The topic that I am going to discuss throughout this essay is abortion and whether it should be banned in this country. Abortion is a widely discussed issue, which has many arguments both for and against. People who support in banning abortion are called “Pro-life”, and they believe in the sanctity of human life. People who are against banning abortion believe that if you do this you are taking away the right of the individual to make decisions about their own body. These people are called “Pro-choice”. My opinion is that I think abortion should always be an option available to people. I don’t believe it should be used as contraception though, but no woman should have to carry an unwanted child.
One of the most important reasons to me which led me to my opinion of abortion is the question of what if the mother of the child is not capable of looking after the child and caring for it, or cannot afford expenses of having a baby. I believe that abortion should be allowed in this case because if the child cannot be cared for perhaps because of a lack of money then it may be neglected or if it is born into a deprived family it may be resented because of the amount of care it needs which could lead to abuse.
In addition, the next most important question, which led me to form my opinion, is, what if a baby is going to be born with a fatal birth defect? In cases such as this, then what is the point of going through the pain of pregnancy? I believe that if a child will be born with down syndrome or any other comparable condition, its is still a person and has a right to life, it may not be the “perfect” child, and also may be more difficult to care for but it is still a child and this is part of the risk of pregnancy. If the child’s birth could be a threat to the life of mother or child though, then I think that abortion should be an option.
Also, if abortion is banned women would risk their lives going for “back street abortions”; which could prove very dangerous for potential mothers, because of the risk due to the lack of medical qualifications of the people carrying out this procedure, which could be very basic.
On the other hand, the ‘Pro-life’ lobby does have good arguments also. If a child is unwanted it could be put up for adoption; although admittedly in later life the person may want to find their real parents which I think any child has a right to do; but adoption is admittedly a much more palatable option than getting rid of the child completely. This gives the child a life and where there’s life there’s hope.
Also, every life has potential for greatness; so should we risk the loss of this? Everyone has a right to a life and happiness and should we control who does and who doesn’t have this opportunity?
I don’t have arguments to be used against these points. They are valid points, but I still feel that the positive benefits of having abortion as an option out-weigh the bad, and out-weigh the good points of not having abortion.
The most important reason to me, that led me to my opinion of abortion is, what if a woman was made pregnant through rape? In cases such as this should a woman have to carry a child that was caused through no fault of their own? Is it fair for the woman to go through the pain of pregnancy because of a horrific assault that will live with her for the rest of her life? Is it fair on the child to be a product of such a dreadful act?
I think abortion should be an option in this type of case. It would be horrible for the woman to give birth to an unwanted child, and for the child to grow up knowing he or she was the product of a brutal assault. No woman therefore should have to carry such an unwanted child.
In conclusion to the points I have made for and against abortion then, I do not think that abortion should be banned. I think it should be an option for all women so long as they have a reason for doing so; but I do agree that after the 24th week of pregnancy, when the foetus starts to develop and look more like a baby, abortion should not be allowed. Although I do also worry that, who are we to take away life from someone? Despite this though I think abortion should be an option and it should really be up to the patient whether they wish to make this choice or not.
