Abortion - Pro-Life or Pro-Choice?

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? First before we get into the many sides of abortion we must first define abortion. Abortion is the destruction of the fetus or unborn child while the child is still in the mother's 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 abortion altogether and 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. 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 first is the pro-life group. This group does not believe in the abortion factor. To understand where the pro-life stands we must first understand its beliefs and reasons for its beliefs. Then we can discuss what their solution to the abortion is.

Pro-life believes that rape and incest are very emotional topics. "They often elicit throughout the population feelings 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.

There is no quick fix. That is why it is difficult for even pro-life people to come to grips with the argument over abortion in cases of rape and incest." Some of those who are pro-life will allow abortion in these cases because they don't know what else they can do for the victim and except it as a rare case. But it is known that allowing abortion in these cases usually does not help the victim, instead it only worsens the problem because the victim's needs are not being met.

Imagine for a minute a newlywed woman. Who want more than anything to have a child maybe two maybe three, but in her country there are strict rules; she can have only one. China's attempt at making the lives of their people better simply does nothing but put them in unnecessary pain. The law is cruel and unjust and should have never been put in affect. The one child policy was established in 1979, in an attempt to regulate the out of control population increase. In 1979, when the policy was adopted, the population in China was over 950 million people. Today, in the year 2000, the population has skyrocketed to over 1.3 billion people (Gilmore np ). China is tremendously congested and is continuing to grow. Statistics show China's population is growing at rate where they are eventually going to run out of places to house and feed their people. For many families in China the policy seemed to be a good decision. The government was doing this in the best interest of the people and with nothing but good intentions. The goal was to reduce the population increase by 5% by 1985, and to then move on and reach the goal of 0% increase by the year 2000 ( Maynard np). Though many viewed the policy as negative, the government tried to offer some incentives to following the new laws. For example, families in compliance with the policy were often given money, free health services, preferential housing, and better access to education opportunities. Birth control pills, condoms and other forms of contraception were made easily available, not only for birth control, but to help stop the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Chinese executives attempted to make the policy seem socially acceptable and used fear as a restraint to not following the policy. Chinese citizens were subject to physical abuse, social embarrassment that could ruin their social status for life, imprisonment and even death (Gilmore np). The Chinese government may have had a good idea in trying to find way to control the population. There seems to be no reason to allow the population to increase when eventually you will have no where to house and nothing to feed these people.

Though the policy seemed to have good intentions and seemed to be put in action for a worthy cause the policy itself was very sugar coated. If the policy is so great why are so many Chinese fleeing the country and coming to America? Many spend their life savings to spend weeks, even months, on ships or in cargo holds to gain protection from this policy. They do it because the conditions in which the policy is enforced are inhumane and take away a couples choice to have a family. The people of China should not run from their own government and especially not at the expense of losing their lives in the process. Hundreds of other women have described forced abortions of full-term babies. One woman tells the story of how she watched nurses take her baby from her arms never to return. Just for the simple fact that it was a little girl and more than likely that child was murdered because it was the wrong sex. (ippf.org/newsinfo/archive/9902/11).

There are also accounts of men losing their homes and jobs because they have more than one child. Why should a man lose his job or the right to provided for his family simply because he wants to expand his family? There is no reason for it and no excuse.

In the Chinese culture men are regarded much higher than woman and it is expected of a woman to bare her husband a son so that he can carry on the family name and legacy

( Bingham 27 ). The birth of a son is a big happiness, but the birth of a daughter is a small happiness ( Bingham 42 ). As part of the Chinese culture the one child policy is also partial to boys as well. With the advancement in technology and the capability of finding out the sex of the child before birth the consequence of having a girl has become abrupt. Sex-selective abortions occurred and even the murder of infant girls. It was estimated that between 500,000 and 750,000 girls are aborted every year (www.cpirc.org.cn/eindex.htm np). That over 100,000 lives lost every two years. Lives of little girls who one day may grow to be president or the love of a mans' life, but that is all taken away. That is an expense that the world should not be willing to take.

The Chinese have not abolished the policy but are trying to move away from it. Now, many expectant mothers with one previous child are not forced to terminate, but are given counseling where abortion and or sterilization