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Abortion Morality Abortion has been a highly debatable topic for many years due to Individual views on the moral aspects of life and death and who ultimately has the right to choose. The debatable highlights of abortion vary greatly over a woman’s right of choice over her body, countries whose citizens use it to choose sex of the child or population control due to government limitations, religious and political opposition, when the embryo is “human”, and the right to terminate at any stage.
Additionally there are social aspects that some say Justify the termination at any stage. Due to all of these introversion Issues, and social considerations, great pressure has been placed on society to determine the validity of abortion. According to the Alan Stomacher Institute, an affiliate of Planned Parenthood, approximately 1206,192 abortions occur every year in the United States alone. The most common reason given for aborting a pregnancy are financial limitations and current obligations such as Interruption of education, career or other responsibilities.
Less common reasons given were fear of being a single parent, unhealthy relationships. Medical Issues and those that did not plan for any more children. The embers are shocking and the reasons ultimately summarize that the majority of the pregnancies were not planned, and therefore unwanted. Politically, the topic of abortion is always a matter of great concern during political campaigns due to legality. The people of the United States demand to know the position of each candidate running for office.
Historically, the Democratic party supports the legality of abortion, while the Republican party opposes It. Unlike the united States. China has received great attention for Its method of population control through the nation’s family planning policy that only allows for one child to be born AAA family. Families who do not comply with this policy are forced to pay significant fines if they do not terminate the pregnancy. Additionally, families often times use ultrasound to determine the sex of the fetus so they are able to terminate the pregnancy to ensure they have a male child.
In regions such as China, public policy dictates the legality of abortion, actually supporting It, while the united States Is very careful to express their views as quietly as possible to avoid public controversy. Ultimately, every individual believes that they have the right to have full control ever their body. In having this control, does that also give a woman the right to decide to be pregnant or not? Further controversy is created because many women feel it is their right to choose to carry around a child inside them for nine months.
They may not want a change to their body, or sickness that often times comes with pregnancy. The timing of the pregnancy may not fit Into their life at the time. Obligations of work, school, travel or schedules may not work. There are so many considerations that can be made, but the main point is if an individual has the right o accept or decline medical recommendations related to their health and body outside of pregnancy, whether it be elective surgeries or life threatening treatments, would it be their right to chose? Ring if I didn’t bring up the argument that surrounds the father’s rights when it comes to terminating a pregnancy. Many men might not even know that they potentially had a child that was once aborted. They also in many cases are not the person who ultimately decides if an abortion happens or not. For the most part our society sees the mother as the nurturing caregiver who has to take care of a child, ND the father as the financial supporter. Because the father does not have a physical attachment to the unborn child the right to chose life or not is typically not theirs.
Considerations that are compelling to everyone who has ever considered the moral issues surrounding abortion are exactly when does an embryo become a human. Is it the minute it is conceived? Is it a stage during the pregnancy? Or is it upon birth? If something were growing it would have to be living. If it is requiring nutrients and food from it’s mother, again it is active. Arguments suggest that maybe he determination of life can follow the same protocol as death, by measuring brain activity, which in an unborn fetus would be six to eight weeks after conception.
However, the debate then can turn to the type of brain activity and if that activity means anything, or proves function on any level. Without a set guideline that everyone agrees to as being the moment of transition between living or non-living, this will always remain a point of contention for anyone who considers the mortality of an unborn child. Is it murder to end life even if it occurs before the first breath? Most religious organizations, and abortion activists send a clear message that abortion is in fact murder.
Ending a life by any method prior to or after birth is a sin, and a violation of the unborn child’s rights. The opposition of abortion has led to violent attempts to shutdown clinics, and has resulted in destruction of clinics, kidnappings and deaths of doctors and clinical workers, and attempts at restraining women who try to enter the clinics to have abortions. I found this to be ironic since activists are opposing murder, but committing violent acts to prove their point.
Maybe less controversial is the Justification that is given to abortion based upon the circumstance that created the pregnancy. Almost all of the opposing groups that I have outlined above find it Justifiable to terminate a pregnancy if it was a direct result of rape or incest. In cases such as this it would be acceptable for the well- being of the victim in the case of rape, or the welfare of the unborn child due to incest. Honestly I believe that you need to pick a side, murder or not, right or wrong.
