Abortion: Making a Case Against It Essay

When touching the subject of abortion, one must consider that there are two sides battling for control. That is right, abortion has literally turned into a war zone where even the unlikely of individuals do the unthinkable. Each side has their motives and methods for contradicting the other. For instance, there are cases and events that support both sides of this issue.

Abortion, the termination of pregnancy before the fetus is capable of independent life, has been practiced since ancient times. With records dating to 1550 BC, it’s no question that abortion techniques have been used throughout the ages as an effective form of birth control. Pregnancies were terminated through a number of methods, including the use of herbs, sharpened instruments, the application of abdominal pressure, and other techniques. In the 19th century, the English Parliament and the American state legislatures prohibited induced abortion to protect women from surgical procedures that were deemed unsafe. However, in 1973, abortion was legalized as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court rule in Roe v. Wade. This ruling made it possible

Women may have an abortion for a variety of reasons, but in general they choose abortion because a pregnancy at that time is in some way wrong for them. “Abortion is the removal of a fetus from the uterus before it is mature enough to live on its own” (Kuechler 1996). When this happens spontaneously we call it a miscarriage. Induced abortion is brought about deliberately by a medical procedure that ends pregnancy. Legal abortion, carried out by trained medical practitioners, is one of the most common and safest surgical procedures. “About 1.5 million American women choose to have induced abortions each year. Less than 1% of all abortion patients experience a major complication associated with the procedure” (Kuechler 1996).

The abortion controversy has been debated for years. The presidential election this year has become very involved with this topic. On one side, John F. Kerry, along with third party candidate Ralph Nader, the pro-choice supporters, sees individual choice as central to the debate: If a woman cannot choose to terminate an unwanted pregnancy, a condition which affects her body and possibly her entire life, then she has lost one of her most basic human rights. However, George Bush feels the complete opposite. He thinks having an abortion is unethical and unjust. I agree with Kerry. The government has no right to interfere with a mother’s decision and trying to deny abortion to any woman is denying that mother’s civil

In her article, A Defense of Abortion, American moral philosopher and metaphysician Judith Jarvis Thomson uses analogies to explain scenarios in which abortion is morally permissible, even when the fetus is granted personhood at conception. She addresses the argument that every person has a right to life, the fetus is a person, and therefore the fetus has a right to life; and the mother has a right to choose what happens with her body, but the mother’s right to decide what happens is not as strong as a person’s right to life and therefore, abortion is morally impermissible. She believes this to be incorrect based on the definition of the right to life-which she defines as the right

The fact that it is not legalized in some states makes it hard for women and teenagers who would like to procure abortion to do so safely. This has led to severe consequences on the side of the women. It is estimated that unsafe abortion accounts for

Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy. Since 1973 abortion has been an important controversial issue within the United States. 1973 marks the year that the famous Rowe versus Wade case was decided before the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled that abortion be legal and available to all women. Legal abortions can be performed up until the sixteenth week of pregnancy, after sixteen weeks most doctors or clinics will not perform the procedure unless keeping the baby presents a medical risk to the mother. Even in these situations abortions are very risky after sixteen weeks.

Ask anyone what the number one debated topic in the world is today and you are almost guaranteed to hear “abortion”. It isn’t hard to imagine why this topic would leave such a bitter taste in some people’s mouths. Infants, and moreover children in general, are almost a form of an idol in our culture. The pure and innocent natures of children make the people around them, or at least most of them, fall head over heels in love with them. When someone decides to terminate a pregnancy, not only is it a huge setback to our culture, but our moral and ethical beliefs as well. This issue, unfortunately, is not a one size fits all scenario. Many situations can be considered when talking about the issue of abortion. Throughout this paper, I will be reflecting on the matter of abortion from my own personal perspective in general, in cases of rape, poor quality of life, eminent danger to child and/or mother, and incest.

Yet, it is your duty to look after your baby. As Kant suggests, if you

Abortion is a serious topic that people have been debating about for years. Everywhere you turn the topic of abortion presents itself, on TV, in the newspapers, in books and magazines. It already has, and will continue to cause, controversy for years to come. As long as abortion remains legal, pro-life advocates will continue to protest what they believe to be these horrible acts of murder.

More than 1.21 million cases of a single form of murder are uninvestigated in the United States every year. For example, Gianna, a seven and a half month old girl, was poisoned when a doctor snuck a solution of concentrated salt into her food; Gianna suffered from dehydration, a brain hemorrhage, convulsions, and burnt skin. Gianna endured this tragic ordeal before she even took her first breath of air. Gianna's mother had tried to abort her, but she had survived. If this would have happened to Gianna after her birth, it would have been considered attempted murder. Why, then, is abortion considered acceptable? Today, we will address the alternatives to abortion and the abundance of medical and biblical evidence that proves abortion to

Of all the legal, ethical, and moral issues we Americans continuously fight for or against, abortion may very well be the issue that Americans are most passionate about. The abortion issue is in the forefront of political races. Most recently the “no taxpayer funding for abortion act”, has abortion advocates reeling. Even though abortion has been legal in every state in the United States since the monumental Supreme Court decision, “Roe v Wade”, on January 22, 1973; there are fewer physicians willing to perform abortions today than in 2008. (Kraft) At the heart of the ethical dilemma for many in the medical profession is the viability of the fetus. And just to make this whole dilemma more confusing, according to the United States

There are two broad categories of abortions: spontaneous abortions and induced abortions. A spontaneous abortion is any pregnancy where the fetus does not have the ability to survive or is born before the 20th week of pregnancy. Spontaneous abortion usually takes place before the 13th week of pregnancy and takes place in at least 15-20% of all known pregnancies. In a spontaneous abortion, the death of the fetus is accidental. In an induced abortion it is intentionally killed. This is also called an artificial or therapeutic abortion.

The Ethics Of Abortion is a very controversial subject that has been continually argued over for the past few years and probably many more years to come. The main controversy is should abortion remain legalized? Before we get into the many sides of abortion we must first define abortion. Abortion is the destruction of the fetus or unborn child while the child is still in the mother’s womb. This can be done by almost anyone from the mother herself to back alley abortions and even to abortions by clinics set up especially for this purpose. There are two sides to this abortion topic, the PRO-LIFE, which is those who are against abortion altogether and the PRO- CHOICE or those who believe it is the woman’s right to

Abortion as an Ethical Issue In recent years, abortion has become one of the world’s most discussed ethical issues. This has made a huge impact on both men and women’s lives. There are many different views on abortion dating back from the Old Testament to the present day. I intend to show you all of abortion’s conventional arguments.