An abortion is a very unsafe medical procedure used to end a pregnancy by removing the fetus before it is capable of survival. It is a frequently brought up controversial topic among our country and many other countries around the world. While many argue that is takes away the life of an innocent person without even giving them a chance at survival, it is an efficient method of systematized population control. There are numerous amounts of reasons in which a woman should not be required to giving birth once becoming pregnant. In the state of the world we are currently living in, abortion should be legal because a woman should have the ability to make all decisions regarding her own body, because raising a child is a very large responsibility for somebody that has not experienced it, and lastly the banning of abortion leads to the use of very unsafe practices to substitute the abortion.
My first reason for standing on the side of pro-choice regarding abortion laws is because pregnancy takes place within a woman’s body. That woman should have the ability to decide whether or not she wants to bring that child into the world and raise it to her best capability. There are not many instances in a man’s life where another person is making a decision relating to their body and how it should be dealt with. Women know their own bodies best and should be making the important decisions concerning their bodies. One could make an argument that this coincides with the gender equality controversy taking place in our country right now. How does a woman not have the right to decide whether or not she wants to give birth?
For instance, a woman could be raped and become pregnant without planning for the child or even wanting the child. She didn’t make a choice to become pregnant, so why should she be responsible to raise that child. If a woman wants to have an abortion, but is not able to do so, it may lead to anger or anxiety which could develop into larger problems down the road. In writing this essay, I was able to connect this topic to the philosophical concept; the desire theory. The desire theory states that in order to raise your personal well-being, your desires must be necessary and sufficient. For example, is something is good for you, then it fulfills for desires, making it a necessity to your well-being. At the same time, if something fulfills your desires, then it is good for you, making it sufficient in your lifestyle. If having a child deprives a woman of her happiness, she should not have the child. Raising a child is not something to be taken lightly, it is serious work and should be avoided by somebody not willing to put in the proper time.
127 our experts are availableright now
Pregnancy is a huge responsibility. There are many lifestyle changes that need to occur in order to give birth to a healthy baby, and if the timing of the pregnancy does not work with reasonable explanation, a woman should be able to decide to abort the fetus. Having a child is a huge financial burden on a family, especially in the event of a single parent. Another instance in which aborting a fetus could work to the mother’s advantage is if she is in the midst of conflict with her family or spouse. A child does not deserve to be brought into this world unloved.
There are plenty of environments that are not safe for children, so one that wishes to have a child should make sure their living conditions are stable enough for an infant. One may argue that putting up the child for adoption is a better option than abortion. In doing some research, I have come across some very eye-opening statistics. According to an article published on AdoptionCouncil.org, the number of children in foster care has increased every year since 2012. Right now in The United States, there are 437,465 children under the age of 18 in foster care, with the median age being just over 6 years old. While 250,248 children were in fact placed in a home last year, a whopping 273,559 children were placed into care, a number that was up 2.3% from the year previous.
This statistic really upset me, knowing that there are almost 300,000 children every year that are given away by their own parents. While there are plenty of stories out there of an orphan becoming very successful and going on to live a great life, there is no changing the fact that they grew up without their own parents. In the situation that a couple does decide to give their baby up for adoption, it is most likely due to the fact that they are not ready to take on the responsibility of raising a child. That baby will grow up with the constant thought of how his or her life may have been different, for the better or worse, if they had grown up with their biological parents.
The last reason for my stance on pro-choice regarding abortion is because banning abortion forces the use of illegal and unmoral abortion methods. In the case that abortion is going to be used, it should be done correctly. This past March, NBC News published an article titled, Abortion Rates Go Down When Countries Make It Legal. Within the article, the author analyzes a report done by Guttmacher Institute and National Academies, in which they found countries that have stricter abortion laws tend to see more abortions being done. NBC News released the statement which read, “Making it more difficult to get abortions forces women to get them at a later stage, when they will be more complicated, expensive, and risky,” (Maggie Fox, NBC News). This leads to “traditional” abortion methods which include mass consumption of alcohol, painkillers, bleach, and many more gruesome techniques which can lead to very severe complications down the road. This is quite concerning that women do not feel comfortable enough with our medical benefits and that they instead rely on the practice of very unmoral and unsafe procedures to prevent their continued pregnancy.
Now there are two main counterarguments to legal abortion. One being that abortion is plain and simple murder, and the other being that life begins at conception, so unborn babies have a right to life because they are human beings. There is no argument against the fact that an abortion ends an innocent life, but that innocent life does not even know what life itself is yet. That unborn child does not begin to understand its own body or how the world around him or herself works yet. For it is far more fair to end that child’s life before it truly begins, rather than have it to grow up without anybody loving them. If a child is born without at least one caring parent or guardian, is it really the correct thing to do to give that baby a chance at a fair life? What are the realistic chances that child grows up in an environment that is able to benefit them in a way that will allow them to achieve goals in their lifetime?
There clearly needs to be changes made to the way abortion is handled in our country, for a woman should be in complete control of their own body at all times. For there is nothing equivalent to giving birth in a man’s life, therefore men really shouldn’t be involved in the process of deciding the laws regarding birth. Only a woman knows if she is ready to bring a child into the world and raise it. If there are reasons for which she feels incapable of doing so, there is no reason that child should be birthed. It is unfair to bring an innocent infant into the world without love, shelter, and care. While legal abortion should not be taken as an opportunity to avoid the consequences of having intercourse, it is a necessary option in the world we are living in today for women of all ages.