Though an extremely difficult choice for anyone to make, I believe that abortion is finitely a choice that should be carefully considered by those individuals who feel it is an option. Like any other moral decisions that we need to make in life, it is important to decide what would result in the best outcome for everyone involved. Through my research I read of protecting human life at conception, but nothing I read dealt with the issue of the expected life an unwanted child might have as a result of not having been aborted.
Most individuals disregard things they don’t want, treat them less than appropriate, and maybe inevitably blame them for life not turning out the way that they planned. Should a woman have a baby out of obligation, or feel shamed into it, I don’t think the baby would be treated the same as If we were to look at the main reasons pregnancies are aborted we can further evaluate the Justification of why abortion is a reasonable option to those parents that are not in the position to properly care for a child. The financial aspect is huge.
If a person is not able to provide adequate financial support to a newborn it could go hungry, get sick from lack of medical attention or be homeless. Additionally, timing of the pregnancy is another valid reason. In the case of high school students or individuals attending or returning to school to finish their degree, or at a critical time in a persons career future earnings or advancement might be a compromised. I believe that in order for anyone to properly take care of another human being, they need to be stable with their own life before assuming responsibility for another.
In being a supporter of choice I believe that the government should not be a factor in determining someone’s right to have children, and most definitely should not have the right to limit the number of children anyone has, or advocate abortion. The absolute ultimate choice should be that of the expecting parents. I am morally challenged by abortion as a method to pick the gender of a child to assure the pregnancy is either a boy or girl. I believe that if a person is ready to have a child they should be welcoming of any gender.
Because the choice to get married, have a family, or not to do either of these is a personal choice, I feel it is an infringement of rights for the governments involvement all together. The decision to have a child is a lifetime commitment, or at least an obligation that person is legally responsible for the actions of another for a period of eighteen or more years. This is not a decision that you can make today, and change your mind tomorrow. There is not a place that you can bring the child to and drop it off and expect someone else to take care of it.
The decision has no forgiveness if made unwisely. With that in mind, and for the best interest of an unborn, the choice to continue a pregnancy should receive Just as much consideration as the choice to terminate. When we are challenged to determine when a life becomes a life and rely upon he science to confirm at what stage this actually occurs to take a rightful position on the topic there should be one definitive answer to use as a baseline so a firm conclusion can be drawn. This is not the case with abortion.
After all of the decades of controversy over this topic there are still many differing opinions as to when we can consider the unborn to be mortal. Keeping this in mind, I do not value that abortion is murder. My position might change when science provides one clear definitive answer, but until then I cannot morally conclude it is murder until this information is available. The greatest message that is clear when discussing abortion is the rights of the unborn to be afforded the opportunity of life. The activists don’t seem to care about the quality of life that the unborn child would encounter.
As an example, if abortion became illegal, and there was absolutely no way to terminate a pregnancy how many of these children would be neglected, abused, or abandoned after birth? Would it be rightful to require that they be born to illness, addiction, or homelessness? Or to suffer a life where they would be unhappy. So while the moral argument may always e the right to life, we should always consider the result of a required, unwelcome As I have demonstrated above the controversy surrounding abortion is many- sided, and challenges the morality of anyone who has had to consider the ethical issues that arise from this debatable topic.
To conclude with 100% certainty that my perspective is the only fair and accurate one, would be ridiculous. In topics such as these, we are asked to evaluate our own personal set of moral and ethical values and then apply them to the areas of controversy to determine a position. Ultimately, for e, my decision to be pro-choice is not so much in consideration of the changing lives of the expecting parent, but more the quality of life that the unborn will be exposed to upon birth and the opportunities for a reasonably happy and healthy life.
I would find it Just as morally wrong to bring life to anything that would live to suffer. In closing, abortion will always remain a highly controversial topic due to differing opinions, religious and political views, and personal choice. The science has not been able to support the exact stage in which a life becomes a life, and therefore adds to he unknown factors that questions rightful termination or murder.
With all of this said, and after careful consideration I would support freedom of choice, as it directly impacts the lifestyle, health, and happiness that an unborn would experience after birth. Science and society can agree 100% that upon birth a life is a life, and if that life is taken after that time due to another human being, it is murder and that is undisputed. I will remain pro-choice, until there is concrete evidence that proves the birth of an unwanted child would not result in that child living a life of pain, suffering and unhappiness.