Santina Gentile
Research Paper
Abortion

Abortion is defined as an operation or other intervention to end a pregnancy by removing an embryo or fetus from the womb. (Guttmacher)
Each year there are 1.3 million abortions worldwide, which equals out to
3.562 a day. (Giratikanon 1) 22% of all pregnancies in the United States end in abortion. White women ages 25-29 make up the largest group getting abortions, (Guttmacher), and while most people attribute abortions to lack of responsibility, 54% of women who obtained abortions used protection in the month that they became pregnant. This issue has become a hot topic in today’s society. One side of the argument uses religion and the risks associated with abortions as reasons to be pro-life. The other side of the argument uses Roe. Vs. Wade, the foster care system and the dangers and downsides of childbirth as a reason to support women having a choice.
Many people who support Pro-Life due to their religious views. They believe that we are all made in God’s image and by God’s will. They believe that having an abortion would not only be killing a child that was made in

God’s image but that it would be intervening in God’s will as well. Also, in the Christian religion, it is believed that once a child is conceived, it is alive and is a child of God.(SPUC) In the Bible, in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus and
John the Baptist meet while they are still in the womb. (SPUC) The Christian views on abortion are very clear in Psalm 139, “For you created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.” (SPUC) Other religions have similar views on abortion as well. In the Quran, the book used in the Islamic religion, Chapter 6, Verse
151, it states “"Do not kill or take a human life which God has declared to be sacred.” (SPUC) The Torah, the book used in the Jewish religion states “A descendent of Noah who kills any human being, even a foetus in its mother's womb, is to be put to death.” In the Torah, however, it does state that an abortion is alright if the mother’s life is in danger. (SPUC) In Hinduism, abortions are referred to as “garha-batta” or womb-killing and in the Atharva
Veda it states that abortionists are the greatest sinners. Even some atheists are against abortion, although their reasons have nothing to do with religion.
Atheist who are Pro-Life believe that as soon as that child is conceived, it has rights as a human being and aborting that child is a violation of it’s human life. (SPUC) They believe that abortion is the murder of a human

being. (SPUC)
The dangers of abortion are another reason that a large amount of people are against it. Abortion deaths are the fifth leading cause of maternal death in the United States. (Abortion Risks) The leading cause of abortion deaths is hemorrhaging. (Abortion Risks) A large risk of abortion is cancer.
After a first trimester abortion, a woman’s risk of breast cancer doubles.
(Abortion Risks) A woman’s risk of cervical cancer, ovarian cancer and liver cancer increase as well. (Abortion Risks) Cervical lacerations happen in
2-3% of abortion patients which can cause problems with pregnancies in the future. (Abortion Risks) The most dangerous risk (besides death) associated with abortion is placenta previa, which can cause death for both the child and the mother. (Abortion Risks) Having an abortion can cause the placenta to abnormally develop in later pregnancies. This can cause many issues including prenatal death of the child, malformation of the fetus and excessive bleeding during labor. (Abortion Risks)
While there are a lot of people who are Pro-Choice, there are a lot of people who believe that the choice of having an abortion is the right of the woman and that it is