Introduction After decades, the abortion debate remains a controversial issue, continuing to divide the American populace, while eroding the moral fabric of the country. Contention over national abortion policy continually unfurls in media headlines, and is rapidly becoming a central issue in the political arena. Tragically, pertinent discussion typically disintegrates, with proponents on both sides feeling deeply offended by the discourse. In order to make progress on this issue, it may be helpful to understand the commonalities between advocates on both sides. Regardless of position on this issue, it is evident that all parties involved are deeply concerned with the inherent moral rights of human beings, and the future of the nation. Unfortunately, …show more content…
Pro-choice advocates have phrased their counterargument this way, “A fetus is not yet a human being. It is nothing but a clump of cells with the potential to become a human being. It is ‘alive’ but that is also true of all the other cells in a woman’s body. It has no life of its own yet. It is not yet a separate life from the life of the woman in whose uterus it is.” This argument is fallacious in nature, as the author begs the question (merely assuming the position they are attempting to prove, without providing substantiating evidence for …show more content…
But science is pretty clear that, by the scientific and not religious definition of “life,” life does not begin with conception. In order for life to begin, it has to be non-life turning into life. Since both the sperm and egg are alive, by the measure of science, it’s not life beginning. It’s really just life continuing. Again, this argument provides no evidence to support the claims levied against the pro-life argument. Additionally, the argument fails to account for the emergence of a genetically complete organism, and fails to provide a point in the developmental cycle where non-life becomes life. In fact, should this reasoning hold true, it adds credence to the pro-life position, as either alternative—life beginning at conception, or life continuing at conception—results in the presence of life. In either event, why is this human life deemed less valuable than another human life? Why is he/she required to forfeit the fundamental rights attributed to all human beings? More importantly, who decides which live should be valued over
Anyone who takes a pro-life position believes that a fetus is a human life and is, thus, entitled to the same legal protections as any other human being. Those who are pro-choice however, strongly believe that women should have the right to choose whether or not she should have an abortion and that the government should have no power over their bodies. Even though I don’t think the government or any human being should be able to use abortion as a channel or means to control the bodies of females, I strongly hold to be true that fetuses deserve the right to live and nobody should be able to deprive them from life. Therefore, I declare myself as leaning pro-life.
In “Roe v. Wade-- Abortion Won the Day, But Sooner or Later That Day Will End,” by Frederica Matthew-Green, the author describes how abortion is changing the way society values human life. The writer goes on to explain that at the time abortion was being legalized, they could not comprehend how high the rate of abortions would go up, from the perspective that it would be a last resort measure. She claims that once abortion is made an option, it then becomes the most convenient choice that could be made in that situation, rather than parenting or adoption. In the article, Frederica Matthew-Green goes on to refute the argument that life does not begin at conception, by describing how the zygote is formed. The writer made the connection between abortion and death very clear, saying, “How could I think it was wrong to execute homicidal criminals, wrong to shoot enemies in wartime, but all right to kill our own sons and daughters?”
Abortion is one of the most argued topics for several different reasons, and while abortion kills a fetus to end a woman’s pregnancy, supporters of abortion say that abortion is beneficial to many women in society. One of the reasons why people argue about abortion is that in some perspectives, abortion is preserved by the United States Constitution, while other perspectives show that there is no connection between abortion and the Constitution. The impact of the Roe v. Wade supreme court case involving abortion resulted in the decision making process of women about having an abortion, though abortion was not considered to be a constitutional right by some people in the United States (Sullivan). In contrast to how abortion was not considered
One’s position stands in the pro-life side, due to the fact that, abortion is a murder of a human being.
