Abortion is Immoral Because Life Begins at Conception Essay

Abortion has been a heated debate in the United States for decades. Since before the ruling on Roe v. Wade, it is clear that this is an issue that is far from ever being decided upon. Between those who are pro-life and those who are pro-choice, scholars from both sides work on disproving the morality of the other side. With the evolution of abortion laws and regulation through the decades, it is difficult to imagine the United States without conflict pertaining to abortion. Despite pro-life and pro-choice agendas, the country is in ever-changing opinion when it comes to abortion.

The issue of abortion has always been a controversial one for citizens of the United States. Abortion is the practice of terminating a pregnancy after the embryo has been planted in the uterus (Abortion). An individual’s stance on this controversial issue categorizes them into one of two very different groups. An individual who feels that a woman should not have an abortion- due to moral or religious views- is said to be “pro-life”. Coincidently, those who feel that a woman should have the right to choose abortion are said to be “pro-choice”. “Pro-life” supporters point to the practice of abortion as an immoral one. Supporters state abortion is immoral because it takes away the rights of the unborn fetus, since activists consider human

The government seemed to agree with this statement because the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act was passed in 2003. The U.S. Legislation even released a statement saying “ A gruesome and inhumane procedure that is never medically necessary and should be prohibited”. There was also a statement from our then president, President Bush “ Terrible form of violence directed against children who are inches from birth”(Chittom and Newton). Complications for having an abortion increase 36% after the eighth week. The death of a woman grows higher with the longer you wait. There are 8.9 deaths for every one million abortions at 20 week or later("ABORTION AFTER THE FIRST TRIMESTER.").There are two common methods for having a Late-term Abortion Dilation and Evacuation(D and E), and Intact Dilation and Extraction( D and X). The most common one out of the two is Dilation and Evacuation. Dilation and Evacuation is the process of dismembering and extracting in pieces. Intact Dilation and Extraction is the more gruesome of the two. The process can take two to three days. First you dilate the cervix, then put the baby in a breech position. A breech position is where the baby is coming out feet first. The next thing is the doctor will pull the feet then proceed to go in, and make an incision at the base of the skull. The brain tissue is then removed and the skull collapses, and the rest of the body is removed( Chittom and

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

The way late term abortion are performed after 20 weeks gestation, are most commonly performed by dilation and evacuation (these procedures are used for 96% of abortions at 13 weeks of gestation) or dilation and extraction. Neither of these methods involve “ripping babies out of the womb” and the fetuses are not alive during such procedures. During the dilation

During the second trimester, a method is used called Dilation and Evacuation (D&E). During D&E, a forceps is used to take out larger pieces of the child, while a curette scrapes the smaller tissues out. Following this, a vacuum extracts any remaining pieces of the child. During the third trimester, a (now outlawed in most states) procedure is performed called “Partial Birth Abortion” During partial birth abortion, the child is partially delivered, and the skull is subsequently crushed or drilled into, thus killing the child.

Thou shalt not kill; one-tenth of what may arguably be the most famous guidelines of morality in the western culture, and also the main driving force for pro-life advocates. The argument supporting their beliefs typically starts with the premises that a fetus is a person, and to destroy or to kill a person is unethical. Therefore abortion, the premeditated destruction of a human being, is murder, and consequently unethical. I deny the fact that the fetus, what I will refer to as an embryo up to 22 weeks old, has the right to live. The opposing argument is invalid because a fetus, although perhaps a part of human species, is not formally a person. This leaves it simply to be a part of the woman?s body, whose fate lies solely in the

Abortion divides many Americans, it is one of the many controversial issue in today’s society. There are two major viewpoints that receive the most attention. One point of view is pro-life which is the belief women should not abort a human life. On the other side, is pro-choice which is the belief women may decide whether to carry a baby to full term or abort it. Abortion is known as the act of removing a human embryo or fetus from the uterus of a pregnant woman prior to the completion of the full term of pregnancy. There are very strong opinions for and against this issue, but no one can deny the vast gray area of abortion. Not everyone falls into the specific camp of pro-life or pro-choice. Many Americans find a comfort level in the gray area where there are restrictions, but abortion is not illegal. 1 A person’s stance on the situation is often determined by how they view the fetus: a part of the mother’s body or as a human being.

