Abortion - the Murder

Approximately 1.6 million murders would be committed illegally during a year. These murders took place in a murky and infectious alley. The murder weapon is none other than a single wire coat hanger. The mutilated bodies of the victims are thrown into dumpsters like pieces of rotten meat. While these victims lay waiting in the contaminated dumpsters to be heaved off to a landfill; the murderers are walking away in complete pain, alone and scared. This is the scene of a child being murdered and the agony of a mother with no choice. One may wonder why such a situation would have to occur, the answer is simple, a minority of pro-life citizens lucratively made abortion illegal.

This scene is not one that a person could envision occurring in the United States, a land that is considered to be contemporary and enlightened. Yet, this very panorama could become reality due to the moral arguments given by those who support pro-choice. The problem with these arguments is that they are based on nothing more than inaccurate, uninformed opinions. Each of these arguments can be counted. Before these arguments can even be considered though, one must realize what an abortion is. Encarta Encyclopedia identifies abortion as a miscarriage, something distorted or deviant. An abortion is a procedure in which an embryo or fetus is proscribed from developing by simulated means (Encarta Encyclopedia, "Abortion"). A person that is pro-life feels this procedure is next to murder and should not be sanctioned, it is unnatural and a health hazard to women, should be morally condemned, and is not in the child's best interest. These claims, beliefs, and protests from pro-life supporters are unconstitutional and do not uphold the moral standards that they base their claims on.

The first item of debate is if a child is murdered when an abortion occurs. This is a disputed because when a fetus becomes an actually living being is hard to define. Factually, the heart begins to beat after 18-25 days, but the brain does not begin to function until after 40 days (Encarta Encyclopedia "Fetus"). Some people claim you are a person directly after conception, but this is not the case. A fetus is nothing more than a grouping of 46 chromosomes. Outside of this biological fact, there are five criteria that must be met for a fetus to be consider a person: consciousness and an ability to feel pain, reasoning, self-motivated activity, capacity to communicate, and the presence of self-concepts and self-awareness (Levine, Taking Sides Volume 3) These two facts show that the fetus is not a human, but a potential life. A human is protected and guaranteed life while a potential being is not granted this right.

Many people believe abortion is only a moral issue, but it is also a constitutional issue. It is a woman's right to choose what she does with her body, and it should not be altered or influenced by anyone else. This right is guaranteed by the ninth amendment, which contains the right to privacy. The ninth amendment states: "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." (Klinkner, 56). This right guarantees the right to women, if they so choose, to have an abortion, up to the end of the first trimester.

Regardless of the fact of morals, a woman has the full right to chose to have an abortion or not constitutionally. There have been several cases that, with perseverance, gives a woman the rights found today. Here are some important cases: 1965 - Griswold v. Connecticut - upheld the right to privacy and ended the ban on birth control. Eight years later, the Supreme Court ruled the right to privacy included abortions. Roe v. Wade was based upon this case. 1973 - Roe v. Wade: - The state of Texas had outlawed abortions. The Supreme Court declared the law unconstitutional, but refused to order an injunction against the state (Hardy, 189). On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court voted the right to privacy included abortions. In 1976, Planned Parenthood v. Danforth (Missouri) ruled that requiring consent by the husband and the consent from a parent if a person was under 18 was unconstitutional. This case supported a woman's control over her own body and reproductive system. Justice William Brennan stated: "If the right to privacy means anything, it is the right of the individual, married or single, to be free from unwanted governmental intrusion into matters so fundamentally affecting a person as the decision to bear or beget a child." (Klinkner, 77). These facts show that it is only the woman's choice, even the father that is a living human does not have a say, and that it is leally constitutional under the first, fourth, fifth, ninth, and fourteenth amendment.

The arguments that abortion is unconstitutional has now been shown to be nothing more than a falsity, the debate moves to saying that the clinic is nothing more than an unsanitary slaughter house. In reality these so called "slaughter houses" are very hygienic and prevent a "back alley" abortion as described earlier (Awake!, 3). Abortion clinics are very closely regulated to assure that the health of the mother is the primary concern. The black market for this area no longer exists and provides mothers with a safe and affordable location to seek attention. Since legalization, these centers are able to provide their patients with information about how to protect themselves so a second occurrence with not transpire. The most important thing to realize from this is that the closure of abortion clinics will be done with the purpose to reduce the number of abortions will not be achieved. Before 1973 abortions were illegal yet the number of women who sought abortions did not decrease ("abortion"). Before 1973 many thousands of women died or suffered serious medical problems after attempting to perform their own abortions, or going to untrained doctors who performed cheap abortions with uncivilized methods or in unsanitary conditions (The Abortion Law Homepage, 1). If clinics are closed, women will still continue to endeavor, and accomplish, in ending unwanted pregnancies just like before 1973. Women will risk their health and possibly even their lives but by keeping abortions clinics open, it ensures a higher probability that the women who do have abortions will be in a secure, clean environment.

The major legal arguments against abortion have now been seen, so the pro-life believers turn to their arguments based on a religious standpoint. These arguments involve choosing select verses for the religion of choice to prove the ethical point. Yet, for example, the bible does not have any direct teaching on abortion. Christians have to form their own view on these particular verses. A few of these verses include 'You shall not