Heather Jones
Professor Jacqueline Payne
English Composition 1020
25 March 2014
Induced Voluntary Abortions
In 2009, 784,507 induced voluntary abortions were reported to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. A voluntary abortion is the planned removal of an embryo or fetus from the uterus in order to end a pregnancy, and this type of abortion occurs within the first six months of the pregnancy. The issue of induced voluntary abortion has become a permanent part of political America, stimulating animosity on both sides of the political fence. Many do not consider induced voluntary abortions as a moral issue, but more of a personal rights and civil liberties issue. If indeed life does begin at conception then one must face questions of whether or not the act of abortion is murder and whether or not the personal freedom of the mother takes precedent over the personal freedom of the unborn to continue living. I am opposed to abortion because of my beliefs in Christian scriptures, government protection, and other issues.
From a Christian standpoint, the Bible states that the killing of an unborn child, even if accidental, is seen as criminal offense and punishable under law. Scriptures throughout the Bible clearly place great value on human life, including the life of an unborn, and many verses demonstrate the full value of human beings even while in the womb. According to Nathanson, Understanding that the fetus is alive inside the womb, it is impossible to say that abortion is simply a woman’s choice, since it involves another human being. Because both the women and the fetus are alive and equally human, it is wrong to say that the woman’s life and happiness takes priority over the rights of the fetus. As a Christian it would be insufficient to say that the law of the land is acceptable both legally and morally, since the ultimate moral standard is the law of God.
One of the basic functions of government is protection. Even though there are many other issues that affect both men’s and women’s rights, abortion seems to be the ultimate issue of women’s rights currently. Many fight that the control on abortion under government is a restriction of the woman’s right over her own body, but truly this is just a fundamental misunderstanding of government and the rights of an individual. According to Warren, the government already tells women what they can and cannot do with their bodies such as, prostitution and pornography, but his is simply just the government seeking to protect the community. These examples force one to accept that even though we live in a free society, no one has the absolute right over their own body, pregnant or not. According to Anderson, many would consider it noble to defend the defenseless or help the helpless, and seeking to limit abortion, the government is merely defending the unborn baby who cannot defend itself and helping the helpless unborn from those who seek to destroy them. The government is doing what is right by protecting the unborn fetus that someone does not want.
Other abortion issues include unwanted pregnancies becoming a burden on American taxpayers, abortion being an avoidance or responsibility, and deciding when exactly the fetus becomes a person. Today in society, people think that is it better to have an abortion than to allow the child to grow up and have a terrible home life because the parents did not want the child or because the parents are struggling through poverty. According to Singer, people think that aborting a child with help reduce the amount of criminal element that could possibly be an issue if the child is not nurtured properly and does not learn how to function or contribute to society. These unwanted pregnancies put a burden on America taxpayers because most of these children that are born and unwanted are forced in foster homes. Aborting a child shows an avoidance of personal responsibly because simply one does not want to accept