Abortion is defined as the purposeful termination of a fetus, either naturally or medically (Abortion 2). In this instance, an unborn fetus is killed either through natural causes such as a miscarriage, or by medically induced methods which are assisted by medical professionals. (McFall 188). Medically induced methods are the most controversial of the two because a mother cannot control the natural circumstances of abortion, but medically induced methods are controlled by the mothers who hold full responsibility for ending their unborn child’s life. The question in discussion is, why is abortion legal if a fetus is being denied a life? Supporters believe abortion is the right of woman; however, abortion dismisses the fetus a well-deserved life
Introduction After decades, the abortion debate remains a controversial issue, continuing to divide the American populace, while eroding the moral fabric of the country. Contention over national abortion policy continually unfurls in media headlines, and is rapidly becoming a central issue in the political arena. Tragically, pertinent discussion typically disintegrates, with proponents on both sides feeling deeply offended by the discourse. In order to make progress on this issue, it may be helpful to understand the commonalities between advocates on both sides.
Today, abortion still one of the most controversial topics in our communities, some with the Idea that it's wrong (pro-life) and others that is totally okay that women should have control over their body (pro-choice). Even though, it became legal in 1973, there are a big amount of people opposing abortion as a moral wrong. In this paper I would like to talk about three different theories on abortion. First, the structural functionalist, second the conflict perspective theory and third the symbolic Interaction theory.
Position on the Topic It is evident that the believing and doubting game involves trying to evaluate the set beliefs and ideas that have been formulated by other individuals against our standards. Most people use the believing tool to test and scrutinize arguments by other people. Consequently, this paper has chosen three opposing viewpoints on the debate against and for abortion. For many years, the topic of abortion has been greatly been discussed in the United States.
In today’s world, abortion is a very controversial subject that has been argued continuously over the past years. Abortion is the termination of a human pregnancy, typically done before the embryo or fetus is capable of life. The most asked question is should abortion be legal? Talking about abortion, there are two sides to this topic, Pro-life and the Pro-Choice side. Those who are against abortion entirely are pro-life, and those who believe it is the woman’s right to choose are pro-choice. The solution for pro-life is to have the child and give it up for adoption, or raise it. The solution of abortion is ethically wrong and should be illegal because for the mother and the child there are consequences as a result of an abortion. People think that abortion is their solution to get out of a situation they weren’t being
Around 90% of abortions in the UK are carried out in the first trimester, (before 12 weeks of pregnancy), when the fetus is about the same size as a lime and weighs less than 14 grams. Only about 1 in 1,000 are performed in the last trimester, usually for medical reasons. Most of the gruesome images of aborted fetuses that are presented by pro-life groups are exaggerated and misleading. The fetus that is growing inside the the mother’s womb isn 't considered a human being. It can’t survive alone without the nutrients from the mother, therefore it is not yet a person. Pro-choice advocates would argue that the fetus can’t express feelings, feel pain and is not physically independent from the mother therefore they are not yet considered human.
Anyone who takes a pro-life position believes that a fetus is a human life and is, thus, entitled to the same legal protections as any other human being. Those who are pro-choice however, strongly believe that women should have the right to choose whether or not she should have an abortion and that the government should have no power over their bodies. Even though I don’t think the government or any human being should be able to use abortion as a channel or means to control the bodies of females, I strongly hold to be true that fetuses deserve the right to live and nobody should be able to deprive them from life. Therefore, I declare myself as leaning pro-life.
In todays secular perspective various individuals deem that the "pro-choice" view of abortion is more sensibly coherent than the "pro-life" view. Several activist debate for women rights and the privilege of a women to have complete control over her body. The secular world, women's rights groups, and the entertainment business promote the Pro-choice evolution: the privilege to decide to have abortion on request. The Pro-choice concept gives individuals the right to choose one’s own life style. Abortion advocates a way of life in which individuals are allowed to participate in sex outside of marriage, and deal with any undesirable children that may happen. The Bible impedes adultery, sex outside of marriage, and states that marriage is the best
Abortion is a never-ending controversial topic, that is why it is important to examine the definition of a fetus, pro-life arguments, and pro-choice arguments. “According to the Bible, life begins at birth- when a baby draws its first breath” (Knapp 45). A baby is considered living at no other time prior. Arguments among the abortion debate have brought this fact into dispute over many years, even before abortion was legalized in 1973 in the court case Roe vs Wade. As written in the Abortion Controversy, I believe that an early embryo may be called a potential human being.
Finally, many pro-life viewpoints argue the moral right of abortion because you’re taking a human life. Abortion occurs before birth and at conception. A human’s life begins at birth when the baby comes out the mother’s womb, not at conception. Therefore abortion is not taking a young human’s life away. It is only terminating embryo at conception. A person’s age is calculated from birth which makes it easier to say that you’ve taken a life but that is not the case. A fetus can’t survive on its own; it is entirely dependent on the mother’s body to stay healthy. Some pro-life advocates might also say abortion is dangerous. When abortion is performed by trained professionals, abortions are one of the safest procedures in medicine. Abortion performed
According to Michael Snyder, “The number of American babies killed each year is equal to all the wars the United States took a part in combined”. According to Laura Hickey and Megan Santhanam, “if one sums up all the American casualties the U.S took part in the number of American babies in utero killed each year is approximately one million”. One million babies that don’t get the chance to live. Abortion is a highly controversial issue in the United States because it questions if a baby/fetus is considered a person. As well it questions our society’s norms, values and beliefs. Americans are divided between two conflicting views: Pro-Life and Pro-Choice. Pro-Life emphasizes the view that killing a baby in utero is wrong because life begins at
But pro-life advocates argue that when a woman is pregnant, there is another body involved. They argue that the unborn body has the same rights as any other person and has the right to live. Pro-life advocates believe the presence of human life alone defines personhood. An unborn baby is a person just like everyone else that walks on the earth. They may be inside a womb and depended on their mother but they are still people.
However, in most cases it is the embryo that is aborted and not a fetus, which is the stage in which the embryo starts to develop. As such an embryo cannot be written in statistics as a life lived as it is dependent solely on the carrier, thus aborting at this stage technically should not be considered as the taking of life but as a decision on whether to facilitate this possible life. Personhood begins after a fetus is able to survive outside the womb, not at conception. Conclusion
Abortion in America is a controversial issue in which both sides have valid arguments. The right to life is the most basic and important right that humans have. For instance, how would a person feel if someone else took away his or her ability to live? One would think it’s considered to be murder. Whether it be a woman taking the Plan B pill right after she has conceived (unwillingly or consensually) or waiting until she hits her second trimester to decide to have a partial birth abortion ,undergoing a D&X procedure. Abortion itself is bad but D&X procedures takes it’s to another level of savageness it should be banned across the world because its immoral , life risking, and inhuman.
The conflict over abortion in America has been a major social problem in our nation for decades. During the 1960 's and 70 's with the coinciding civil rights movement and women’s rights movement, abortion became the new national issue that we still see today between two opposing ideologies, grouped into sides coined as pro-life and pro-choice. It is one of the biggest debates over whose morals and beliefs are adequate for our society that make the abortion issue such a controversial and divisive one. Each side believes that their views and beliefs are what we are a society should follow and belief.