Abortion

Let's get straight into it. I look forward to this debate. First point: Abortion is not necessary. Many pro-abortioners believe that they have a strong point when they use abortion as an answer to saving the mother's life, should there be complications or illness. In 2012, medical professionals in Dublin concluded that abortion is never necessary to save the mother's life. It is possible to give alternatives for those in danger, such as inducing an early delivery and increasing the chances of saving both the life of the mother and the child. A former abortionist, Dr Anthony Levatino, agreed: "During my time at Albany Medical Center I managed hundreds of such cases by "terminating" pregnancies [via live delivery by C-section] to save mother's lives. In all those cases, the number of unborn children I had to deliberately kill was zero." (1). While there is, of course, the possibility that the child may not survive, their chances are far, far higher than those offered by abortion, which promotes that idea that killing the child solves the problem and that it is the best way to do so. Abortion is not necessary, so why is it so popular? Second point: Abortion is dangerous. Abortion is very dangerous for women (not to mention it kills the baby most of the time). In fact, it is more dangerous than childbirth. While the accepted statistic is that childbirth is the more dangerous of the two, there is still the fact that most deaths by abortion are not recorded. This is due to several reasons. When a woman at an abortion clinic experiences severe complications (eg, from a botched abortion that has caused serious internal bleeding), she is rushed to the nearest hospital and left to the care of the doctors there, as it seems most abortion clinics do not keep doctors who specialise in saving lives on hand. If the woman dies at the hospital, it is not recorded as an abortion-related death on her death certificate. An example of this is shown by a college student who was forced to have an abortion by her parents so she could finish her time at college. She developed an infection which turned septic, she was rushed into ICU, she had brain damage, and was eventually just discharged to a nursing home. When she died, her death was not shown on the certificate as caused by abortion. In 2009, the CDC reported that more than 400 women have died from legalised abortion. These are just the deaths caused by the physical problems. Only 45 out of the 50 states in the US even keep abortion records (2)(3). For those who do survive with no apparent hospitalisation-requiring side effects, there can be complications further on in life. For example, a woman who has had an abortion and decides later that she wants to get pregnant and carry the child to term is more likely to suffer from problems like ectopic pregnancy or sterility than a woman who has not had an abortion. Ectopic pregnancies are dangerous, and account for twelve percent of pregnancy-related maternal deaths (this is recorded as death caused by pregnancy, not by abortion). A woman who has had one abortion is twice as likely to develop an ectopic pregnancy than a woman who has never aborted, and for one who has had two or more abortions the risk is up to four times as high. Pelvic Inflammatory Disease is also another possible complication, which is an infection that can lead to fever and infertility, and is quoted as being a "common and serious complication of induced abortion and has been reported in up to 30% of all cases". In the year 2000, a study in Finland showed that women who abort are four times more likely to die in the following year than those who carry to term. (4) Third Point: Abortion has negative mental/emotional side effects. Emotional and psychological effects after abortion are more common than physical side effects. Such emotional/psychological effects include as follows: regret, anger, guilt, shame, sense of loneliness/isolation, loss of self-confidence, insomnia/nightmares, relationship issues, suicidal thoughts/feelings, eating disorders, depression, anxiety. These side effects are fairly likely to occur, but even more likely in the following situations. Firstly, when the women have been coerced, forced, or persuaded to have an abortion. The fact that they had to be pressured into it means they were reluctant to in the first place, and this would understandably leave them with guilt and shame. Also, no one should ever be pressured into doing something like abortion. I do believe it is murder and many people around the world agree, and if it is being promoted in the name of choice then why are women being pressured into it? Secondly, if they had religious beliefs/moral or ethical views that conflicted abortion. Going against one's beliefs can easily leave a person feeling guilty and shamed, and with the feeling of having done something horribly wrong. Thirdly, if the women had no S/O or partner, and if the baby was reported to have had genetic/fatal abnormalities, or if the abortion was carried out at a later stage in the pregnancy (5). A woman whose baby would not have a father figure in its life may feel under pressure to abort the baby due to financial stress or not wanting it to live without a father figure, but afterward may look back on her situation and see that it was not as desperate as she imagined. Also, a baby with genetic or fatal abnormalities should not be aborted for that reason. There are many babies who have conditions such as microcephaly and Down syndrome who are living wonderful lives and bringing such joy to their families (6). Babies with genetic abnormalities deserve love and to be cherished. Whether they will die days after birth or years after, they deserve the opportunity to be loved and not killed before being given the chance to live. There are babies who have, despite all expectations, lived longer than the doctors said and they have brought joy to their parents, not to mention the peace that comes with knowing you gave a child life rather than took it away prematurely. My final point: Abortion breaks the Hippocratic Oath that all Medical Students have to take. All medical students do, at some point, have to take the Hippocratic Oath (in some variation or other, but still the same oath). In the Hippocratic Oath's original form, there is included the following statement, "I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect. Similarly I will not give a woman an abortive remedy. In purity and holiness I will guard my life and my art." Anthropologist Margaret Mead said concerning the Oath, "For the first time in our tradition there was a complete separation between killing and curing...One profession, the followers of Asclepius, were to be dedicated completely to life under all circumstances, regardless of rank, age, intellect- the life of a slave, the life of the Emperor, the life of a foreign man, the life of a defective child..." (Asclepius was the Greek god who the doctors/physicians of that time followed). The 1948 Declaration of Geneva brought the Oath up to date, including the following statement, "I will maintain the utmost respect for human life, from the time of conception; even under threat, I will not use my medical knowledge contrary to the laws of humanity." And the 1949 International Code of Medical Ethics states also, "A doctor must always bear in mind the obligation of preserving human life from conception."(7). Abortionists are considered to be doctors, but they are clearly breaking this oath that they took upon joining the medical profession, as they are causing death and showing no respect for human life, which an unborn child obviously has. Abortion comes highly recommended these days, despite the oath which should probably be considered a little more. As abortion can be so destructive to women and is pretty much always death for the child, we can only say that abortion "doctors" have broken the oath and have no respect for human life, and are using their medical knowledge contrary to the laws of humanity. I have finished my first argument and await my opponent's rebuttal with immense anticipation. Here are my sources, and I wish you the best of luck. (1) www.lifenews.com/2016/05/27/is-abortion-okay-when-the-mothers-life-is-in-danger-a-new-video-has-answers/ (2) www.operationrescue.org/archives/court-records-indicate-nearly-1000-abortion-patients-likely-hospitalised-annually-in-texas/ (3) www.lifenews.com/2016/01/22/women-are-dying-from-legalised-abortions-but-the-mainstream-media-will-never-tell-you-about-it/ (4) www.abortionfacts.com/facts/11#3 (5) americanpregnancy.org/unplanned-pregnancy/abortion-emotional-effects/ (6) www.lifenews.com/2016/08/15/mom-of-adult-children-with-microcephaly-dont-abort-babies-with-zika-theyre-the-greatest-gift (7) www.abort73.com/abortion/abortion_and_the_hippocratic_oath/