Matchmaker. com: Sign up now for a free trial. Date Smarter!The Ethics Of AbortionAbortion is a very controversial subjectthat has been continually argued over for the past few years and probablymany years to come.
The main controversy is should abortion be legalized?First before we get into the many sides of abortion we must first defineabortion. Abortion is the destruction of the fetus or unborn child whilethe child is still in the mothers womb. This can be done by almost anyonefrom the mother herself to back alley abortions and even to abortions byclinics set up especially for this purpose. There are two sides to thisabortion topic the PRO-LIFE which is those who are against abortion altogetherand the PRO- CHOICE or those who believe it is the womans right to chooseif she wants to have an abortion.
These two groups offer different solutionsto problem. The pro-life solution is to have the child and basically livewith it. They believe abortion is not an answer. The pro-choice solutionis abortion because of reasons they feel are appropriate. Although abortionis morally and ethically wrong should it be legal for victims of rape orincest 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 yearsover the subject.
The first is the pro-life group. This group does notbelieve in the abortion factor. To understand where the pro-life standswe must first understand its beliefs and reasons for its beliefs. Thenwe can discuss what their solution to the abortion topic is. Pro-life believes that rape and incestare very emotional topics.
“They often elicit throughout the populationfeelings of revulsion; people draw back from the issue of rape and incest. People don’t know how to handle a person who is in that much pain. Thereis no quick fix. That is why it is difficult for even pro-life people tocome to grips with the argument over abortion in cases of rape and incest. “Some of those who are pro-life will allowabortion in these cases because they don’t know what else they can do forthe victim and except it as a rare case. But it is known that allowingabortion in these cases usually does not help the victim, instead it onlyworsens the problem because the victims needs are not being met.
But what the facts suggest is that onlya minority of rape and incest victims actually choose abortion. This iswhere pro-life has its biggest problem. Pro-life states that “Abortionis not usually chosen as the immediate solution for rape and incest victimsbut that is the prevailing belief of the general population. A woman hasbeen raped and made pregnant: “Oh, she’s got to have an abortion.
” No onehas studied the rape and incest victims needs; abortion is presumed tofill her needs. “Various studies and research indicate thatrape and incest victims fall into a high-risk category of abortion. Butwhat happens after a victim has an abortion? Jackie Baker a victim states:”I soon discovered that the aftermath of my abortion continued a long timeafter the memory of my rape had faded. I felt empty and horrible. Nobodytold me about the emptiness and pain I would feel deep within causing nightmaresand deep depressions.
They all told me that after the abortion I couldcontinue with my life as if nothing ever happened. ” (Reardon 21- 22) Thisis the story we hear from a lot of aborted women. Today in our societyit is believed by most people that it is the womans fault just as muchas the mans fault, if not more. many people think women are responsiblefor contributing to the rape itself.
Then the rape victims feel self-blameand guilt. And even then a rape or incest victims family members or closefriends may reinforce these negative feelings. Or they drop the problembecause they don’t know how to talk about it. We even see the same thing in the abortionexperience.
When a person becomes pregnant because of rape or incest thereis a permanent symbol of the rape, at least until it is aborted. Womenwho have had abortions fear being rejected by God and loved ones. It isa very traumatic experience which takes time. The fact is that you arereally telling your loved ones of a death in the family. Opinion polls have shown for years thatwomen are more against abortion than men are. The women led the oppositionof abortion.
“In 1983 a Los Angelos Times poll found that only 47% of women(compared with 51% of men) favored the general availability of abortion. “(Pro Life Feminism: Pro-Woman, Pro-Life 6) So what is this telling us?The facts are very clear men prefer abortion over women by a large percent. And most women do not agree with abortion. So why does it still exist today?What pro-life feels is really happeningis that in our society today abortion is becoming the solution to carelessness. Abortion does nothing to help the victims rape, and that is the problemthey are trying to address in the first place.
