Premium Essay

The Right to Abort

In: Philosophy and Psychology

Submitted By anisaj
Words 1123
Pages 5
Anisa James
PHI-105
May 8, 2016
Professor Benjamin Perlin

The Right to Abort
Abortion is a decision that is not to be taken lightly. The amount of thought that is required by the involved female is insurmountable. No matter the reasoning, it is the decision of the female to make. Any potential offspring that has been conceived may be aborted for various reasons. Complicating medical factors and birth defects, unwanted sexual encounters, and career and non-career wise family planning are all justifiable reasons to support one’s decision to decide to abort the fetus that grows in her body.
In the realm of modern medicine, it is quite easy for OB/GYNs and other doctors to determine the health of the child after it has left the womb. In these cases, the opinion of a professional can result in the female having the option to choose abortion to reduce the chances of the child being born with a birth defect, or in some cases, to save the life of the female carrying the baby. According to Richie (2013), anencephaly is a neural tube defect that does not allow for the proper development of the brain. Typically, these babies only have a brain stem, which allows the heart to beat but does not allow for the ability to thrive outside the womb, which doctors have determined to be a major birth defect. If the fetus makes it to term, many of these infants do not live longer than a few hours or days and due to the nature and severity of this birth defect, many physicians will not provide nutritive support as it is believed to be medically futile. When the mother is presented with complicating factors such as an incompetent cervix, this can lead to secondary complications, i.e., fetal septicemia, uterine rupture, and renal failure. Many of these secondary complications can, in turn, cause fetal death unless the mother aborts the child. Fetal septicemia causes grave

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Abortion Should Be Illegal

...women wonder whether they should keep the child or not. Abortion has been one of the main issues in America that has not been solved. My opinion about abortion is indifferent. I do not believe people should abort, but I do believe people should have the right to choose with reasoning. The reasons why a mother should abort their baby would be because of health issues or something happened to the mother which caused this unexpected pregnancy. By health issues, I mean if during labor or anytime during the pregnancy the mother could die or fatally ill. Another health issue would be, if the baby would become mentally retarded and the mother absolutely could not handle having a mentally ill child. No mother wants to see their child suffer day in and day out, but putting the baby at peace by aborting it would be okay. By something happing to the mother, I mean rape. When someone is a rape victim, it is never easy to cope with the idea someone forced you to do something you did not want to do. The mother would not be mentally or physically prepared to take care of a child....

Words: 563 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Arguments For Abortion Essay

...I. Introduction 7 Abortion is the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy. In January 22, 1973 abortion was made legal. Many states made abortion illegal unless if it was to save a woman's life. That is why many women resorted to doing illegal abortions around that time. Abortion was finally legalized, supported by the right of privacy in the fourteenth amendment’s concept of personal liberty. Abortion is most often performed during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy. This research paper is about the benefits of abortion, it will analyze:eligibility, different options for abortion, and the number of women who abort; how it affects the mothers and the baby. II. Who is eligible to abort? 8According to www.bbc.co.uk “The important...

Words: 1362 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Abortion

...Abortion is Wrong! Would you have the heart to take an innocent child's life even if it wasn’t fully developed? I’m pretty sure your answer would be a no...so why does the world think it’s okay to abort a developing child? The world’s view on abortion has changed over the years, they made it more safe into aborting or they changed policies in order to abort. Regardless of what they changed or did, it still doesn't change the fact that abortion is wrong. It's wrong in the way on how abortion drugs hurt women, women experience trauma physically and mentally, and they also violate human rights. So why should abortions be okay with people? Abortions take away a life regardless of the reason of having an abortion. “Abortion is a form of murder and demeans the value of human life.”(Messerli) This is showing that you as the person aborting a child is taking away an innocent life. Even though abortions are a form of murder, the drugs you take to avoid pregnancies harm women. Sometimes women try to take the morning after pill after sexual activity without protection to prevent them from getting pregnant. What women don’t know is that those drugs actually are very harmful to a women. “Ru-486 (abortion drug to induce abortion) was approved without adequate trials and even with restricted distribution has resulted in thousands of complications including death.”(Wright) This shows that drugs aren’t really processed and examined properly in order to make them safe for humans. In spite...

