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An Essay Example on The Pros and Cons of Abortion
Around 73 million induced abortions take place worldwide each year. Six out of 10 (61%) of all unintended pregnancies, and 3 out of 10 (29%) of all pregnancies, end in induced abortion
Abortion can be termed as the act of ending a pregnancy. It is a deeply personal matter, with our opinions on it derived from the most fundamental moral, emotional, religious, political, and ethical beliefs. Abortion involves both the potential mother's right to bodily autonomy (and health) and the unborn child's right to life. Because of these factors and more, abortion laws vary significantly between nations.
As of 2021, there are twenty-four countries in which abortion is considered illegal in all circumstances. With the exception of a few countries adopting a more flexible approach by incorporating a gestational limit where a foetus or embryo can be aborted early in the pregnancy, but not after it reaches a certain stage of development. This is typically 12 weeks but may be as low as 6 weeks or as high as 24 weeks.
There are instances when abortion can be legal, pregnancy as a result of rape, incest, or if the foetus has a noticeable developmental impairment, If the mother's health is at risk factors into the equation as well. In 37 countries, abortion is illegal unless it saves the mother's life. In other countries, it is illegal unless used to save the mother's life or preserve her health during pregnancy, Finances are another important variable. Some countries' abortion laws allow abortion if carrying the pregnancy to term would inflict unreasonable socioeconomic hardship on the mother, this is to most likely lead the mother into abject poverty due to the financial burden of carrying an additional child.
Arguments for abortion
A woman has the right to choose whether or not she wants to have the baby. It is her body. This argument appeals to the mother’s right to bodily autonomy, ascertaining that this right outweighs a foetus’s right to life.
In the case of rape, it would be lacking in compassion to deny a woman the right to an abortion. Rape is a form of forced sexual violence which takes away a woman’s right to choose, where the lady might argue that since it was not her choice to conceive in the first place, abortion is warranted.
The woman might be too young or have work or family commitments which make bringing up a child difficult or impossible for her.
The pregnant woman's health and welfare are more important than that of the embryo or foetus. If the foetus poses a health risk to the mother, preference is given to the mother’s life and an abortion is therefore acceptable.
Stopping legal abortions would mean a return to 'back street' abortions, considered dangerous and unhealthy, reverting back to the old methods of abortion poses a higher risk to pregnant mothers because they’re unregulated. This causes a great deal of suffering to the woman’s health.
Arguments against abortion
Roman Catholics believe that life begins at conception. The Catholic’s stand on abortion is clear. According to the document Donum Vitae (The Gift of Life), "The human being is to be respected and treated as a person from the moment of conception; and therefore, from that same moment his rights as a person must be recognized, among which in the first place is the inviolable right of every innocent human being to live, therefore a foetus is a living human being from this point, and so an abortion would be murder.
Every human being, including an embryo or foetus, has the right to live and to reach their potential. No human life is expendable and should be coveted and cherished, Inclusive of an unborn baby. Taking away any form of human life is liable to judicial consequences.
There are alternatives to abortion, such as adoption, which can either be a closed or open adoption, many couples around the world are unable to have children, here is where adoption comes in where instead of terminating an innocent child’s life, the mother is offered a way out by putting the newly born child up for adoption, another alternative may be the use of contraceptives to prevent the pregnancy in the very first place.
The unborn child is denied the choice to live. The child’s Foetal rights are not to be ignored. The right to be born embodies several rights such as the right to be conceived, the right to be implanted in the uterus, and the right to live.
Abortion destroys human life and makes life appear cheap and disposable. This affects the quality and value of life. Many believe that keeping an unwanted pregnancy is a contributing factor to poverty due to its’ unplanned' nature. This choice to rid of life to avoid poverty devalues the aspect of life and its importance.
Conclusion
Every individual has the right to decide freely and responsibly without discrimination, coercion and violence – the number, spacing and timing of their children, and to have the information and means to do so, and the right to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health.
From a personal stance, I support the idea of abortion. I believe a woman has the absolute right to determine and solely enforce her stance on whether or not to carry out an abortion. Only she can truly understand the effects of giving birth to an unwanted child. I believe that the most a society can do to aid the carrier of an unwanted pregnancy is to advise her accordingly and if she decides to carry on with the procedure, as a society should be capable of doing all that’s necessary in making sure the procedure is safe.
References
World Health Organization. Unsafe Abortion: Global and Regional Estimates the Incidence of Unsafe Abortion and Associated Mortality in 2008,6th edition. Sixth. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2011.