Instead abortion encouragesthe victim to vent their anger out on others. Pro-life also believes that child birthon the other hand can be a victory. For those victims who chose childbirthover abortion it can be a triumph. It can state that the victim is notgoing to let rape destroy her life.
When the needs of pregnant victimsis closely examined it can be shown that abortion is not the answer andis in fact only worsening the problem. (Reardon 21-22)But the worst strain abortion has on thevictim is mental strain. Many victims become confused and overwhelmed byfeelings they thought they would never have, and don’t know what to do. After having an abortion victims thought they had solved the problem butin fact they had really just started a whole new one.
Many victims beganthinking there was something wrong with them and began to doubt themselvesin situations that they would normally be sure of themselves. Others plungeinto deep depressions which they don’t come out of for weeks at end. Thisis one of the worst side effects of having an abortion and most women don’trealize it will happen to them because they are too busy trying to correctthe immediate problem. . Pro-life persons don’t have any reasonto be ashamed to defend pro-life view in the case of rape and incest. Theyfeel the ones who should be ashamed are the pro-abortionists who have beenexploiting the problems of the victims.
Pro-choice has a different view to thiswhole abortion controversy. Pro-choice believes that it is the personsright to have an abortion if they want to and that no one should interferewith that right. Pro-choice has many reasons for feeling this way. Firstlets talk about who has abortions and why they have abortions. There are1.
6 million abortions in the United States every year, there is no realspecial class of people who have abortions. Why does pro-choice feel that abortionis all right? Well pro-choice believes that the answer is what the womanbelieves. The most common reason for abortions is when contraception fails. What is a person suppose to do when the birth control method fails? “Thefact is that contraceptive failure led to 1. 6 to 2 million of the 3. 3 millionunwanted pregnancies in the United States in 1987.
These pregnancies accountfor about half of the 1. 5 million abortions performed every year. ” Besidesthese reasons for abortion women also give researchers other reasons forgetting an abortion. In 1987 a survey of 1,900 women at 30 abortionfacilities were asked, why do women have abortions? The women could giveas many reasons as they wanted, and most of the women responded with oneor more of these top six reasons:1. Concerned about how having a baby couldchange her life, 92 percent. 2.
Not mature enough or too young to havea child, 81 percent. 3. Can’t afford baby now, 73 percent. 4.
Doesn’t want others to know she hadsex or is pregnant, 42 percent. 5. Has relationship problems and doesn’twant to be a single parent, 37 percent. 6.
Unready for responsibility, 33 percent. There have been many studies done on smallergroups that expressed the exact same reasons for having an abortion. Olderwomen were more likely to say that their families were complete while youngerwomen said that a baby would interfere with education, career, and personalfreedom. At any age women say they have too many responsibilities and notenough money to take care of a baby. The reasons for which the public is approvingof abortions is not always the reason of the person who wants to have anabortion.
Women do not have abortions because of rape, incest, deformedfetuses, or because their physical life is in danger. But these are thebest reasons accepted by the public. Being poor, too young, unmarried,and not wanting a baby are the most unpopular reasons for having an abortionand are looked down upon by the public. Pro-choice feels the main reasonfor abortions is because contraception failed and they didn’t want to havea baby at the time. What are some of the benefits to havingan abortion.
Well the most obvious one is the abortion itself. First ofall pro-choice wants to make it clear where they stand. They believe infirst time abortions. This is usually because of contraceptive reasonsor maturity, but where they draw the line is at third or fourth time abortions. This is because although they think abortion should be legal they believethat is a little extreme and may be a solution to a bad habit.
“But the big benefits of having an abortioncan be seen right away is relief. The feeling most women have after havingan abortion is relief. A 44-year-old psychologist with three children hadan illegal abortion at 18 and a legal abortion at 28. Both times she primarilyfelt relieved for herself and all the family members for whom she was responsible. “”Another example is a newly married 27-year-old elementary school teacherhad two abortions at age 18 and 21. She felt the same relief as the psychologist.
