Argumentative Essay Abortion

A strong statement

Our world today is full of unsolved and controversial issues. Most of them relate to our morals, ethics and religion, thus creating a very strong yes and no, or good and bad side. Abortion has a very outstanding black and white side but also contains traces of each in the alternating colour. This shows that if you were to come to any kind of conclusion on abortion, there would still be a downside to it, and that is primarily why the world cannot agree on this sensitive and emotional issue. An abortion is when the pregnancy is ended so that it does not result in the birth of a child. It allows women to put an end to their pregnancies, but involves killing the undeveloped embryo or fetus. For this reason, it is a very controversial subject.
Being pregnant and wishing you weren't is probably the worst feeling a woman can have. Knowing that if you brought a child into the world and you didn't want it, or you would have to give it up for adoption is such a disheartening way to start off, and you and the un-born child would be so much better off if you were to terminate the pregnancy and wait for a more appropriate time, or in the case of rape, put the past behind you and move on. When we hear of women having abortions, we seem to automatically think that she wasn't careful enough, or she didn't use contraception. We forget to stop and think about the other possible reasons, she may have accidentally become pregnant. Just forgetting to take one pill per packet can reduce it's effectiveness. Condoms can tear or be forgotten, and emergency contraceptives like the morning after pill are not easily obtainable. 50% of women getting an abortion in Britain used some form of contraception when they got pregnant. This obviously shows that women are having huge problems with using contraception, and something needs to be done about it. This also means that we can't judge people immediately.
Women are still getting pregnant even though they use contraceptives. I think that women have the right to get an abortion if they tried to prevent the pregnacy.

My thesis is: Abortion should be legalized.
Arguments:
1. Personhood begins at birth, not at fertilization,.
2. Fetuses are incapable of feeling pain when an abortion is performed.
3. An association between abortion and breast cancer is unsubstantiated.

Counter arguments:
1. Abortion involves killing a human being
2. Fetuses feel pain during the abortion procedure
3. Abortion increases the likelihood that women will develop breast cancer

Refutation of the counter argument:
1. A lot of people have the counter argument "abortion is murder". That's not true, abortion is the termination of a pregnancy, not a baby. Personhood at fertilization, is not a proven biological fact. To think that personhood starts at fertilization is a religious belief, nor a provable fact.
2. According to Stuart W. G. Derbyshire, PhD, Senior Lecturer at the University of Birmingham (England), "not only has the biological development not yet occurred to support pain experience, but the environment after birth, so necessary to the development of pain experience, is also yet to occur."
3. The National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have all refuted the reliability of studies claiming abortion can lead to a higher probability of developing breast cancer.

1. Stuart W. G. Derbyshire, PhD, "Can Fetuses Feel Pain?," British Medical Journal, Apr. 29, 2006

2. Planned Parenthood of New Jersey, "Anti-choice Claims About Abortion and Breast Cancer," www.plannedparenthoodnj.org

Sources used in this report: http://www.bmj.com/content/332/7546/909 http://www.debate.org/abortion-debate/ http://www.patheos.com/blogs/rogereolson/2013/07/questions-about-both-sides-of-the-abortion-debate/ http://www.rfsu.se/Sex-och-politik/Fokus-SRHR/Ratten-till-abort/ www.plannedparenthoodnj.org