Abortion Debate Pro Life Stance Term paper
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Abortion Debate - Pro-Life Stance
In Roman times, abortion and the destruction of unwanted
children was permissible, but as out civilization has aged, it seems
that such acts were no longer acceptable by rational human beings, so
that in 1948, Canada along with most other nations in the world signed
a declaration of the United Nations promising every human being the
right to life. The World Medical Association meeting in Geneve at the
same time, stated that the utmost respect for human life was to be
from the moment of conception. This declaration was re-affirmed when
the World Medical Association met in Oslo in 1970. Should we go
backwards in our concern for the life of an individual human being?
The unborn human is still a human life and not all the wishful
thinking of those advocating repeal of abortion laws, can alter this.
Those of us who would seek to protect the human who is still to small
to cry aloud for it's own protection, have been accused of having a
19th Century approach to life in the last third of the 20th Century.
But who in reality is using arguments of a bygone Century? It is an
incontrovertible fact of biological science - Make no Mistake - that
from the moment of conception, a new human life has been created.
Only those who allow their emotional passion to overide their
knowledge, can deny it: only those who are irrational or ignorant
of science, doubt that when a human sperm fertilizes a human ovum a
new human being is created. A new human being who carries genes in its
cells that make that human being uniquely different from any and other
human being and yet, undeniably a member, as we all are, of the great
human family. All the fetus needs to grow into a babe, a child, an old
man, is time, nutrition and a suitable environment. It is determined
at that very moment of conception whether the baby will be a boy or a
girl; which of his parents he will look like; what blood type he will
have. His whole heritage is forever fixed. Look at a human being 8
weeks after conception and you, yes every person here who can tell the
difference between a man and a women, will be able to look at the
fetus and tell me whether it is a baby boy or a girl.
No, a fetus is not just another part of a women's body like an
appendix or appendage. These appendages, these perfectly formed tiny
feel belong to a 10 week developed baby, not to his or her mother.
The fetus is distinct and different and has it's own heart
beat. Do you know that the fetus' heart started beating just 18 days
after a new life was created, beating before the mother even knew she
was pregnant? By 3 months of pregnancy the developing baby is just
small enough to be help in the palm of a man's hand but look closely
at this 3 month old fetus. All his organs are formed and all his
systems working. He swims, he grasps a pointer, he moves freely, he
excretes urine. If you inject a sweet solution into the water around
him, he will swallaw because he likes the taste. Inject a bitter
solution and he will quit swallowing because he does not like the
taste. By 16 weeks it is obvious to all, except those who have eyes
but deliberately do not see, that this is a young human being.
Who chooses life or death for this little one because abortion
is the taking of a human life? This fact is undeniable; however much
of the members of the Women's Liberation Movement, the new Feminists,
Dr. Henry Morgentaler or the Canadian Medical Association President
feel about it, does not alter the fact of the matter. An
incontrovertible fact that cannot change as feelings change.
If abortion is undeniably the taking of human life and yet
sincere misguided people feel that it should be just a personal matter
between a women and the doctor, there seems to be 2 choices open to
them. (1) That they would believe that other acts of destruction of
human beings such as infanticide and homicide should be of no concern
of society and therefore, eliminate them from the criminal code. This
I cannot believe is the thinking of the majority, although the
tendency for doctors to respect the selfish desire of parents and not
treat the newborn defective with a necessary lifesaving measure, is
becoming increasingly more common. (2) But for the most part the only
conclusion available to us is that those pressing for repeal of the
abortion laws believe that there are different sorts of human beings
and that by some arbitrary standard, they can place different values
on the lives of there human beings. Of course, different human beings
have different values to each of us as individuals: my mother means
more to me than she does to you. But the right to life of all human
beings is undeniable. I do not think this is negotiable. It is easy to
be concerned with the welfare of those we know and love, while
regarding everybody else as less important and somehow, less real.
Most people would rather have heard of the death of thousands in the
Honduras flooding disaster than of a serious accident involving a
close friends or favourite relatives. That is why some are less
disturbed by the slaughter of thousands of unborn children than by the
personal problems of a pregnant women across the street. To
rationalize this double standard, they pretend to themselves that the
unborn child is a less valuable human life because it has no active
social relationships and can therefore, be disposed of by others who
have an arbitrary standard of their own for the value of a human life.
I agree that the fetus has not developed it's full potential
as a human being: but neither have any of us. Nor will any of us have
reached that point: that point of perfect humaness, when we die.