“There have been many studies that researched what the primary reactionto having an abortion was. One study done by Kaiser Permanent in northernCalifornia asked women subscribers how they felt about their abortions. The most common answer was relief. Abortion also leads to safer contraception. After a person has to go through an abortion because of a failure in contraceptionit is found that from then on the couple is much more cautious about safe-sex.
It is found that almost all of the 742 low-income women who received abortionsin 1970-1971 at the State University Hospital in Syracuse, New York, intendedto use contraception in the future, an attitude that was even strongerafter their abortions. Perhaps the abortion is actually a lesson in life. Another positive impact is maturity. Howmight a person mature because of their abortion experience. Well the mostobvious example of maturity is after an abortion the aborted person usuallychanges their bad habits. This could be anything from safe-sex to everydaythings like listening to others.
This may not have been the case beforethe abortion. When people were asked how they felt about themselves afterthe abortion many of them responded by saying they felt more mature. Itcaused them to reevaluate their behavior, their lives and their future. Others felt they were freer and stronger. “Two benefactors to having an abortionis increased self-image, self-esteem, and increased psychological health. “It is said that an abortion usually changes a womans uncertain self-imageinto a good self-image.
The average woman gets back the self before shegot pregnant and sometimes a little more. It is also said that it can increaseyour psychological health. Can this really be? “Pro-choice states thata woman is damaged by abortion, but pro- choice women state that is notso and it actually benefited them. “Pro-Choice also believes that it is themoral right for a person to be able to control their own body whether itis having a baby or destroying it. They feel it is the womans right tobe able to do what she wants with herself and what she has created. Pro-Choicealso argues that at the stage where abortion is done the fetus is not reallya human being therefore it is like you are not destroying anything.
Itis merely biological and really does not exist until further stages. This is the reasons why pro-choice is arguingfor the legalization of abortion. They feel that the increase in more maturewomen after abortion, safer-sex, increased mental health, and increasedself-esteem and self-image are good enough reasons for legalizing abortion. After researching about abortion the solutionthat I find best fit to the abortion controversy is that although abortionis morally and ethically wrong there is no real alternatives for thosewho are victims of rape or incest. That is why the best solution to thiscontroversy is to legalize abortion for those who are victims of theseawful crimes. Although pro-life and victims of rape andincest state that abortion adds to the pain of these crimes there is noother real solution.
Most victims would agree that it would be better tosuffer through the pain of abortion than to have to live with a deformedchild or even worse a child that is not really your own as a product ofrape or incest. Victims of these crimes also report feeling dirty, guilty,sexually violated, etc. . .
But is that as bad as having to be constantlyreminded of the traumatic experience you went through everyday you seeyour child? Your child is a victim too!But the most obvious reason is the factthat a victim of rape or incest was violated against her will. She didnot ask for it, and does not deserve it. She should not then have to dealwith the child if she does not want to because it may lead to further complicationsfor the victim and child. By further complications I mean mentally, physically,and emotionally.
Many victims often go through long periods of depressionwhen they are forced to keep the child because it often stirs unwantedmemories. This is why abortion should be allowed or legal for those unfortunatefew who have no other choice but to have an abortion or live with thisgreat burden. Abortion on the other hand should not belegal 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 isdoing.
This is the total opposite of the rape victim. If a person decidesto have sex whether it is safe or not, what happens after that is her responsibilityas well as his. And if you are going to chose to participate in this riskyand unsafe practice then you must be ready to pay the consequences. I also believe that a fetus is still achild contradictory to the beliefs of the Pro-Choice. I think that whentwo people create something like a child, even if it is as small as a fetusit should still be considered a child because it is a living breathingorganism made by the two people.
I think that even a fetus has rights toa good life, love and happiness no matter how small it is and no one shouldbe able to take that away from him. Therefore my solution to the abortion problemis it should be legal for only those who are victims of rape or incestif they so chose to have an abortion. But should be illegal for those whoare not victims because they chose to do what they did and they must dealwith what they have created.
