Pro-Life

Pro-Life: The Right Choice Should abortion be legal? This is one of the biggest issues among women today, and there are strong opinions on both sides of this issue. Abortion should not be legal because it is killing a living thing, there are other solutions like adoption, and it can cause intense psychological pain and stress. Abortion is the killing of an unborn child, or in other words, murder. The unborn child is in fact a living human being. Although some may disagree that the baby is living while in the womb, it can be proven scientifically otherwise. Erick Eckholm in the New York Times online quoted Dr. Eric Webb, an obstetrician, who said, “With the union of the egg and sperm, that is life, and genetically human.” It is human at the moment of egg and sperm coming together. Rob Schwarzwalder similarly explained in his online article on Family Research Council, “The zygote is composed of human DNA and other human molecules, so its nature is undeniably human and not some other species. . . It is also quite clear to us that the earliest human embryo is biologically alive. It fulfills the four criteria needed to establish biological life: metabolism, growth, reaction to stimuli, and reproduction.” He makes the argument very clear that when the sperm and egg fuse together, a new entity that is distinctly human becomes alive and an individual. He also discusses that the new human zygote has a genetic composition that is different from any other human, including the mother (Schwarzwalder). All of these facts contribute to the fact that this baby is not just an extension of the mother’s body alone, but it is a new and unique human being. Mary Balch bluntly states in her article online for USA Today, “The fetus, in many cases, dies just as a human adult or child would: It bleeds to death as it is torn limb from limb.” When you decide to abort, you are technically killing an irreplaceable living person. Abortion is not the only solution to an unwanted baby, and there is a happy alternative. There may be times when a mother facing an unplanned pregnancy may feel inadequate to parent a child, or she might feel that abortion is the only option. But fortunately there are other solutions to an unwanted child. There are people who cannot have children and are willing to give a child a great life and plenty of love. Also, there is no cost to you if you choose adoption. Abortion costs within a range of five hundred to two thousand dollars (Bethany Christian Services). There are many differences in adoption and abortion. When you put a baby up for adoption, the pregnancy ends with giving life, you feel good and positive about your choice, and you will remember giving birth instead of taking a life (Bethany Christian Services). With abortion the pregnancy ends with a death, you feel guilt and shame about your choice, and you will remember taking that life for the rest of your life (Bethany Christian Services). Why live with that? Adoption is not only a better choice for your child, but for you. Abortion is known to cause emotional and physical pain. Helen Alvare and Meg McDonnell in an online article for the Washington Post say that some European studies show reasons to worry, and that abortion significantly increases the risk of substance abuse and mental health problems. Rob Schwarzwalder on the Family Research Council website quotes a study that showed eight weeks after abortion, 44% complained of nervous disorders, 36% had experienced sleep disturbances, and 31% had regrets. They also found that 60% of women who experience post abortion sequelae report suicidal thoughts, and 28% actually attempted suicide more than once and women who have had abortions are significantly more likely than others to subsequently require admission to a psychiatric hospital (Schwarzwalder). There are also physical effects that can happen after abortions. For example, at least some women, post-abortion stress is associated with eating disorders such as bulimia, binge eating, and anorexia nervosa and alcohol and drug abuse can sometimes be another physical effect (Schwarzwalder). Over twenty studies have linked abortion to increased rates of drug and alcohol use (Schwarzwalder). Post-traumatic stress disorder is another mental issue with 14 % of women with all of the symptoms of PTSD attributing them entirely to the abortion they had (Schwarzwalder). Why go through abortion and risk having problems like these for the rest of your life? You can choose a different path and be so much happier emotionally and physically. Everyone should have the opportunity to learn more about abortion so they can understand all the inevitable problems and issues that will arise and comprehend the long term effects of their decision. As Michael Mckenzie says on page 32 of The Abortion Controversy, “We must strive to ‘re-humanize’ the unborn.” We need to remember that this is not a decision about one human being, but it is two lives that should be considered. You should not have the decision to end someone else’s life. Every child deserves a chance at life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Works Cited

Alvare, Helen M., and Meg T. McDonnell. “Why Pro-lifers keep fighting abortion.” Washington Post. The Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2013. Web. 10 May 2013.
Bethany Christian Services. "Adoption vs. Abortion vs. Parenting: Your Life. Your Baby. Your Choice.” American Adoptions. Web. 10 May 2013.
Eckholm, Erick. “’Personhood’Amendments a New Tack in Abortion Fight.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 25 Oct. 2011. Web. 9 May 2013.
Mckenzie, Michael. Abortion Is Murder. The Abortion Controversy. By Lynette Knapp. San Diego: Greenhaven, 2001. Print.
Schwarzwalder, Rob. "The Best Pro-Life Arguments for Secular Audiences." Family Research Council. Web. 22 May 2013. <http://www.frc.org/>.

Cited: Alvare, Helen M., and Meg T. McDonnell. “Why Pro-lifers keep fighting abortion.” Washington Post. The Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2013. Web. 10 May 2013. Bethany Christian Services. "Adoption vs. Abortion vs. Parenting: Your Life. Your Baby. Your Choice.” American Adoptions. Web. 10 May 2013. Eckholm, Erick. “’Personhood’Amendments a New Tack in Abortion Fight.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 25 Oct. 2011. Web. 9 May 2013. Mckenzie, Michael. Abortion Is Murder. The Abortion Controversy. By Lynette Knapp. San Diego: Greenhaven, 2001. Print. Schwarzwalder, Rob. "The Best Pro-Life Arguments for Secular Audiences." Family Research Council. Web. 22 May 2013. &lt;http://www.frc.org/&gt;.