Pro-life Essay

Abortion has long been an item of discussion and controversy. Almost every person has a view on this item. Pro-choice activists say that abortion should be legal and also be the mother’s choice while Pro-life people say that abortion is taking away a child’s right to life and should be outlawed. Though our doctors try to stay out of the fight, they always have to choose a side. Some doctors perform abortions while others will not; others will perform abortions thorough most of a pregnancy while some will only perform one in the first trimester. Abortion is defined as “the ending of a pregnancy before birth… In an induced abortion, the fetus is purposely removed from the body” (Abortion). Though pro-choice activists say it is the woman’s right to have control over her own body, legal abortions save lives, and fetal tissue is not human life, the practice of abortion needs to end because it devalues human life, any abortion can cause complications for the mother, and it is murder.

It is true that women should have the right to have control of their bodies, even the United States Constitution says that states cannot make or enforce laws that will decrease the freedoms or exceptions of United States citizens (14^th Amendment). Many women feel that a law against abortion would infringe upon their right to privacy. Although the right to privacy is not directly stated in the Constitution or Bill of Rights, many people believe that the Ninth Amendment covers this right. They also believe that it would violate their right to liberty (The Right to Privacy). This right is covered in the Fourteenth Amendment where it states “No state shall… deprive any person of life, liberty, or property” (14^th Amendment). One could argue that the Fourteenth Amendment covers the right to choosing an abortion by stating that states cannot deny any person property. If the state cannot deny property then they are not able to deny the destruction of one’s own property.

Secondly, legal abortions save lives. “Legal abortion eliminates many of the illegal abortions preformed by unskilled individuals under unsanitary conditions… [Which] cause many women permanent injury or result in their deaths” (Abortion). Women should not have to risk their lives to get rid of unwanted children. “Statistics indicate that restricting access to abortion does nothing to reduce the number of abortions that take place, instead it causes major public health risks and discriminates against the poor” (Lee). Legalizing abortion would save women who would get an abortion no matter if it was legal or not from certain injury and maybe even death. It would also help the poor to not have the same problems due to lack of funds.

In addition, pro-choice activists say that fetal tissue is not life. They believe personhood, “the ability to experience self-consciousness and to be accepted as a member of a community” (Abortion), is more important than human life (Abortion). They also believe that human life does not start at conception but at viability, the ability of a fetus to live outside of the womb (Abortion). “These people think that fetuses are not persons and thus should not be granted the same rights given to persons” (Abortion). Many crucial choices are made for the child before birth including being named. In the womb, children cannot do anything for themselves; choices need to be made for them.

In spite of the evidence that abortion may be a Constitutional right, abortion devalues human life. “Many of the pro-life people believe that legalization of abortion increases the the number of irresponsible pregnancies and leads to a disrespect of life” (Abortion). In one case of an abortion, a woman sent for RU-486, also called the abortion pill, through her sister and took it. She felt like she could not afford the child; instead of carrying it to full term and putting it up for adoption so that a family that could not conceive would have an opportunity to have a child. She induced her own abortion and “kept a 4-month-old fetus frozen in the winter chill on her back porch” (Hass 2). This woman cared nothing for the human life she just destroyed.

Secondly, any abortion can cause complications for the mother. Many women suffer from mental, physical, and emotional problems after having an abortion. “Sadness, depression, guilt, anxiety, numbness, and shame are just a few of the psychological effects common to women who have had abortions” (Chittom 4). People have begun describing this as “post abortion syndrome” (Chittom 4). Women feel guilt over destroying human life for many years after an abortion. There is nothing doctors can do to save these women from the depression they feel.

Finally, abortion is murder. “Pro-life advocacy groups turned their attention towards Congress and legislation that would legislatively overrule Roe v. Wade by declaring the unborn a “person” under the Fourteenth Amendment and therefore entitled to its equal protection guarantees” (Chittom 2). Even if a child cannot yet live outside it’s mother, it should have the right to grow long enough to be able to experience that. “Human life begins as soon as a sperm fertilizes an egg… human embryos and fetuses should have legal rights and… abortion is actually a form of murder” (Abortion). When removing a child you are denying said child its right to life and therefore have committed murder. Any person that removes a child from its rightful place should be jailed.

In conclusion, women should have the right to control their own bodies but not the life of an unborn child, legal abortions do not save lives and women suffer from post- abortion syndrome, and fetal tissue is human life. To learn more about abortion, visit www.youtube.com and watch the video The Horrors of Abortion or visit the website www.prolife.com. There are many ways to help end abortion, one way for people in the Fort Wayne area is to visit www.ahcfriends.org and find out what A Hope Center is doing and how to get involved. Another way to get involved is to talk to a woman that has gotten an abortion, many times women have gotten abortions and no one knows because people will not ask and she feels too guilty to open up. People cannot wait thinking that someone else will help; every person needs to do their part to help save these women and children.

-Brandy

Author's Note

Works Cited
"14th Amendment." LII. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. .
“Abortion.” World Book Student. World Book, 2010. Web. 4 Apr.2010.
Chittom, Lynn-nore, and Heather Newton. "Counterpoint: Pro-Life Activists Need to Push the Anti-Abortion Agenda." (2011): 3. Academic Search Complete. Web. 9 Apr. 2012.
Hass, Nancy. "The Next Roe v. Wade?" Newsweek 158.25 (2011): 25-27. Academic Search Complete. Web. 9 Apr. 2012.
Lee, M., and Nancy Sprague. "Point: Abortion Is a Women's Right Issue and Should Be a Constitutional Right." Points of View: Abortion (2011): 2. Academic Search Complete. Web. 9 Apr. 2012..
"The Right of Privacy: Is It Protected by the Constitution?" UMKC School of Law. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. .