Essay about abortion Essay

It is true that abortion may be the death of an innocent being. If that is correct, any woman who has had an abortion should be subject to the consequences of a premeditative first degree murderer, which could possibly be the death penalty. However, the question that truly forms the debate is this: Is the zygote really a human being? Surely there are signs that show life, but is it developed enough to function as a human? I contend that the fetus is not a right-possessing individual, until the point of birth. It cannot claim any rights, while it is still part of the mother. Being part of the mother, it is the mother’s. What happens to her body through the course of her pregnancy is her choice. Therefore, abortion is solely the mother’s choice, and outsiders should not block, or even oppose, her rights as an American. Certainly today’s society needs to clean up it’s act. In most young adults, good morals aren’t commonly used. But they do use their common sense. Young adults are fully aware of what they are getting into, they just aren’t sure of all the consequences. Education plays a big role in this issue. Being taught about birth control and planned parenting statistically helps the number of accidents that can cause abortion. Nevertheless, accidents will happen. Rape will still occur, there will be the rebels, the careless, and the clueless. People make mistakes every day. There should be something to fall back on in a case of an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy. Abortion can be for the well-being of both the mother and the potential child. A woman needs to take full responsibility of her actions. For instance, in a pregnancy, this can come in different forms. It can be when the woman decides to carry to term and be the child’s mother, or when she gives it up for adoption. She can also pay for her own abortion. As a result, the mother will be doing what she truly believes is morally right for the being growing inside of her. Of course the possibility of putting an innocent being to death, is seemingly absurd, and though one may not believe that the being is actually living, there is the possibility. Also, the child the woman is carrying may have the cure for cancer or AIDS. Or it could be the next serial killer. The being might very well deserve a chance at life. On the contrary, there are women  who truly aren’t ready to have a child. This is not only mentally, but physically and emotionally also. I admit that I will never get an abortion, but I strongly believe that it is a necessary option. Also if the child is impaired, has birth defects, Downs Syndrome, or any deadly or life-threatening disease that can be detected before birth, should it live? A woman needs to have the choice of how she wants her potential child’s life to be lived. A woman needs the options to be open. If she does not want to give the baby up for adoption, should she be forced to if she doesn’t have enough money to care for it? So, the mother should be entitled to any decision concerning the being living inside of her, because the chances are that the choice the mother makes will be beneficial. Surely there are people who will get into a pregnancy that have no idea what they are doing. They may get scared and decide to just have an abortion because they aren’t ready to have a child. A woman may feel that this will end all of her hopes and dreams for the future. They may or may not realize that there are other options such as adoption. However, what the woman decides to do, in my opinion, is completely her choice. The being that is growing inside of her body, is hers. Wendy McElroy says, â€Å"Everything beneath the skin is me; this is the line which no one has the right to cross without permission.†Say the world comes to where you can take one pill which would murder the growing being. Could she not have the right to swallow? Can a woman claim the right to her own body when she can’t even control what goes into it? People do not have contracts with their neighbors, friends, and relatives saying that they will not steal from one another or kill each other. Everyone’s body and property is theirs by right. If a fetus is granted individual rights, the contract is superfluous to those rights’ protection. If these rights are not being claimed, there is no possibility for contracts, because a contract is voluntary. So, giving rights to a fetus is useless because of the fact that it will be living inside of the woman, and if she has the right to rid it from her body and wants to do so, the being cannot even fend for itself in the argument at all, and will end up not having it’s way. Admittedly, the number of diseases that are passed genetically has slightly  decreased. Scientists have also been decoding human DNA. This can lead to pin-pointing the exact spot of birth defects and life-threatening diseases and fixing them. On the other hand, we have not yet reached that point in technology. Today testing is available for mothers to see if their potential child has any defects or disease. This greatly influences her decisions on whether to have the baby or not. There are so many factors that can affect the fragile time of pregnancy. There are endless possibilities of things that can be harmful to the growth and development of the baby. If the woman decides to go through with the pregnancy there are things that she can change about herself that can lessen the risk of defects. Such as smoking, drinking, drugs. The problem is that those things can mold the woman into being dependent on. If she chooses to continue to drink while she is pregnant, that is her choice, but she is not the only one who will be affected. If the woman feels that she would not want to have the possibility of her child being defected or doesn’t believe that she could make it with out drinking, she should have the option of abortion. In short, there are many ways that what the pregnant woman does that can change the outcome of her child, and she should be able to make her own decisions concerning the well-being of both herself and the unborn child. Obviously there’s the good side and the bad side to abortion. What seems to be happening today is that people are getting too worked up about something that may never be solved. Both sides of the issue are sketchy, and are very controversial. We may never actually come to a conclusion. On the contrary, we need to look at the laws and see if it is legally possible to ban abortion, or let it freely take place. The question is if the zygote or fetus should be considered a live being or not. Finally, what you believe is your choice. Think a little about what other people may be going through and if a forced pregnancy is even a possibility. Whether you side with me, or are against abortion, always be open-minded.