Words: 562 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Pros and Cons of Abortion

...Abortion: Right or Wrong? Kymber McLay Charter College Abstract Start Abstract here Keywords: This paper explores the pros and cons of abortion. Many people believe differently on whether it is right or wrong. [ Abortion ]: Right or Wrong? Abortion has been a huge topic in the United States for years now, and whether it is the right thing to do or not has caused many debates. It was declared a fundamental right by the U.S. Supreme Court during Roe vs. Wade, yet many people beg to differ. The ones who believe it is right identify themselves as pro-choice, believing that abortion is a woman’s right and that it should not be limited by governmental or religious authority. Identifying as pro-life, the opponents believe that it is immoral killing and that personhood begins at conception. No matter what each side thinks, there will always be arguments about it. The choice to abort a fetus is central to a woman’s independence and ability to determine her own future. "A woman's autonomy to determine her life's course, and thus to enjoy equal citizenship stature,” stated by Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg during Gonzales vs. Carhart (2007). A woman’s decision can affect her life for the good or the bad, but if abortion was illegal, then a woman cannot make the best decision for herself. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote, "The ability of women to participate equally in the economic and social life of the Nation has been facilitated by their ability...

Words: 1138 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Republican Platform: Women And Abortion

...Republican Platform: Women and Abortion The Republican Party’s position on abortion states that all unborn children should be protected. In the case Roe v. Wade, in 1973, the decision was made that an unborn fetus could be deliberately murdered. Roe v. Wade changed America greatly. Since that year, more than fifty-four million, unborn babies have been killed against their will. The Republican Party is pro-life, and they believe in the Fourteenth Amendment. The Fourteenth Amendment states that every individual’s rights belongs to themselves and no one else. A Fetus's right to life should not be contingent on their mother’s choice. “Roe v. Wade is the fountainhead of the now-imperial federal judiciary that has violated, not only the rights...

Words: 1172 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Is Abortion Wrong or Right?

...Madison Moreno  Professor Rollins  ENG 112-01  September 2, 2015  Is Abortion Wrong or Right?  Abortion is defined as “The removal of an embryo or fetus from the uterus in order to end the pregnancy” (dictionary.com). However, if only the debate over the abortion issue was as easy as the definition listed above. However, similar to most things in life, a statement or opinion is never right nor wrong, but simply left open for clarification. Those who are against abortion believe that abortion is the murder of innocent human beings who aren’t given a chance at life and the ability to function as a normal individual. However, those who are for abortion believe that it is a women’s right to choose what she does to not only her baby but also to her body and if she decides she is not capable of bringing a child into this world, then she should not be forced to.  Everybody has their own opinion so therefore, abortion should not be right nor should it be wrong.  As expected, there are millions of people who are against abortion. These people are considered pro-life, otherwise known as people who feel that, for no reason at all, should any woman feel the need to abort her child while being pregnant. There are many reasons as to why those who are pro-life do not support abortion. The main reason is that, in her decision to have an abortion, the mother is deciding to kill or murder an innocent human being who hasn’t been given a chance at life. Some may also feel that abortion is...

Words: 988 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Abortion: It Should Be a Choice

...made one of the biggest mistakes in her life, getting pregnant. Her family is not stable enough to afford a baby and she cannot afford one herself, but yet cannot abort the baby because it is against the law. The teenage girl has now given birth to a baby boy. With no help from her family she ends up on living on the street with her baby crying every night of hunger. She struggles for the rest of the child’s childhood and vows to never have a baby again. Now let’s imagine a teenage girl who has made the same mistake but instead was able to get an abortion. With this being one of the most emotion and horrifying events she has experienced yet, she also made a vow; but this teenager’s vow was to always be protected. Many teenagers who become mothers have grim prospects for the future. They are much more likely to leave school; receive poor prenatal care; rely on public assistance to raise a child; develop health problems; or end up divorced from their child’s father. In the Supreme Court case of Roe vs. Wade (1973) women of the United States “have been granted the right to have abortions” it is a strong belief of many people it is a woman’s right to be able to abort an unwanted pregnancy, and no man, organization, or any form of government should take that right away from her. The right to have an abortion is a woman’s right not to have a conceived child. According to the Encyclopedia, an abortion is the loss of a fetus before it is able to live outside the womb. Abortion is observed...

