Life Begins at Conception

Although abortion is a political topic that seems very recent, in the United States it dates back to before the early 1820s. Connecticut is the first state to have passed any laws regulating abortion. In 1821, they pass a law prohibiting the use of any sorts of a toxic substance that causes a miscarriage after quickening (the moment a pregnant woman first feels fetal movement) (Wilson, Jaque). Many other states followed Connecticut’s lead (Wilson, Jaque). Besides trying to humanely discard of fetuses, states began banning abortion for population control reasons as well. “In the mid-to-late 1800s states began passing laws that made abortion illegal. The motivations for anti-abortion laws varied from state to state. One of the reasons included fears that the population would be dominated by the children of newly arriving immigrants, whose birth rates were higher than those of ‘native’ Anglo-Saxon

Abortions became increasingly more common throughout the end of the nineteenth century and into the early twentieth century, even though, by 1900, abortion was prohibited by law throughout the U.S. unless two or more doctors agreed that an abortion was necessary to preserve the life of the pregnant woman (Sauer).

Abortion has been around for thousands of years and was legal in the United States since the very beginning. First it became illegal throughout the 1880’s up until 1973. Although abortion was

Abortion has been and still is one of the most controversial topics in American culture. The reason for the controversy is the different viewpoints of this very personal matter. Some believe that abortion is the same as murder. Others believe it’s a personal choice which only they have the right to make. Due to the nature of the procedure and the concerns associated with ending a pregnancy, abortion will continue to top the list of “touchy” subjects in American politics and culture. As a pro-choice advocate, it is important for the right to have an abortion to be established and protected.

One of the first moral issues addressed by both sides of the abortion debate concerns a pregnant woman’s so-called natural “right” to make “reproductive choices.” (“The Rights of Pregnant Women”) Anti-abortion advocacy groups claim that “the only way to actually protect the mother’s rights will be by enforcing laws that secure her child’s right to life,” (“Argument 2”) whereas pro-abortion groups contend that these laws “create a dangerous precedent for wide-ranging government intrusion into the lives of all women.” (“The Rights”) With two fundamentally contrasting viewpoints at odds with each other, it is apparent that one of the core issues concurrent with abortion is a woman’s rights versus the rights of her unborn fetus.

Debate and policy about when life begins has circulated the Unites States since at least the 1700s, and still the question remains the same; when does life begin. Anti-abortionists assert that science proves life begins at conception. Similarly, pro-choice advocates believe there is not enough evidence to say exactly when life begins. There is tension between the two groups, which leads to poor communication. Both sides refuse to give up any ground because the stakes are high, but it’s important to find a solution to an escalating problem. This literature review considers whether abortion should be outlawed by responding to the following questions:

One cannot understand what Roe v. Wade meant to women or to men without understanding how abortion became illegal, and that story begins in the nineteenth century. In 1821, Connecticut became the first state to explicitly criminalize abortion. The primary purpose of this law was to spell out the conditions under which the state could prosecute an abortionist for an abortion. The

Connecticut was the first state to pass abortion legislation. Although women would not receive the death penalty it would be illegal and not without consequences to terminate a pregnancy for a women 'quick with child'. New York followed Connecticut's lead and also enacted anti abortion laws in 1828. New York made all abortions illegal no matter what part of pregnancy the women were in. New York made it a misdemeanor to terminate a pregnancy in the first stages; in the latter stages it would be considered manslaughter. Most States adopted this way of dealing with abortion statues.

Before discussing the Roe vs. Wade case, let’s first begin by presenting a brief history reflection of abortion in the United States. The history of abortion dates all the way back to the 1820’s-1830. In 1821 Connecticut passes the first law that would restrict abortion; numerous states followed Connecticut’s law and began to implement

Besides the fact that abortion has killed millions of innocent children and can have some barbaric techniques, it has had adverse effects socially and globally. Abortion has led to a damaging impact on the family, including difficulties in mother-child bonding, and the devaluation of the child. When a child learns that his mother aborted a previous pregnancy, he comes to realize this could have just as easily been him. He begins to think that his mother may not have wanted him, leading to difficulties in mother and child bonding. In addition, as abortion activists continue to campaign, citing abortion as a women’s right and choice, a child is increasingly looked at as property or a right instead of a blessing or gift. This has been shown to be responsible for the devaluation of the child. According to Dr. Philip G. Ney in an article on the impacts of abortion on

When they are brought together to form a unique DNA with 46 chromosomes, human life begins (Zugibe, 2004). After the chromosomes are brought together, there is no turning back. The genetic code for a human life has been created, and every component that makes up a human life is present from that point on. A sperm and an egg cannot develop or continue to live apart from each other; when they are united, they are one being and can only continue to develop (Gargaro, 2002). Each woman also has this biological composition of 46 chromosomes, which shows that both an unborn child and a mother are human. If we are to give concern to the human life of a woman, then we must do the same for an unborn child. Banning abortion is not a way of forgetting about the significance of the woman’s life; instead, banning abortion is defending the significance of a new life not yet able to defend itself.

“Abortion is the spontaneous or artificially induced expulsion of an embryo or fetus” (Abortion, 2002). An artificially induced abortion is the type referred to in the legal context. Abortions happen in different situations. The question comes when is it the right or wrong choice. The root question becomes the moment a fetus becomes a person and entitled to rights. The fetus could be a person at conception, during the pregnancy, or at birth. The deciding moment differs from the Pro-life group and Pro-choice group. After critically analyzing four different arguments about the pros and cons of abortion, one will be able to understand the ethical, moral, and

However, the pro-choice or the activists for abortions, argue that if a family is in a state of financial trouble, then abortion should be a practical option. Otherwise, the child would be born into a life of suffering, and inadequate living conditions. The pro-choice believers, bases their beliefs, upon the fact that having an abortion is the inalienable right of women. They believe that by outlawing abortions, women aren’t allowed to practice their freedom of privacy. In a way, women are being denied their constitutional rights. Many pro-choice activists also state that abortion is justifiable, because at the time of fertilization the ensuing embryo is not yet a human being. It is not a human being, but a potential one. Therefore, its death does not constitute a murder. Pro-choice activists’

Dating all the way back to the 1800’s, abortions have been taking place all over the world. In the US abortion laws were created around 1820 stating that women would not have abortions after already being pregnant for four months. Then by 1900 most abortions were outlawed. It wasn’t until 1956 that all fifty states had

Abortion is always argued with different cases and play a main role in medical ethics (blackwell.,p291).It is evidently reasonable for some to argue that in moral situation, abortion is a murder and it should be illegal, while others may claim that abortion is woman’s right when concerning on autonomy ( The abortion debate in Australia). Opponents of making abortion legal claim that abortion is a kind of murder on extend of moral situation. It is always regarded as a sin to kill a person who is no aggressor in most moral communities (new ethics 1). Fetus is a biologically human as it is not just a part of the mothers, such as a lung or a kidney. On the contrary, it is obvious that fetus is human due to he or she has genetic code of human and human parents as well (abortion myth p5). Moreover, it has potentiality to be a person with primary moral worth (text book p210-211). As Gillion (new ethics) pointed out, every person has his right to life, especially he is not an aggressor. This point is also been pointed by (Rebecca and john,Blackwell p204), “embryos has a right to life” .The fetus is innocent and