Abortion is a very controversial subject that has been continually argued over for the past few years and probably many years to come. The main controversy is should abortion be legalized? Abortion is the destruction of the fetus or unborn child while the child is still in the mothers womb. This can be done by almost anyone from the mother herself to back alley abortions and even to abortions by clinics set up especially for this purpose. There are two sides to this abortion topic the PRO-LIFE which is those who are against abortionand the PRO-CHOICE or those who believe it is the woman’s right to choose if she wants to have an abortion.
These two groups offer different solutions to problem. The pro-life solution is to have the child and basically live with it; they believe abortion is not an answer. The pro-choice solution is abortion because of reasons they feel are appropriate. Although our Catholic faith dictates that abortion is morally and ethically wrong, should it be legal for victims of rape or incest who have no other alternative? There is no real answer to this controversy, there are two sides to it though which have been arguing for many years over the subject. The Bible says very little on abortion, and this silence difficult to understand, because abortion was widely practiced during New Testament era in the Middle East.
The Assyrians had a law concerning self-induced abortions as far back as the 12th century BCE. Despite the Bible failing to condemn the practice of abortion, it does place great emphasis on the value of life and on the worth of the fetus. Luke 1:42. “. . .
Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. ” This statement by Elizabeth might imply that the pre-embryo that Mary was carrying is a child. Otherwise, she would have said “blessed will be the fruit of thy womb”. Luke 1:41 states “.
. . when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb. . .
. ” Elizabeth’s fetuswas in an advanced stage of pregnancy. This verse states that she was in her 6th month, at a timewhen the fetus is probably viable. The verse might be intended to imply that a 6th month fetus has some degree of awareness of its environment, is capable of living independently, and should be considered as a “pre-born” human worthy of protection. It says nothing about a first trimester fetus without a functioning brain, consciousness or nervous system. This passage might be used toargue against the morality of a third-trimester abortion.
One the other hand, the bible also can be interpreted as saying that abortion is ok. The dominant argument for pro-life is that a fetus is living, and therefore has a soul. Ezekiel 37:8-10 tells how Ezekiel was taken by the Lord to a valley which contained many dry, human bones. As he was prophesying, the “bones came together.
. . tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath inthem”. That is, they looked like humans, but were in fact dead because they had no breath. He prophesied and “breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet. .
. ” The implication of this passage is that an apparently fully formed human is not a living person until itbreathes. This would seem to imply that a fetus is not alive until it takes its first breath, after birth. One the whole, the Bible takes no dominant stance on abortion. A large percent of both pro andanti abortion material found in the Bible is open for interpretation, further confusing the issue.
After researching about abortion the solution that I find best fit to the abortion controversy is that although abortion is morally and ethically wrong there is no real alternatives for those who are victims of rape or incest. That is why the best solution to this controversy is to legalize abortion for those who are victims of these awful crimes. Although pro-life and victims of rape and incest state that abortion adds to the pain of these crimes, there is no other real solution. Most victims would agree that it would be better to suffer through the pain of abortion than to have to live with a deformed child or even worse a child that is not really your own as a product of rape or incest.
Victims of these crimes also report feeling dirty, guilty, sexually violated and have low self esteem. But is that as bad as having to be constantly reminded of the traumatic experience you went through everyday you see your child? Your child is a victim too! But the most obvious reason is the fact that a victim of rape or incest was violated against her will. She did not ask for it, and does not deserve it. She should not then have to deal with the child if she does not want to because it may lead to further complications for the victim and child. By further complications I mean mentally, physically, and emotionally.
Many victims often go through long periods of depression when they are forced to keep the child because it often stirs unwanted memories. This is why abortion should be allowed or legal for those unfortunate few who have no other choice but to have an abortion or live with this great burden. Abortion on the other hand should not be legal for all. When a person chooses to have sex she is taking a chance. This she does of her own free will, and she has control over what she is doing.
This is the total opposite of the rape victim. If a person decides to have sex whether it is safe or not, what happens after that is her responsibility as well as his. And if you are going to chose to participate in this risky and unsafe practice then you must be ready to pay the consequences. I also believe that a fetus is still a child contradictory to the beliefs of the Pro-Choice. I think that when two people create something like a child, even if it is as small as a fetus it should still be considered a child because it is a living breathing organism made by the two people.
I think that even a fetus has rights to a good life, love and happiness no matter how small it is and no one should be able to take that away from him. Therefore my solution to the abortion problem is it should be legal for only those who are victims of rape or incest if they so chose to have an abortion, but should be illegal for those who are not victims because they chose to do what they did and they must deal with what they have created. Words/ Pages : 1,147 / 24