Words: 632 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Ethics of Abortion

...sides as to what is the right thing to do. Some people think that abortion is completely and utterly wrong. Some people think that abortion is right when and only when the mother’s life is at risk. And others think that there is a range of different circumstances that make abortion morally acceptable. In this paper I will present the issue of abortion, explain the three classical theories of utilitarianism, deontology and virtue ethics on how to solve the issue and contrast this response with the perspective brought to the issue of abortion by ethical egoism. I will also present you with my personal opinion as to why I believe abortion should be in fact morally accepted by society. The issues that arise when debating about whether abortion is ethically wrong or right are many. There are two sides to this debate and they call themselves, “pro-life” or “pro-choice”. Pro-lifers say that it is morally wrong to end pregnancy because you are in fact killing an innocent human being, and the pro-choicer believes that the choice should be made by and for the impregnated woman and that under certain circumstances, abortion is in fact acceptable. Many questions are being asked to form an ethical decision on whether abortion is wrong or not. Questions such as, what gives a being the right to life? Is a fetus even a human being? Is a fetus the kind of being that has a right to live? If the fetus has a right to life, does that right take priority over the mother’s right to control her own body...

Words: 1945 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Abortion Persuasive Research Paper

...“I’m going to abort.” If a girl ever said this to me the big question for me would be What could I do to help her? My immediate response would be to ask her if there’s anything I could do then I would try to persuade her not to abort. To do this I’d tell her that abortion is a way of killing a living person who hasn’t been born yet and that there are other options such as adoption. One of the first things that I would ask her would be if there’s anything that I could do. Around this time she might think that abortion is the best way to end “her problem” so I would be willing to listen to her point of view. Even though this may seem as the simplest thing, that might be what she needs, to think out loud and process what she is thinking. Another way that I could be helpful would be by informing her about the health centers that would teach her about the health problems she could have later on due to abortion and help her realize that abortion isn’t the best option....

Words: 551 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Abortion

...ABORTION An abortion is when the pregnancy is ended so that it does not result in the birth of a child. Sometimes this is called ‘termination of pregnancy’. The pregnancy is removed from the womb, either by taking pills (medical abortion) which involves taking medicines to cause a miscarriage or by surgery (surgical abortion) where the pregnancy is removed from the womb. Abortion is the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of afetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced. The term abortionmost commonly refers to the induced abortion of a human pregnancy. Abortion, when induced in the developed world in accordance with local law, is among the safest procedures in medicine. However, unsafe abortions result in approximately 70,000maternal deaths and 5 million hospital admissions per year globally. An estimated 44 million abortions are performed globally each year, with slightly under half of those performed unsafely. The incidence of abortion has stabilized in recent years, having previously spent decades declining as access to family planning education and contraceptive services increased. Forty percent of the world's women have access to legal induced abortions (within gestational limits). Induced abortion has a long history and has been performed by various methods, including herbal abortifacients, the use of sharpened tools, physical...

Words: 1092 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Moving from Colleague

...women should have the right to abortion or  not, you can find support for either side.       Many individuals take the side of anti-abortion or pro-life which means  they don't think women should have the right to abort an unborn child.  This is  the con side of legalizing abortion.  Some of the pro-life members think that  the reasons women shouldn't be able to abort is that the mother is ending an  unborn child's life and if the mother is old enough to get pregnant they are old  enough to have the child.  Some pro-life activists think that even if you have  to put the baby up for adoption later you should still have it.  Although some  of the reasoning that pro-life activist use, might seem a little ridiculous at  times many of the activist aren't able to have children or are just trying to  defend a baby that can't defend it self.  The pro's of pro-life are that the  baby gets a chance to live and experience life outside of the womb and maybe  someone who is unable to have children will get the chance to be a mother or  father if they adopt this child who would have been aborted.  The opposing side  takes a different side to the argument.          The pro side of legalizing abortion is known as pro-choice which is the  side of the argument that believes that if a woman is pregnant she should have  the right to abort.  Some activist believe there are a number of reasons why a mother would choose to abort.  One, there might...

