Abortion should be illegal

Abortion is a personal issue that should not be legislated by government. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ • Women's Rights Some Pro-Lifers are under the assumption that a fetus is in fact a person; a human being deserving of human rights. Due to much religious, philosophical, scientific and medical controversy, it is clear that this is a divisive issue for which neither side is willing to agree. However one fact that cannot be subjected to debate is whether or not a woman is a human being. Both sides of the abortion issue can agree that a pregnant woman is definitely a person, and therefore deserving of rights greater than the fetus. This is because we live in a democracy which often takes into account majority opinion. 100% of people can agree that a woman is a human being, whereas roughly only 27% of Americans feel that a fetus is human [1]. Thus it is fair to conclude that a woman has more rights than a fetus, and therefore her best interest (choice) should be respected. This is supported by the Constitution which does not grant rights to anyone not born in the United States. Because a fetus is unborn, it therefore has no rights. If one morally accepts that a fetus is a person, that is their right and they can uphold this value by not having an abortion themselves. However to legally grant a fetus the same rights as one who is already born is ludicrous and arrogant; it sends a message to women that their rights are not important. To further explain why a fetus is not a person, "The very young product of conception, the zygote, has no ability to perform any of the distinctive activities that anyone associates with personhood (reasoning, choosing, loving, communicating, etc.) - not even feeling pain, for the zygote has no brain or nervous system. At first it is only a single cell. How could anyone call a single cell a person?" [2]. So for all of the reasons regarding rights that I have discussed thus far, the abortion issue in America should remain pro CHOICE... Let people have the freedom to CHOOSE whether or not abortion is an option for them. If it's not, good for them - they don't have to have one. • Women's Rights Part II - Oppression Motherhood is not for everyone. Many women choose to use birth control or even abstain from sex all together because they do not wish to become pregnant. The assumption that a woman is a "slut" because she got pregnant is absolutely flawed; it only takes ONE TIME for a woman to get pregnant, even if it is with her long-time partner or even spouse. Many women do utilize birth control; however, abstinence is the only form of it that is 100% effective... The National Women's Study found that approximately 13% of adult women had been victims of COMPLETED rape during their lifetime [3]. This number is less than the actual amount of rapes (it does not include unfinished rape, and especially non-reported rape). Thus even if a woman CHOOSES abstinence, this choice is taken away once she becomes a victim of sexual violence. If a woman becomes pregnant as a result of rape, this could have extremely damaging effects on both the mother and the child (assuming the woman decides to carry the fetus to term). For one, it could have detrimental psychological effects on a woman and her well-being. Second, the child will eventually become aware of the circumstance and therefore be subjected to a lifetime of trauma once becoming aware of the facts regarding their conception. However again, we must think of a woman's rights first and foremost for reasons I have explained in the first part of the debate. If keeping the baby would severely harm a woman's well-being either psychologically OR physically, to deny her the right to an abortion would be absolutely immoral. We would be oppressing women to conform to the role of mother against their will. • Health & Safety / Discrimination Criminalizing abortion will not deter women from seeking one. In the decades prior to legalized abortion, women found ways to terminate their pregnancy via "back alley abortions" or other dangerous and unsafe alternatives. "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" [4]. Because a woman will find a way to terminate pregnancy if she deems it absolutely necessary even if it is illegal, chances are this procedure will not only be unsafe but also very expensive. This discriminates against less wealthy individuals who would either be forced to carry the baby to term (a violation of their rights), or if deemed absolutely necessary, dealt with in an incredibly unsound way... i.e. harming themselves in order to cause distress to the fetus. Furthermore, criminalizing abortion would strengthen the illegal drug market which would in turn solicit "morning after" pills for a very high price. Not only would this affect pregnant women, but it would also cause an increase in the number of illegal activity and amount of people in violation of government terms (i.e. more crowded prisons). And finally, some women cannot physically carry a fetus to term due to personal health issues. For instance, a woman with heart trouble may be unable to sustain the inevitable strain on her body that occurs during pregnancy. Because I have already established how a pregnancy can be completely accidental - even while using birth control - it would be unfair to force a woman to put her life in danger for that of a fetus. • Family Planning A new addition to a household could cause extreme tension to the family unit, ultimately destroying relationships and/or putting people at risk for falling below the poverty line. Take for instance a young girl whose parents are outraged as a result of her pregnancy. If this girl is kicked out of her home, she has lost all of her personal and economic freedom regardless of how or why she got pregnant (uninformed decision to have sex, rape, faulty protection, etc). The decision to have a child should be planned and/or accepted by the mother. Otherwise there is a risk that the child will be born into an unloving home where they may feel unwanted, or become the responsibility of a mother who is completely incompetent to raise a child. We must remember that almost any woman can get pregnant, but not every woman is fit to raise a human being. If a woman is aware of her inability to successfully parent a child, it should be her choice whether or not she would like to carry a baby to term and accept motherhood as a permanent identity. • Adoption I'm running out of characters; however, I wanted to include the notion that adoption is not always a solution to an unwanted pregnancy. For reasons I have already discussed, sometimes a pregnancy alone is enough to severly harm a woman (i.e. her health, relationships, etc). Also, many women who are unaware of their pregnancy continue to engage in risky behavior, i.e. alcohol or drug abuse. By eliminating abortion as an option, we would be forcing women to accept the risks of pregnancy even while knowing the fetus may be defective (thanks to new technology that can reveal birth defects before a baby is born). This is not healthy for neither the child nor the woman. • Government Interference Finally, I would like to conclude this round by stating that pregnancy is the most personal situation for a woman/family. The government has no right to legislate morality on this issue. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sources: [1] http://www.abortionreview.org... [2] http://www.overpopulation.org... [3] http://www.musc.edu... [4] http://www.coolnurse.com...