves a chance. This holds forth no matter what the outcome might be. Everyone is entitled to birth. Persuasive Essay: Pro-Choice Abortion Abortion has been one of the biggest controversies of all time. Many people believe it is immoral and even consider it to be murder. The definition of abortion is; The termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to being capable of normal growth. 1 These pro-life believers do not support the idea of induced abortion and believe it should be illegal. Many of these supporters do not know that if abortion were illegal they would still be performed, unfortunately by an uneducated staffs. Over 70 thousand maternal deaths occur every year because of unsafe abortions1. These women die, so the idea of supporting pro-life is contradictory, this is why the nation should be pro-choice. Pro-choice believers support the right to privacy and the idea women should have the choice to do what she pleases with her own body. As an example; a woman is raped by a man and becomes pregnant with his child. She decides she doesnt want to keep the baby; she has an abortion because the idea of raising a child of her rapist is too painful for her to cope with. Pro-choice

defenders take sympathies to this woman while she then gets called a murderer by pro-life supporters. Abortions sometimes results in the woman being harassed because of the choice she has made about her own body. Thats what pro-life supports. Often times situations like this turns into harassment which can be considered to be part of anti-abortion violence1. These pro-life supporters stalk, threaten, and even sometimes kill women who have chosen to have an abortion and even the doctors that provide the procedures. Pro-life also supports the idea that every child has a right to live, even if the mother is not financially able to support the child and the child would struggle everyday along with their mother. These children would be underprivileged and could potentially die from the circumstances theyve be forced to live in. Again this is what people that are considered to be pro life defend. Pro-choice supports the girl that is fifteen years old loses her virginity and becomes pregnant because she wasnt fully aware of the consequences of her actions. The choice of her keeping the child would result in her getting kicked out of her home, shed be finically unable to support the b aby, and she would lose her education. With abortion she would not have to deal with these issues, though she would have to deal with the emotional aspect of deciding to terminate the fetus. Pro-choice supports the idea she would learn from her mistake and that ultimately it was her choice to do what she wished with her body. The results of the experience for this girl would be social maturity and evolution, rather than a state of repression. Even though many people practice pro-life because of their religion, it may be surprising to learn that catholic women are 29% more likely to get an abortion than Protestant women, though they are as likely as all women to do so2. In Christianity abortion has been considered homicide since Pope Sixtus V declared it so, but the debate didnt become heated until the 19th century1. So even these pro-life supporters sometimes find the circumstances where abortion is necessary. An example of a situation where you may see this is in a given situation where bearing a child and giving birth would kill the mother because of health issues or womb complications the fetus would have. Its said that the risks of death associated with childbirth is 10 times higher than that of abortion 2. This proves that life is too situational to say whether or not abortion should be illegal. About 14,000 women get abortions fallowing incest or rape and it is estimated that 43% of women worldwide will have an abortion by the time they are 45 years old2. It is also estimated that there are 43 million abortions a year2. Imagine that those abortions had not occurred with the current population issue in the world, there are over 7 billion people on the planet and we have limited resources which are depleting quickly. So in a strange way abortion is beneficial to the planet. Pro-life supporters do not see the situations, reasons, and benefits from abortions. They are ignorant to the reason why many women choose to make the decision they do. It is clear abortion should remain legal; even if it seems immoral it can often be the best situation for the people that have to make that tough decision. Pro-choice defends and protects the people, it is ultimately the womans life that would be affected and no one elses, who would the government be to take that away fro m us the people? We live in a country based on freedoms, and women have and should continue to have the freedom to that choice. Nine reasons in favor of retaining abortion access A list donated by Marliz Olmos-Armas 1. Laws against abortion kill women: Prohibiting abortions does not stop them. When women feel it is absolutely necessary, they will choose to have abortions, even in secret, without medical care, in dangerous circumstances. In the two decades before abortion was legal in the U.S., it's been estimated that nearly a million women per year sought out illegal abortions. Thousands died. Tens of thousands were mutilated. All were forced to behave as if they were criminals. Legal abortions protect women's health: Legal abortion not only protects women's lives, it also protects their health. For tens of thousands of women with heart disease, kidney disease, severe hypertension, sickle-cell anemia and severe diabetes, and other illnesses that can be life-threatening, the availability of legal abortion has helped avert serious medical complications that could have resulted from childbirth. Before legal abortion, such women's choices were limited to dangerous illegal abortion or dangerous childbirth. A woman is more than a fetus: Some people argue these days that a fetus is a "person" that is "indistinguishable from the rest of us" and that it deserves rights equal to women's. On this

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question there is a tremendous spectrum of religious, philosophical, scientific, and medical opinion. It's been argued for centuries. Fortunately, our society has recognized that each woman must be able to make this decision, based on her own conscience. To impose a law defining a fetus as a "person," granting it rights equal to or superior to a woman's a thinking, feeling, conscious human being is arrogant and absurd. It only serves to diminish women. Being a mother is just one option for women: Many hard battles have been fought to win political and economic equality for women. These gains will not be worth much if reproductive choice is denied. To be able to choose a safe, legal abortion makes many other options possible. Otherwise an accident or a rape can end a woman's economic and personal freedom. Outlawing abortion is discriminatory: Anti-abortion laws discriminate against low-income women, who are driven to dangerous self-induced or back-alley abortions. That is all they can afford. But the rich can travel wherever necessary to obtain a safe abortion.travel wherever necessary to obtain a safe abortion. Compulsory childbirth laws are incompatible with a free society: If there is any matter that is personal and private, then pregnancy is it. There can be no more extreme invasion of privacy than requiring a woman to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term. If government is permitted to compel a woman to bear a child, where will government stop? The concept is morally repugnant. It violates traditional American ideas of individual rights and freedoms. Outlaw abortion, and more children will bear children: Forty percent of 14-year-old girls will become pregnant before they turn 20. This could happen to your daughter or someone else close to you. Here are the critical questions: Should the penalty for lack of knowledge or even for a moment's carelessness be enforced pregnancy and childrearing? Or dangerous illegal abortion? Should we consign a teenager to a life sentence of joblessness, hopelessness, and dependency? "Every child a wanted child:" If women are forced to carry unwanted pregnancies to term, the result is unwanted children. Everyone knows they are among society's most tragic cases, often uncared-for, unloved, brutalized, and abandoned. When they grow up, these children are often seriously disadvantaged, and sometimes inclined toward brutal behavior to others. This is not good for children, for families, or for the country. Children need love and families who want and will care for them. Choice is good for families: Even when precautions are taken, accidents can and do happen. For some families, this is not a problem. But for others, such an event can be catastrophic. An unintended pregnancy can increase tensions, disrupt stability, and push people below the line of economic survival. Family planning is the answer. All options must be open.