Essay on The Ethics Of Abortion
The Ethics Of Abortion Term Papers
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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 how having a baby could
change her life, 92 percent.
2. Not mature enough or too young...
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