II. There are underlying medical and social consequences during, and after having an abortion. III. I propose my own ethical and political theory that the legalization of abortion itself is a political motive by the government to rid of their responsibilities to these potential mothers. To conclude, I focus on the importance of why it is important to consider these premises, as well as why it is also important to take a look at the other issues that have led to why a woman/girl would be considering an abortion, and why incest and rape is a reoccurring
Likewise, abortion appears to be morally wrong because of the potential agency account. The potential agency account states that even at the earliest stages of the fetus’s development; a zygote has the potential of having moral rights as an actual person who is fully developed. Ultimately, the right to life argument concludes that even if the mother has a right to life and what to do with her body the right to life will always exceed the mother’s decision if she decides to abort the fetus (Leary 2018). This reason ties up to the prohibitive view which strongly believes that there is no such thing as a “cut off” stage for a developing fetus and that it is declared a person at the moment of conception. Abortion in this sense can be concluded that it is not morally permissible.
Abortion is one of the largest controversial issues debated today. Millions of Americans have heard about the concepts of pro-life versus pro-choice. Pro-life advocates that abortion is murder simply because the unborn baby is a living person. The pro-choice advocate that the fetus has no rights to protect, because they believe that it isn’t fully human yet. They argue that expecting a pregnant woman to carry the fetus violates her rights.
has been about 42 years since the Roe vs. Wade decision was established, and yet the abortion controversy is still raging. Abortion is often classified as the “termination of pregnancy”, so that it doesn 't lead to the birth of a child (British Pregnancy Advisory Services, 2015). Taking a step back into history, the Roe vs. Wade decision of 1973, legislated that a pregnant woman is entitled to have an abortion until the end of the first trimester of pregnancy without any interference by the state. Since the validation of abortion there have been many debates, uproars, and opinions. Two common positions of abortion is “Pro-choice” and “Pro-life”.
This argument is referred to as the personhood argument. This is what the argument looks like. Personhood starts at conception (thus fetuses are persons). If a being is a person, then it has a right to life. If a being has a right to life then it is wrong to kill it.
There are two sides to this debate in which individuals identify themselves as either “pro-choice” or “pro-life.” Supporters classify themselves as pro-choice, and argue “that choosing abortion is a right that should not be limited by governmental or
Disclaimer: This paper will not discuss the argument of whether abortion should be legal or not. The pro-choice/pro-life debate is multi-faceted and I believe where you stand has a lot to do with your core fundamental beliefs. According to Dr. Jesudason, a nephrologist at the Royal Adelaide hospital, “abortion is arguably one of the most polarizing issues in American politics today” (Jesudason 1).
In today’s world, abortion is a very controversial subject that has been argued continuously over the past years. Abortion is the termination of a human pregnancy, typically done before the embryo or fetus is capable of life. The most asked question is should abortion be legal? Talking about abortion, there are two sides to this topic, Pro-life and the Pro-Choice side. Those who are against abortion entirely are pro-life, and those who believe it is the woman’s right to choose are pro-choice.
A collection of people who are religious see conception as life and a human. WordPress.com had an interesting quote to combat this argument however. "The fetus may be alive, but so are eggs and sperm. The fetus is a potential human being, not an actual one; it 's like a blueprint not a house, an acorn not an oak tree. " I found the comparisons interesting and eye opening even to me.
Abortion has caused a great deal of controversy in the world, especially the United States, because everyone sees life in different eyes. The two sides of this subject will never agree will the other because they only are focused on what they have to say about the matter than on the points the other side has made. This issue will continue because abortion appears to be advancing as the years go by, which is a sign of no extinction. Since the abortion debate will not cease, the effects of the contradicting sides will only developed stronger arguments to belittle the others opinions about the
Women have the moral right to choose what to do with their body. A woman should not be forced into motherhood because of an unwanted pregnancy. Denying a woman the right to choose to have an abortion will condemn her to be financially liable and take care of an unwanted child for 18 years. Many people who take the pro-life stance fail to acknowdledge the hardships and difficulties of motherhood. They argue that “babies should be saved” yet how they plan to save children from a rough and tumoltous life when 73% of women who have abortions do it because they are unable to afford and provide for a child and 48% would be single mothers; all factors that affect children’s development and progress in life (“U.S. Abortion Statistics” 3).