Abortion; Should it be Legal or Illegal?

Abortion, according to Britannica (2023), is "the expulsion of a fetus from the uterus before it has
reached the stage of viability." Others have an intense hatred against abortion and strongly disagree with
it, while others firmly believe it should be legal and that abortion should be the mother's choice.
Nowadays, people have a name for those who agree or disagree with abortion. Pro-life, for the people
who disagree with abortion, and pro-choice, for the people who agree with abortion. Abortion, although
it is a general topic, is still a topic that is controversial and that should be taken with all seriousness.
Abortion is a topic that should be discussed as many women are affected by it, including women that
have died because of illegal and unsafe abortions. Deaths that should not have happened if abortions
were legal and safely executed. With that in mind, women should have a say about their bodies.
Therefore, abortions should be up to the mother's decision, legal, and performed safely.

According to The American TFP, abortion is evil. Some of the reasons why it is evil are the following:

Abortion Is an Unsafe Procedure. In a list compiled by LifeDynamics.com, 347 women have been killed by
legal abortions since 1973. On top of that, abortions can be painful. Burgess (2022) states that abortions
can have potential risks, complications, pain, and side effects. Possible complications include incomplete
abortion, wherein remaining pregnancy tissue might be left inside the mother, infection, heavy bleeding,
injury to the cervix, uterus, or other organs, and hemorrhaging.

Life Starts at the Moment of Conception. The start of life indeed begins when the fusing of egg cells and
sperm cells begins or fertilization. A definition given by Moore (1988) states that "Fertilization is a
sequence of events that begins with the contact of a sperm (spermatozoon) with a secondary oocyte
(ovum) and ends with the fusion of their pronuclei (the haploid nuclei of the sperm and ovum) and the
mingling of their chromosomes to form a new cell. This fertilized ovum, known as a zygote, is a large
diploid cell that is the beginning, or primordium, of a human being."

Mankind Must Protect Life Whenever Possible. Life protection is a man's initial instinct. Through
domestic ties and the knowledge of a shared nature, this starts with self-preservation and eventually
extends to humanity. "Pregnancy termination" ends a developing human being's heartbeat and goes
against this fundamental aspect of human nature.

ProCon.org (2022) stated that legal abortion promotes a culture in which life is disposable. A statement
by Box v. Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, Inc. (2019) said that "Abortion is an act rife with
the potential for eugenic manipulation," according to US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
"Technological advances have only heightened the eugenic potential for abortion, as abortion can now
be used to eliminate children with unwanted characteristics, such as a particular sex or disability."

ProCon.org (2022) also stated that increased access to birth control, health insurance, and sexual
education would make abortion unnecessary. Since their high in 1981, abortion rates in the US have
decreased at what the CDC described as a "slow yet steady pace." Per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44, there
were 29.3 abortions that year. In 2019, there were 11.4 abortions per 1,000 women, a decrease (Weise,
2022). Also, teenagers engage in sexual activity later than their parents due to sexual education. Only
27.4% of American high school students reported they were currently sexually active, down from 37.5%
in 1991, and 38.4% said they had had sex in the past (Lehman, 2020). Because of the now low cost of
contraceptives and access to better sexual education, there would not be a need for abortion.
Nevertheless, what about the other countries that lack access to contraceptives?

Contrary to beliefs that abortion is unsafe and kills women, a study by Atrash et al. (1988) stated that
there had been a decline in legal abortion-related mortality, as reported to the Centers for Disease
Control. There has been an eightfold decline between 1972 and 1981, falling from 4.1 deaths per
100,000 abortions in 1972 to 0.5 deaths per 100,000 abortions in 1981. Legal abortion-related deaths
declined from 24 in 1972 to seven in 1981. The reason for those seven deaths is directly related to the
anesthesia and not to the procedure itself. With the rapid technological change, anesthesia has evolved
and is now safe for women. Also, with anesthesia, women can have the procedure with less pain.
Complications in abortion occur in rare circumstances (Burgess, 2022), and these complications can be
fixed with the help of medical professionals.

Life does indeed start in fertilization, fertilization which can create a zygote. Scientifically, what is the
meaning of a zygote? According to Britannica, the zygote is a fertilized egg cell that forms through
fertilization; this cell would now be divided into smaller cells (Britannica, 2022). In this meaning, is a
zygote a human when it is still a bunch of cells? Understandably, it can grow into a human, but it is still a
cell at this stage. Also, if this zygote is conceived through rape, is it wrong to abort this baby? If this baby
will live through many complications after its birth, is it still morally correct to let it live? Instances where
the baby cannot be given love and proper care, are the reasons why abortion should be legal. Abortion is
not a simple choice, but when given these scenarios, it can be argued that babies should not live a life of
misery; that is why when abortion is the best choice, it should be done legally and safely.

