Abortion and Fetus Essay examples

Submitted By Topdog1970
Words: 991
Pages: 4

Even though abortion has been legal in this country for 40 years, it still remains a widely debated topic. In the United States over One million babies are aborted every year. Abortion is currently the leading cause of death in the United States.(1) There are several ways to abort a baby, most of which are brutal and unnecessary. Most abortions are done on young mothers who are unfit to mother a child and feel like it is their only option. Abortion is not the only option! There are other alternatives for mothers with unplanned pregnancies or unwanted babies, such as adoption.
What is abortion? “Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus”.(2) There are many different types of abortions and ways in which they are performed. At eight weeks or less, the method of abortion is called Suction Aspiration. Suction Aspiration is performed when a tube is inserted into the mother’s womb and a high powered vacuum is used to tear apart the fetus and the placenta sucking it down the tube, much like a household vacuum. Another method usually performed at around ten months, is called Dilation and Curettage. In this method a hooked shaped knife is inserted into the mother’s womb and is used to cut up the fetus which is then removed from the womb via suction. At eighteen to twenty weeks, the fetus has grown hair and sex organs, gained the ability to grasp, moves its lips, blink, and can hear. At this stage the procedure is called Dilation and Evacuation. In this process the abortionist uses a pair of forceps that are inserted into the womb, they are used to dismember the fetus and pull it out of the womb. Another option at this stage is a saline injection. In this process a saline solution is injected into the womb of the mother which then poisons the environment, ultimately killing the fetus. Later the mother births a dead or dying baby. The most vulgar and inhumane option in my opinion is a partial birth abortion. Performed at 30 weeks, which is roughly seven and a half months into pregnancy when the fetus almost fully grown. The mother is given a drug that causes the cervix to dilate. Once this is done the abortionist delivers the fetus except for the head. Scissors are inserted into the skull and opened to expand the skull. The scissors are removed and a suction catheter is inserted. The child's brains are sucked out, causing the skull to collapse and kill the fetus. The dead baby is then removed.(3)
I strongly believe that abortion should not be legal throughout all nine months of pregnancy. It is also my belief that abortions should not be used as a form of birth control. In my opinion there a certain situations that abortions could be considered a viable option. If the birth of the baby would harm or endanger the mother’s life or in situations of rape or incest I believe abortion could be used as a viable option. It is totally unacceptable, in my opinion, that in a civilized country such as ours, abortion is considered legal throughout all nine months of pregnancy. Abortion was made legal in 1973 in the court case Roe vs. Wade. The ruling of the court was that a woman has the right to privacy. The ruling states that a woman has the right to do what she wants with her body. This ruling is basically saying that a fetus is a part of the a woman’s body, meaning a fetus has no rights, no life, and is not considered to be a separate lifeform from the mother. I personally believe that this is incorrect. During the first 10 weeks of pregnancy the fetus already has a heart beat,