Because some of us may be less far along the path than others, does
not give them the right to kill us. But those in favour of abortion,
assume that they have that right, the standard being arbitrary. To say
that a 10 week fetus has less value that a baby, means also that one
must consider a baby of less value than a child, a young adult of less
value than an old man. Surely one cannot believe this and still be
civilized and human. A society that does not protect its individual
members is on the lowest scale of civilized society. One of the
measures of a more highly civilized society, is its attitude towards
its weaker members. If the poor, the sick, the handicapped, the
mentally ill, the helpless are not protected, the society is not as
advanced as in a society where they are protected. The more mature the
society is, the more there is respect for the dignity and rights of
all human beings. The function of the laws of the society, is to
protect and provide for all members so that no individual or group of
individuals can be victimized by another individual group. Every
member of Canadian society has a vital stake in what value system is
adopted towards its weak, aged, cripple, it's helpless intra-uterine
members; a vital stake in who chooses life or death.
As some of you may know, in 1969, the abortion laws were
changed in Canada, so that it became legal for a doctor to perform an
abortion if a committee of 3 other doctors in an eccredited hospital
deemed that continuation of the pregnancy constituted a severe threat
to the life and health, mental or physical of the women. Threat to
health was not defined and so it is variously interpreted to mean very
real medical disease to anything that interferes with even social or
economic well being, so that any unwanted or unplanned pregnancy thus
qualifies. What really is the truth about the lasting effect of an
unwanted pregnancy on the psyche of a womem? Of course there is a
difference of opinion among psychiatrists, but if unbiased,
prospective studies are examined certain facts become obvious. (1) The
health of women who are mentally ill before they become pregnant, is
not improved by an abortion. In fact in 1970 an official statement of
the World Health Organization said, "Serious mental disorders arise
more often in women previous mental problems. Thus the very women for
whom legal abortion is considered justified on psychiatric grounds,
are the ones who have the highest risk of post-abortion psychiatric
disorders. (2) Most women who are mentally healthy before unwanted
pregnancy, despite a temporary emotional upset during the early weeks
for the pregnancy, are mentally healthy after the pregnancy whether
they were aborted or carried through to term.
Do we accept killing a human being because of a temporary,
emotional upset? All obstetricians and gynaecologists know of many
cases where the mother, be her single or married, has spoken of
abortion early in the pregnancy and later on, has confessed her
gratitude to those who have not performed the abortion. On the other
hand, we have all seen women what have been troubled, consumed with
guilt and development significant psychiatric problems following and
because of abortion. I quote Ft. John L. Grady, Medical Examiner for
Florida State Attorney's Office, "I believe it can be stated with
certainty that abortion causes more deep-seated guilt, depression and
mental illness than it ever cures".
We used to hear a lot about the risk of suicide among those
who threatened such action if their request for abortion was refused.
How real is that risk - it is not - in fact, the suicide rate among
pregnant women be they happy of unhappy about the pregnancy, is 1/4 of
the rate among non-pregnant women in child-bearing years. An accurate
10 year study was done in England on unwed mothers who requested
abortions and were refused. It was found that the suicide rate of this
group was less than that average population. In Minnesota in a 15 year
period, there were only 14 maternal suicides. 11 occurred after
delivery. None were illegitimately pregnant. All were psychotic. In
contrast, among the first 8 deaths of women aborted under the liberal
law in the United Kingdon, 2 were from suicide directly following the
abortion.
Are there any medical indications for abortion?? Is it valid
for a doctor to co-operate in the choice for abortion? The late Dr.
Guttmacher, one of the world leaders of the pro-abortion movement, has
stated: "Almost any women can be brought through pregnancy alive
unless she suffers from cancer or leukemia, in which case abortion is
unlikely to prolong her life much less save it."
As an opponent to abortion, I will readily agree, as will all
those who are against abortion, that pregnancy resulting from rape or
incest is a tragedy. Rape is a detestable crime, but no sane reasoning
can place the slightest blame on the unborn child it might produce.
Incest is, if that is possible, even worse, but for centuries,
traditional Jewish law has clearly stated, that if a father sins
against his daughter (incest) that does not justify a second crime -
the abortion of the product of that sin. The act of rape or incest is
the major emotional physical trauma to the young girl or women. Should
we compound the psychic scar already inflicted on the mother by her
having the guilt of destroying a living being which was at least half
her own? Throughout history, pregnant women who for one crime or
another were sentenced to death, were given a stay of execution until
after the delivery of the child: it being the contention of courts
that one could not punish the innocent child for the crime of the
mother. Can we punish it for a crime against the mother?
If rape occurred the victim should immediately report the
incident. If this is done, early reporting of the crime will provide
greater opportunity for apprehension and conviction of the rapist, for
treatment of venereal disease and prevention of pregnancy. Let is give
our children good sex education; and let us get tough on pornography,
clean up...
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