Term paper on The Ethics Of Abortion

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The Ethics of Abortion

Abortion is a very controversial subject that has been

continually argued over for the past few years and probably many years

to come. The main controversy is should abortion be legalized? First

before we get into the many sides of abortion we must first define

abortion. Abortion is the destruction of the fetus or unborn child

while the child is still in the mothers womb. This can be done by

almost anyone from the mother herself to back alley abortions and

even to abortions by clinics set up especially for this purpose.

There are two sides to this abortion topic the PRO-LIFE which is those

who are against abortion altogether and the PRO-CHOICE or those who

believe it is the womans right to choose if she wants to have an

abortion. These two groups offer different solutions to problem. The

pro-life solution is to have the child and basically live with it.

They believe abortion is not an answer. The pro-choice solution is

abortion because of reasons they feel are appropriate.

Although abortion is morally and ethically wrong should it be

legal for victims of rape or incest who have no other alternative?

There is no real answer to this controversy, there are two

sides to it though which have been arguing for many years over the

subject. The first is the pro-life group. This group does

not believe in the abortion factor. To understand where the pro-life

stands we must first understand its beliefs and reasons for its

beliefs. Then we can discuss what their solution to the

abortion topic is.

Pro-life believes that rape and incest are very emotional

topics. "They often elicit throughout the population feelings of

revulsion; people draw back from the issue of rape and incest.

People don't know how to handle a person who is in that much pain.

There is no quick fix. That is why it is difficult for even pro-life

people to come to grips with the argument over abortion in cases of

rape and incest."

Some of those who are pro-life will allow abortion in these

cases because they don't know what else they can do for the victim and

except it as a rare case. But it is known that allowing abortion in

these cases usually does not help the victim, instead it only worsens

the problem because the victims needs are not being met.

But what the facts suggest is that only a minority of rape and

incest victims actually choose abortion. This is where pro-life has

its biggest problem. Pro-life states that "Abortion is not usually

chosen as the immediate solution for rape and incest victims but that

is the prevailing belief of the general population. A woman has been

raped and made pregnant: "Oh, she's got to have an abortion." No one

has studied the rape and incest victims needs; abortion is presumed to

fill her needs."

Various studies and research indicate that rape and incest

victims fall into a high-risk category of abortion. But what happens

after a victim has an abortion? Jackie Baker a victim states: "I soon

discovered that the aftermath of my abortion continued a long time

after the memory of my rape had faded. I felt empty and horrible.

Nobody told me about the emptiness and pain I would feel deep within

causing nightmares and deep depressions. They all told me that after

the abortion I could continue with my life as if nothing ever

happened." (Reardon 21-22) This is the story we hear from a lot of

aborted women. Today in our society it is believed by most people

that it is the womans fault just as much as the mans fault, if not

more. many people think women are responsible for contributing to the

rape itself. Then the rape victims feel self-blame and guilt. And

even then a rape or incest victims family members or close friends may

reinforce these negative feelings. Or they drop the problem because

they don't know how to talk about it.

We even see the same thing in the abortion experience. When a

person becomes pregnant because of rape or incest there is a permanent

symbol of the rape, at least until it is aborted. Women who have had

abortions fear being rejected by God and loved ones. It is a very

traumatic experience which takes time. The fact is that you are

really telling your loved ones of a death in the family.

Opinion polls have shown for years that women are more against

abortion than men are. The women led the opposition of abortion. "In

1983 a Los Angelos Times poll found that only 47% of women (compared

with 51% of men) favored the general availability of abortion." (Pro

Life Feminism: Pro-Woman, Pro-Life 6) So what is this telling us? The

facts are very clear men prefer abortion over women by a large

percent. And most women do not agree with abortion. So why does it

still exist today?

What pro-life feels is really happening is that in our society

today abortion is becoming the solution to carelessness. Abortion

does nothing to help the victims rape, and that is the problem they

are trying to address in the first place. Instead abortion encourages

the victim to vent their anger out on others.

Pro-life also believes that child birth on the other hand can

be a victory. For those victims who chose childbirth over abortion it

can be a triumph. It can state that the victim is not going to let

rape destroy her life. When the needs of pregnant victims is closely

examined it can be shown that abortion is not the answer and is in

fact only worsening the problem. (Reardon 21-22)

But the worst strain abortion has on the victim is mental

strain. Many victims become confused and overwhelmed by feelings they

thought they would never have, and don't know what to do. After

having an abortion victims thought they had solved the problem but in

fact they had really just started a whole new one. Many victims began

thinking there was something wrong with them and began to doubt

themselves in situations that they would normally be sure of

themselves. Others plunge into deep depressions which they don't come

out of for weeks at end. This is one of the worst side effects of

having an abortion and most women don't realize it will happen to them

because they are too busy trying to correct the

immediate problem.

Pro-life persons don't have any reason to be ashamed to defend

pro-life view in the case of rape and incest. They feel the ones who

should be ashamed are the pro-abortionists who have been exploiting

the problems of the victims.

Pro-choice has a different view to this whole abortion

controversy. Pro-choice believes that it is the persons right to have

an abortion if they want to and that no one should interfere with that

right. Pro-choice has many reasons for feeling this way. First lets

talk about who has abortions and why they have abortions. There are

1.6 million abortions in the United States every year, there is no

real special class of people who have abortions.

Why does pro-choice feel that abortion is all right? Well

pro-choice believes that the answer is what the woman believes. The

most common reason for abortions is when contraception fails. What is

a person suppose to do when the birth control method fails? "The

fact is that contraceptive failure led to 1.6 to 2 million of the 3.3

million unwanted pregnancies in the United States in 1987. These

pregnancies account for about half of the 1.5 million abortions

performed every year." Besides these reasons for abortion women also

give researchers other reasons for getting an abortion.

In 1987 a survey of 1,900 women at 30 abortion facilities were

asked, why do women have abortions? The women could give as many

reasons as they wanted, and most of the women responded with one or

more of these top six reasons:

1. Concerned about...