Women are people too. When the baby in the mother's womb was harming her health to the point that
she might die, it is her right to protect herself and, therefore, her choice to abort her baby or not. In a
book created by Judith Jarvis Thomson titled "A Defense of Abortion," she created a scenario that is
similar to a baby harming her mother's life. A famous unconscious violinist has been found to have a
fatal kidney ailment. You have been kidnapped so that your kidney could extract the poison from the
violinist's body. The violinist that is plugged into you is harming your life, and after a month will die if the
violinist is still plugged into you, but the violinist will die if you choose to unplug yourself. Would you
choose to make yourself live or the violinist in this case? Whether or not you choose to keep yourself
alive or not, it is still your choice. Returning to our discussion, it should not be up to the government or
the law if the mother chooses to keep her baby or herself alive.

Abortion does not promote a culture that lives; it promotes women's right to life and health. When
women are deprived of their right to abortion, they are forced to undergo unsafe abortions that can
threaten their lives (Center For Reproductive Rights, 2004). In underdeveloped nations, unsafe abortions
are a substantial but curable source of maternal mortality and morbidity (Warriner, 2006). The decision
to have an abortion is deeply personal and complex, often driven by factors such as personal
circumstances, health concerns, and family dynamics. It is important to note that most abortions are not
performed based on the desire to eliminate children with unwanted characteristics. It is important not to
generalize or stigmatize women seeking an abortion by assuming their motivations are solely based on
eugenics.

Increased access to birth control, health insurance, and sexual education can help reduce the need for
abortion, but these measures may not eliminate it. Socioeconomic factors, cultural norms, religious
beliefs, and legal restrictions also contribute to the abortion rates in different countries. It is essential to
consider the global perspective when discussing the need for abortion, as in many developing countries,
lack of resources and infrastructure hinders the effective implementation of comprehensive sexual
education programs and limits access to contraceptives.

In conclusion, abortion is a controversial topic with solid arguments on both sides. Opponents argue that
it is unsafe and that legalizing abortion promotes a culture in which life is disposable. Proponents argue
that abortion can be the best option in cases of rape, severe fetal abnormalities, or when a woman's life
is in danger. Advances in medical technology have made abortion safer and complications rare, but
socioeconomic factors, cultural norms, religious beliefs, and legal restrictions play a role in abortion
rates. The discussion around abortion requires empathy, respect for differing perspectives, and
consideration of the individual circumstances involved.

References:

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. (2023, May 15). abortion. Encyclopedia Britannica.

Life Dynamics. n.d. Life Dynamics. accessed 2023, May 15. https://lifedynamics.com/

Burges, L. 2022, July 19. Are abortions painful? accessed 2023, May 15.
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325598

Moore, K. L. Essentials of Human Embryology. Toronto: B.C. Decker Inc, 1988, p.2

ProCon.org. 2022, June 6. Abortion. accessed 2023, May 15. https://abortion.procon.org/

Box v. Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, Inc. (2019, May 28). supremecourt.gov. accessed
2023, May 15. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/18pdf/18-483_3d9g.pdf

Weise, E. 2022, May 5. “How Many Abortions Are Actually Performed in the US? Rates Have Declined for
Decades.” usatoday.com. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2022/05/05/declining-
abortion-rates-us/9644042002/

Lehman, C. F. 2020, September 1. “Fewer American High Schoolers Having Sex Than Ever Before.”
ifstudies.org. https://ifstudies.org/blog/fewer-american-high-schoolers-having-sex-than-ever-before

Atrash, H. K., Cheek, T. G., & Hogue, C. J. R. (1988). Legal abortion mortality and general anesthesia.
American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 158(2), 420–424. doi:10.1016/0002-9378(88)90169-x
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2022, September 6). zygote. Encyclopedia Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/science/zygote

Thomson, J. J. (1971). A Defense of Abortion. Philosophy & Public Affairs.

Center For Reproductive Rights. (2004, August). Safe and Legal Abortion id a Woman's Human Right.
https://reproductiverights.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Safe-and-Legal-Abortion-is-a-Womans-
Human-Right.pdf

Warriner, I.K. and Shah, I.H. (2006) Preventing unsafe abortion a research and action. Guttmacher
Institute, New York. https://scirp.org/reference/referencespapers.aspx?referenceid=1100108