Abortion
AbortionTHE MANY SIDES OF ABORTION
The medical definition of abortion is, " the termination of a pregnancy by loss or
destruction of the fetus before birth. It can be either spontaneous or induced, and the
latter is an act with many legal and ethical ramifications." Abortion is a very controversial
subject and there are many different positions that one could take, none which are either
all right or all wrong. Before any one makes a decision as to how they feel on the subject,
one should look at the different sides to the issue.
When talking about abortion, there are many different ethical questions involved.
Ethics is what one uses to distinguish what is right from wrong, good from bad, etc. Since
people come from different backgrounds, they have a different code of ethics, therefore
answering the question of right and wrong can not be easily answered, and who knows if
it can ever be answered? There is no correct ethical or moral code for one specific time
period, or group of people, so one must decide what they believe on the issue of abortion,
by examining there own code of ethics.
I attended Catholic Schools for most of my life, and had Catholic beliefs and ideas
rammed down my throat for so long, that for a while I decided what ever The Church
believes, I am going to believe the exact opposite. So for many years I believed in
abortion, and thought of it as no big deal, and thought that if I was ever placed in a
situation that abortion was an option, that I would just go ahead and do it, but now that
has changed. I took a morality class my junior year of high school, and one day we
watched a movie on abortion, and it had some really graphic pictures of aborted fetuses,
and from the moment I saw that I totally changed my views on the subject. After much
thought I decided that abortion would be the wrong choice for myself, and though I don't
really agree with the principles of the subject, I don't have the right to say whether another
should or should not have abortion.
The position that I hold on abortion, is not the same as everyone else's, there are
many groups of people who hold different veiws on the subject, they are called the right to
lifers. This group of people believe that life begins at the moment of conception, and by
intentionally participating in an abortion, you are participating in the taking of a human
life.
The pro-life movement has been fighting for many years for the constitutional rights of the
fetus, because they think that the fetus is an human and is as deserving of constitutional
rights as anyone else. They have organized many demonstrations, such as picketing
abortion clinics, which have, in a few cases resulted in the murders of people who work at
these clinics. As a result of the pro-life movement, innocent people were killed, because
they worked at an abortion clinic, it kind of seems like a double standard.
The opposition to those who are pro-life, are those who are pro-choice. They
believe in a woman's right to chose to continue with, or terminate a pregnancy. One belief
of the pro-choice movement the legalization of abortion made it safer for those who chose
to had them. Women now are provided with a safe clean environment in which to have an
abortion, and don't have to worry about dying from an infection from an unsafe, illegal
abortion. They also feel that by having the option to have an abortion, that it helps to
relieve some of the psychological and social problems of having an unwanted child.
Another side of abortion is the religious aspect. Most religions see abortion as
being wrong, for a number of different reasons, but the only perspective I can give is the
Catholic religion, because I don't want to state the beliefs of other religions incorrectly.
The Catholic Church believes that the act of sexual intercourse is to be communitve and
procreative. This means that when people participate in intercourse, they are not only
showing there love for one another, but they know that they could create a new life, and
should cherish it. The church also opposes birth control for this same reason.
In conclusion, the only thing that I can really say about the subject is that it is up to
each person to decide how they feel, after examining all sides of the issue and their own
ethics.