Abortion Pros And Cons Essay Example For Students

Abortion Pros And Cons Essay ABORTION CONTROVERSYAbortion refers to termination of pregnancy with the consent of the mother. Therefore even when the mother herself is demanding abortion, pro-lifers maintain that termination must not be allowed because it violates basic rights of the unborn child. Pro-choice quarter on the other hand, advocates a mothers right to health and feels that an unwanted child would only lead to numerous economic, social and emotional problems for the woman. The paper therefore addresses both sides of the issue and also briefly mentions that the role of the Supreme Court in this area. ABORTIONINTRODUCTION AND CONFLICTAbortion is one of the most critical issues on each American administrations agenda. This is because while every politician would love to avoid the issue altogether, public wants to know exactly what the governments stand on this particular issue is so that they would be able to judge it better. This is quite strange how stance on abortion has become an important criterion f or judging a government and it can either turn people in favor of it or completely against it depending on how government interprets its own stand. From this it is evident that people attach great degree of significance to this issue because it somehow is related to their sense of morality and tolerance. Let us understand what exactly abortion is and what is the significance of Court in this particular area of conflict. Abortion refers to termination of pregnancy at any stage and people are divided on this issue because the pro-abortion quarter thinks right to termination is connected with womens basic rights while the pro-life quarter maintains that we must also think of the child that is growing in the womb. Jerry Z. Muller (1995) writes:In contemporary American political debate, usually treated as conflicts between rival interpretations of individual rights. Those who favor abortion most often invoke the right to choose of the woman who has conceived the fetus. Those who oppose abortion focus on the right to life of the fetus. (Muller, 1997: 27-28) There is little that one quarter can do to convince the other that its stance is more appropriate because they both have valid arguments in favor of their views on the subject. But it pays to enlighten ourselves regarding both sides of the issue because if we have an open mind, deeper knowledge of the subject might help us at reaching a more a more obj ective balanced conclusion. PRO-LIFE STANCEThis quarter maintains that every child whether born or unborn has a right to life and health; therefore it is absolutely immoral for her mother to deny him this right especially when the child has not even entered the world. In other words, this section feels that if a mother has the right to life and if she could terminate the pregnancy because of her health, how she could be allowed to deny her unborn child his right to life. It is extremely important to understand that there is nothing wrong with the views of this quarter because though it may appear to be based on religious beliefs; this view is actually developed on the lines of civil rights. There are certain people in this section that would probably be atheists and still against abortion, this is because they feel that termination of pregnancy is another name for murder. They have adopted several ways of making their presence felt. Not only do they repeatedly participate in rallies and demonstration, but also some extremists among this group would actually target anti-abortions clinics and there have been several cases of arson and violence. David Whitman (1998) writes about anti-abortion violence that has peaked during the last few years:While most types of antiabortion violence have ebbed over the years, disruptive tactics like picketing, hate mail, and bomb threats reached record highs in 1997. The most common tactic, by far, is picketingNAF reported more than 7,500 incidents of picketing during 1997. Clinics in 21 of 43 states surveyed by NAF last year reported weekly or daily protests. PRO-CHOICE ARGUMENTS:The pro-choice movement on the other hand advocates rights of the mother. It maintains that a child in the womb is not a fully developed person and therefore his rights are not as important as that of the mother and similarly it is her life and health, which must be kept in mind, when decision regarding pregnancy is being made. (Gordon, 1995) Logically speaking, this group appears to have more valid and reasonable arguments in favor of its stance in the subject but there are certain extremes, which are to be avoided by this group. This is because it is the extreme views, which have turned pro-lifers against pro-choice group. The extreme involves not considering the unborn child a human being even in the final stage of pregnancy. It is true that a child cannot be called a person in prenatal stage, but still he is a fully developed human being when pregnancy has reached the end of its term. Therefore to support abortion at this stage is absolutely wrong because it would be the same thing as killing a human being. Presidential Influence on Teenage Drug Abuse EssayCONCLUSION:Now that we have examined the issue closely, it is clear that abortion is one of the most pressing contemporary issues facing the political, legal and social circles. While each person may have his own reasons for supporting or condemning abortion, still it would be important to find a middle ground for permanent resolution of this issue. We cannot remain impartial on this subject because it is certainly connected with our moral and religious values, but in order to avoid a major conflict, we must advocate tolerance and patience. No matter how we feel about the issue, it is certainly not socially or morally acceptable to hurt or harass people with conflicting views. REFERENCES1)Muller, Jerry Z, The conservative case for abortion: family values vs. family planning. (The New Republic: 1995). 27-282)David Whitman, Abortion: the untold story. (U.S. News ; World Report: 1998), 20. 3)Gordon, Doris, Abortion and Rights: Applying Libertarian Principles Correctly Vol. 1, (Contemporary Womens Issues Database: 1995). 134-140. 4)Katha Pollit, Abortion in American History; (The Atlantic Monthly: 1997). 111-115. 5)ROE V. WADE COURT DECISION: Available Online: http://www.roevwade.org/index2.html, (Accessed 16th July 2005)