Uh-Oh, It's The A Word...
Jul 15 '04
The Bottom Line Wrote this for World Lit. a while back and decided to post it here - kindly read/comment.
You are a teenage girl who has just found out you are going to be a mother. Not only will you have to endure a grueling nine-month pregnancy, but you will probably have to quit school or graduate late so you can get a job to support your child. Even then, the prospects are bleak – nearly 80% of teen mothers eventually go on welfare. Since you know you would never be able to raise a child properly at this point in your life, you decide to get an abortion. Unfortunately, you find abortion procedures are illegal in your state; you have no choice but to raise a child you obviously aren’t prepared for. Potential situations like these are why abortion should remain legal in the United States.
Some people believe a baby, no matter how far into the gestation period, is a human being, thus justifying that abortion is murder. However, the current criminal code says a baby must emerge from the birth canal before it is defined as a human being. In fact, a baby is more or less just a parasite until twenty-four weeks into the pregnancy, which is the earliest time a baby can survive outside the womb with a modern intensive care unit in the hospital. Until that point, the baby is helpless and relies on the mother for everything, while draining nutrients and proteins from the mother’s body in order to sustain its own development. Since 88% of abortions occur during the first six to twelve weeks of pregnancy, the baby isn’t really “alive.” To call a baby a human being at this point would essentially be the same as calling a tapeworm a human being.
There are some who think abortion should be illegal, no matter what the circumstances. Well, what about cases of rape or incest? If a woman has unprotected sex against her will, there’s no reason she should be forced to go through with a pregnancy she didn’t plan and raise a child on her own which really isn’t her responsibility. There are also situations when the pregnancy threatens the life of the mother, the baby, or both. It would be better to abort the baby before it causes health problems for the mother or before she has to suffer the pain of a miscarriage. Of course, there are others who say abortion should be outlawed except in these extreme cases, but who has the right to decide what is extreme? Who can draw the line and where can it be drawn?
It is true that people need to be held accountable for their own actions and should deal with the consequences. However, it is also true that everyone makes mistakes; nobody’s perfect. We all deserve second chances to make things right. Besides, don’t the consequences of raising an unwanted child seem to outweigh those of having an abortion? Abortion may seem like a scapegoat for promiscuity at first, but really it is saving our country the burden of millions more depressed, unloved children. Also, the choice to have an abortion is so emotionally taxing and so involved that many women may change their behavior because they never want to be faced with such a heartbreaking decision ever again. As a matter of fact, the annual number of legal induced abortions in the United States declined by 15% between 1990 and 1995, increased the following year, decreased again in 1997, and has since leveled off.
It is foolish to think that, by banning abortions, women will simply stop having them. Banning abortion does not ban the desire to have one; a woman will now seek one in an unsafe manner. The current death rate in countries where abortion procedures are legal is about 1 death per 100,000 abortions. In countries where abortion is illegal, the death rate can be upwards of 700 deaths per 100,000 abortions. Roughly 43% of the 46 million abortion procedures performed each year are illegal. The World Health Organization estimates that a full third of all maternal deaths are caused by poorly done illegal abortions (which can include everything from overdosing on ulcer medication to performing a crude abortion procedure at home with dirty instruments and without the benefit of recovery at a modern hospital), and that’s not counting the thousands more who are left injured or unfertile. That adds up to 200 women a day, 200 women who have to die a lonely, painful death simply because their government officials did not have their best interests at heart.
Most importantly, we, as Americans, have the freedom of choice and the right to privacy. We can decide what to do with our bodies without the government interfering with such personal matters. Taking away a woman’s right to abort a pregnancy is simply unconstitutional. The government should not be allowed to probe into a woman’s personal life and make a life-changing decision for her, especially when the reasons behind that decision are unknown. Our government controls enough of our lives as it is; the choice of whether or not to have children certainly isn’t another responsibility it needs. Many of the countries that have outlawed abortion (which includes a majority of both Africa and Latin America) are either undeveloped and do not have the money or the proper medical facilities to supply such procedures or are deeply religious countries where their religious faith is the blueprint for everything, including laws. Fortunately, the United States is a wealthy, modernized nation that can provide safe abortion procedures for women. Though it’s still questionable as to whether this right is fully upheld or not, the constitution also states that there is a separation between church and state, which does not allow religious beliefs (the main force behind the “pro-life” movement) to become a factor in law-making decisions.
If one thing can be agreed upon by both the “pro-choice” and “pro-life” movements, it is that abortion is not simply a black-and-white issue. There are so many different feelings and situations involved that you can’t make a clear judgment either way without first putting yourself in the woman’s shoes. In order to make a decision on such a controversial topic, one must first understand those feelings and motivations behind it, which is why abortion should remain a legal practice in this country. Of course, any woman who decides to have an abortion will have reservations or maybe even regrets. But reservations and regrets are a part of life, a life that should not be forced upon any unprepared mother, no matter what the circumstances.
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
broomqueesha
|
 - Top 1000 |
|
Member: Rachel
Location: Squeeeeeeeeee!
Reviews written: 156
Trusted by: 97 members
About Me:
I am finally legal.
|
|
|
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.