Words: 825 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Abortion in Thai Perspective

...Abortion In Thai Perspective By Nattapong Pienpitak ID : 213210116 ENG 103 Stamford University International College 9th December, 2014 Introduction Abortion or some says “miscarriage” has a long story and can be dated back to our ancient civilization such as China, Egypt, and Roman empires. There are several evidences to indicate that abortion is committed since ancient time. There are many ways to abort fetus inside mother’s stomach which are considered all inhumane, however, people still doing it till this very day. There are three main methods of abortion which people use around the world which are, medical abortion, surgical abortion, and other methods. However, the information in this essay will not focus on the process of those abortions, but it will mention why people should oppose abortion especially Thailand. According to Population Policy Data Bank (2012), in late 1970, more than 300,000 illegal abortions were performed in rural area of Thailand and most of operations were performed by untrained or non-medical personnel. Thailand is one of the countries that have alarming abortion rates in the world which is considered to be very unacceptable because Thailand is a Buddhist country. Abortion in Thailand is seen by large majority of Thai people as murder. In other word, in public perspective, abortion is considered to be very fatal and can be considered as last alternative. There are three main understandable reasons for Thai...

Words: 1115 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Abortion Is Wrong

...Bouzouma EN140 25 January 2016   Abortion has become a highly discussed topic in our country from people believing its right and others believing its wrong. Annually, an estimated 43.8 million babies die from abortion worldwide (World Health Organization/Guttmacher Institute, published 2012). That is approximately one baby being aborted every two seconds In many states, abortion has been banned after 16 weeks of pregnancy and many doctors will not perform an abortion unless of a medical reason. Some small clinics such as Planned Parenthood will perform these abortions. When going to these clinics there are pro-life and pro-choice groups usually standing out front with signs. Pro-life groups favor greater restrictions on abortion. They argue that a fetus is a human being with the right to live, so abortion is murder. Pro-choice groups argue that a woman has certain reproductive rights especially the right to choose whether to carry a fetus or not. My own is that I think if there is nothing wrong with the fetus when the woman goes to her ultrasound appointments and nothing shows up and there’s no medical problems with the woman then she should keep it. One of the most common reasons a woman chooses to abort is because they want to delay a pregnancy because they are too young. However, in some cases a woman becomes pregnant from being rapped and decides to abort the baby. They do not want to live with the reminder of the rape so keeping the baby would be too hard for them. I do see...

Words: 616 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Pro-Choice

...Pro-Choice Abortion has been a topic up for debate here in a America for some time now. There are those who feels it is a okay and that it is a choice, while others frown upon the act. Abortion is defined as the termination of a pregnancy before the fetus is developed enough to live on its own. Millions of abortions are conducted each year. With that being said, not everyone agrees with the Pro-Choice outlook. Many people see abortion as murder, merely stealing life away from someone. They must take in account all of the factors of why abortion may be necessary or the best choice. A woman should have the right to do to her body as she choices, and with the right circumstances, abort a pregnancy for any given reason she choices. There are plenty factors that go into why a woman may choose to have an abortion. One reason may be that the woman or young girl was raped and the child was consummated in the act. As a parent, she must bear the memory of being raped as well as carry the child of the rapist. No one would want to have a constant reminder of something as horrific as rape. The mother may never be accepting of this child, and want give it the care it needs. The child would not be wanted nor would it be loved. These women are smart enough to know how they would treat this child. Their hatred for the rapist would transpire onto the child. No child should be brought into this world unloved and upon such a cruel crime. How could you look that child in the face everyday? The...

Words: 788 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Unsafe Abortion: Unnecessary Maternal Mortality Analysis

...In the United States 67% of women who find out the fetus has down syndrome abort the baby (Antenatal Care). People with down syndrome may be very healthy or may have unusual and demanding medical and social problems at virtually every stage of life. According to Ruth Marcus at the Washington Post, “most children with down syndrome have mild to moderate cognitive impairment, meaning an IQ between 55 and 70 (mild) or between 35 and 55 (moderate). This means limited capacity for independent living and financial security.” This would mean that the mother would either have to stay with them or provide them with someone who could take care of them constantly for the rest of their life. Opposing viewpoints would say that even in the event that a child is born with down syndrome they are a gift from God and no matter their genetic hardships they should have a chance at life. This is difficult on both the mother and the child throughout both of their lives and prohibits the mother from moving...

Words: 937 - Pages: 4