Abortion in American Society

Abortion

When discussing the topic of abortion amongst American society, a number of mixed emotions seem to come out. In this essay I will attempt to show people that abortion is morally and ethically wrong and by far hazardous to woman's health. My intention is not to offend people but to educate and have those who stand by abortion obtain a better understanding as to why I think abortion is unethical and wrong. With the support of a number of accredited websites I was able find facts and provide information that will further more enforce my position on this issue. I hope what I have to say in this essay will inflict a change and possibly help those who actively take roll in banning abortion in America.

Each year 1.3 million women in the U.S. have an abortion, now whether one thinks that what these women have done is right or wrong will always seem to be an issue amongst our society. First of all what is abortion? Abortion means expelling or removing a developing fetus from a woman's uterus. There are several ways in which an abortion can be done such as a medical abortion, menstrual aspiration abortion, the suction curettage method of abortion, and labor inducing abortion. Now determining which type of method should be done is based on the choice of the woman and her health. Medical abortions are done within 49 days from the first day of the woman's last menstrual cycle. The woman must visit the doctor at least three times and take two sets of drugs in the form of a pill. These drugs are meant to block the action of the hormone progesterone and cause the uterus to contract and expel the embryo from the vagina. The menstrual aspiration method can be done within 12 weeks of pregnancy and requires the use of a syringe to remove the pregnancy form the lining of the uterus. This is the most common method amongst woman today. The suction curettage method removes the contents of the uterus through the use of a suction (also called a vacuum) device being inserted into the vagina. Labor- inducing abortions are done later on in the pregnancy and require the use of drugs which would make the woman would go into labor and expel the fetus. This method is always done in the hospital. Now that abortion and its methods are understood only now can the issue be brought up on whether it is right or wrong. I myself am a pro life advocate and I believe abortion should be banned for various reasons.

First and foremost the issue that is brought up by people who support abortion is that it is not murder of another human being. In scientific terms life begins at the moment of conception as described by J. Dominguez, M.D., Ph.D. in his book "Abortion is Murder", so technically this would result in the murder of a human being. Now killing of human beings amongst most major religions in this world is prohibited. The bible quotes "Thou shalt not kill", meaning this would prohibit people from harming themselves or others. This would mean that abortion and its advocates are in violation this law and therefore seeking change in one of the most fundamental values amongst our society. This holds to be true in religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam. The Buddhist view on abortion is that abortion is "murder", but it also states that each individual must be analyzed separately. Hinduism on the other hand claim that the soul enters the embryo at he time of conception therefore it abortion would be considered a murder of another human being. This religion will allow an abortion to occur if the woman had gotten pregnant because she had been raped. And in Islam abortion considered to be illegal except in situations where the woman's life is in danger. It is obvious that abortion is not taken too kindly amongst these religions and that people who support abortion and people who have or even think about getting and abortion could be in the process of committing a sin.

Life today does not have much meaning as it once did. Women in the U.S. tend to have abortion because they are too young, are financially unstable, or it would interfere with their career goals and their lives. Since when should these obligations determine whether one should live or die? Adoption is always a choice that every woman has and it always amazes me that a woman would put herself at risk to go through with an abortion and possibly put her in a situation where she will never be able to bear children ever again. Abortion should only be allowed in extreme measures to where the mother's life is at stake or there is no chance for the developing fetus to survive outside of the uterus. This is rarely the case when women have an abortion. I believe that if a woman is mature enough to have sex then she should be mature enough to take responsibility of her unborn child. Now