Abortion is the ending of pregnancy before birth and is morally wrong. An abortion results in the death of an embryo or a fetus. Abortion destroys the lives of helpless, innocent children and is illegal in many countries. By aborting these unborn infants, humans are hurting themselves; they are not allowing themselves to meet these new identities and unique personalities. Abortion is very simply wrong. Everyone is raised knowing the difference between right and wrong. Murder is wrong so why isn’t abortion? People argue that it is not murder since the fetus being destroyed is not living, breathing and moving. Why is it that if an infant is destroyed a month before the birth, there is no problem, but if

The moral question has always been whether or not it should be a woman’s decision to get an abortion. The other side of that question is whether the

Starting with the practices of abortion, which also depend on the number of weeks a woman is pregnant, the first is a medical abortion, which can be preformed within the first 50 days of a woman’s pregnancy by using a drug called “misoprostol” (Stutter Health). This causes an abortion without the need of surgery or a vacuumed (Stutter Health). The second form of abortion is the surgical abortion, this is perhaps the most common occurs by the 13th week of a pregnancy (SexInfo Online). This procedure starts with vacuuming out the uterus while the mother is under a mild amnestic (Stutter Health). While this procedure is being performed, medical professional Maureen Condic has concluded that fetuses can feel pain during the act of an abortion, “There is universal agreement that pain is detected by the fetus in the first trimester"

The argument of abortion has been raging since the Supreme Court case, Roe vs. Wade, in 1973. This court case has divided the country into two factions: pro-choice and pro-life. Pro-life advocates argue that abortions are murder and extreme levels of child abuse. While pro-choice advocates believe abortions are a justifiable means to end pregnancies. The pro-choice argument is that the fetus is not yet a human being and its rights should not override that of the mother’s.

The process of abortion is performed either medically with a pill or done surgically. Since abortion is legal in most states up to the 2nd trimester, imagine how developed some of these unborn children are at the time of abortion. The pill method causes a miscarriage to occur, while the surgical methods physically remove the baby. Vacuum aspiration involves removing the fetus by suction. The 2nd procedure of dilation and evacuation involves medically ripening the cervix and the manual removal of the fetus and placenta with forceps (Lohr, Fjerstad,

When faced with the choice of life or death, most people would choose to live. In fact, most would not want someone else making that decision for them. They would claim that as a living and independent entity it is solely their choice as to whether they continue to live or not. While this concept may seem fairly straightforward, there seems to be some great debate when it is applied to abortion. For many, they will maintain that the fetus has the right to life no matter the situation. There are some who will argue that abortion is morally permissible in specific circumstances and there are even those that will claim that abortion is always permissible. Why is there such a great divide? A major factor that plays a part in this is whether abortion involves more than one life. Because determining the beginning point of life is such a complex and emotional debate, there will be the same allowance in this paper as there was in Judith Jarvis Thomson’s “A Defense of Abortion”. As she eloquently put it “I propose then, that we grant that the fetus is a person from the moment of conception” (p. 721). This will allow for a look into the moral debate of abortion from a more grounded stage. As discussed early in Thomson’s paper, most of the debate on abortion rests on whether the fetus is alive or not. Whereas the focus should be on the many other aspects of pregnancies that may lead to a mother wanting an abortion.

xAn abortion is defined as a deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, most often performed during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy. There are many chemical contraceptives and morning after pills that some would also consider a form of abortion though for the sake of this paper we will only define the two main methods for performing an abortion. An Aspiration is a surgical abortion usually performed within the first month gestation. This 10-15-minute procedure involves the suction of the uterus to remove the fetus and placenta. Recovery time can take as long as a few hours after the procedure. Dilation and Evacuation is a surgical abortion performed beyond the 16-week gestation period. This involves a synthetic dilator the day before, as well as using a shot to guarantee fetal death. After this, removal of the tissue away from the lining will begin. Suctioning completes the process to ensure all contents are completely removed. This procedure usually last between 15-30 minutes. Both Aspiration as well as Dilation and Evacuation procedures can come with the risk of side effects including cramping, nausea, bleeding, sweating and infection.