Essay: The topic of abortion (pro-life perspective)

The term abortion refers to “The deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, most often performed during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy” (Oxford Dictionaries). This topic typically tends to always be quite controversial. When it comes to the topic of abortion, people are typically either extreme Pro-Choice or Pro-Life. Those who side with Pro-Life believe that the fetus should be carried to full term regardless of any circumstances; those who side with the Pro-Choice aspect believe that it is solely up to the mother of the child to decide if the fetus is carried to term or end the pregnancy. Like most debates, there are many pros and cons to both sides and a large “grey area”. Some of the points that typically come to mind when talking about Pro-Life are: you should be responsible for your choices and have to own up to the consequences that come from it. An adoption is always an option, they believe that abortion should not be considered a form of contraception and that human life should not be “disposable”. As for the people who side with Pro-Choice they believe: abortion acts as a form of population control, babies should not come into the world unwanted, it gives women the ability to control their reproductive rights, it prevents children from being born with profound abnormalities, and abortions are significantly safer now. Aside from Pro-Life and Pro-Choice, there is a “grey” area, some of the questions that fall into this category are: what would you do about rape? And if it will be harmful or even deadly to the mother what would you do? “A Pew Research Center poll from spring 2018 found that 55 percent of Americans said abortion should be legal in all or most cases…A December 2016 Pew poll found that 69 percent of Americans saying they did not want to see Roe v. Wade completely overturned” (Kelly). Based on this quote, over the years, the percentage of people who are siding to legalize abortion is diminishing. Even though, the percentage is more than fifty percent it has dropped fourteen percent from 2016. During the poll they should have asked whether abortion should be legal or not; instead, they asked whether they wanted the Roe v. Wade case overturned which could have confused voters due to the non-straight-forward wording. When on the topic of rape during a debate, Richard Mourdock said that he “came to realize that life is that gift from God. And even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen” (Friedman). From this quote, Mourdock was trying to say was that although life might start out in a rocky situation, that moment does not determine how the child’s life will go from there. Instead of deciding to terminate a child’s life before it truly begins, there is always the option to adopt. Adoption gives people the ability to have a child in many cases. Some reasons why people adopt are: one or both parents are infertile, they want to help give a child a better life, a single parent wants to have a child, or the parents are in a same-sex marriage. There are many well-known people that were adopted; some of these people include John Lennon, President Bill Clinton, Marilyn Monroe, and Steve Jobs (Famous Adoptions). Next, onto some of the main points typically made by those who support Pro-Choice. When listening to the news and hearing about the topic of Pro-Life vs. Pro-Choice, it is almost guaranteed that they will mention that abortion gives women rights over reproduction. According to an article by BBC News, more than 60 percent of women who have abortions already have at least one child. It also said according to a study done in 2017, 49 percent of women who had an abortion were low income, 26 percent were middle class, and 25 percent were high income (Brewer). This article was written by a woman who was an abortion doula. “Doulas typically give women emotional support during childbirth, but in New York, some help women through abortions too. Vicki Bloom has been in the room for more than 2,000 procedures since joining the non-profit Doula Project in 2010” (Brewer). The persistent support for women’s reproductive rights abortion is getting closer and closer to legalization. Before, the only way for a woman to undergo the abortion procedure was to make an appointment with a specialized doctor, but now they are starting to test a pill. With this pill, it would allow women to get access to an easier abortion and would be prescribed the medication after consulting a doctor. Once this pill works and is passed by the FDA then women in other states where abortion is still illegal can get access to these pills. Currently, these pills are only safe to use during the first ten weeks of pregnancy. These people believe that it is better for women to be able to choose this for themselves and be able to do it safely than to undergo an unsafe, non-regulated abortion.
When it comes to abortion there is a large area known as the “grey” area; this area represents the area where any uncertainty lies. The main questions that are brought up in this area are: rape, teenage pregnancy, to save the mother, for the baby’s own good, stem cells, and many more. When it comes to rape many people who are Pro-Life tend to sway into the Pro-Choice side because of the traumatic experience that the women go through. There is a thought that the woman didn’t openly choose to engage in the act to get pregnant, therefore people tend to change their thoughts in that case. As for the teenage pregnancy aspect, many teens think that “it won’t happen to me” and then once it does they jump into how they can get out of it which is why they typically chose abortion. Many people have strong thoughts on a subject however once things become real and touch their lives personally they tend to change their thoughts especially a subject such as abortion vs Pro-Life. This is a subject that is very important to many people and brings much passion. In some cases, whether planned or unexpected the mother can be put in danger and could possibly lead to serious injury or death. One topic that is difficult when deciding what the right thing to do is if having the child will result in profound abnormalities that will result in a life of misery. Finally, there is the usage of stem cells. Due to the growing baby the umbilical cord contains many “blank cells” which can be extracted and used for their own good and can possibly cure diseases and other ailments (Leon).
I am Pro-Life. Although I understand both sides of the argument and understand that women want to be able to have control over themselves and be able to make decisions for themselves, I am not an advocate for abortion. I am a child who was adopted and have lived an incredible life thus far. Most people only think about what it is like from the mother’s point of view rather than the fetuses view. It is definitely easy to understand how an unplanned pregnancy can cause some friction between people. My biological parents were 19 and 21 years old when I was born. My biological mother, Heather, grew up in the foster care system and unfortunately saw the worst of it. As for my biological father, Max, he grew up in a strict home so when he got news of her pregnancy he did not tell anyone; it was not until Heather was in labor that he told his family. Even then he told them out of desperation because he was on a camping trip with his brother and father and had to explain why he had to leave so abruptly. Even though he eventually told his parents, when I found out about that it hurt. It felt as if he already resented me enough that he could not work up the courage to tell them. I eventually came to terms with his decision and understood that it was most likely the hardest thing he had to do. Everything they did was for the best though because on June 21st, 1999 they chose the people whom I call my mom and dad. In their position, I am sure that the easier thing to have done would be to abort me and continue with their lives as if nothing ever happened, but they chose to take responsibility for their actions and have me. Every day that I am here and get to live the life I was given will be a day that I am Pro-Life.
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