FREE ESSAY ON ABORTION: THE ULTIMATE DECISION

ABORTION: THE ULTIMATE DECISION

Abortion is a subject of perception; to find a clear cut solution would be to commit
suicide. Doctors say that candy is not bad, so long as there is not a consumption of it
at one time. All things in life must be viewed through a reasonable, clear mind. To say
abortion is good or bad is to look at it blindly. Abortion is not like racism or
oppression where to look at one incident is to miss the point. Or if we look at the big
picture we see the crime, and abuse.
Abortion is by far a twentieth century invention or discovery, the only thing modern
about abortions is the procedure. During the time of ancient Greece and Rome there have
been writings of abortions. Abortions may be dangerous no, but back then women used herbs
to create contractions and speed up labor when giving birth. They discovered these same
herbs could be used early in pregnancy to abort a fetus (Lowenstein, 24-26). So abortions
have been performed since about 1000 B.C. However, it was hard to mix the same
concentrations of herbs each time, and so some women died from an overdose, or did not
drink enough to abort the fetus. (Lowenstein, 26).
Women have used several different methods to induce an abortion, whether abortions were
legal in their society or not. In the seventeen hundreds women used ergot (Lowenstein,
26), or parsley (Lowenstein, 26). In the eighteen hundreds women would drink poisons such
as arsenic, lead, and phosphorus (Lowenstein, 26). After five decades surgery was
introduced for women to have abortions. In the nineteen hundreds women used more drugs
which sometimes killed them, but later in he century a suction instrument was created to
suck the baby out of the subject. Throughout history, women have had abortions, whether
legal or not-even if it meant risking their lives with unsafe methods. (Lowenstein, 27).
In September year two thousand The FDA approves RU 486. (Gibbs, 41) the pill, RU 486 also
known in the Unites States as Mifepristone, will cause the uterus to shed its lining,
dislodging the embryo.(Gibbs, 44) if taken within seven weeks of pregnancy. c is taken
two days after Mifepristone inducing contractions that expel the embryo in about 95% of
cases. (Gibbs, 44).
The arguments for pro-life advocates may vary a little but there is a general consensus
that abortion is not allowed, unless perhaps the mother's life is in danger. (Lowenstein,
42). The main concern for pro-life advocates is that women may use abortion as another
form of birth control. They feel that women instead of using condoms or birth control
pills will use abortions. Their concern is also that women or parents will use abortions
until they get the sex of the child that they wish. According to pro-lifer's It is not
uncommon, say pro-lifers, for women to become upset they have killed their unborn baby,
and start a 'replacement' pregnancy. Therefore, the cycle just continues with no end
insight. (Lowenstein, 44).
Pro-life arguments do not just remain stagnant with society, but the religious world also
has their belief heard. In terms of organizations the Catholics know the Catholic church
forbids abortion This may be true but the Catholic church has a history of dealing with
the issue of abortion, Church teaching on abortion has varied continually over the course
of its history. There has been constant general agreement that abortion is almost always
evil and sinful, the church has had difficulty in defining the nature of that evil.
Members of the Catholic hierarchy have opposed abortion consistently as evidence of
sexual sin, but they have not always seen early abortion as homicide. 
Abortion being a subject of perception allows itself to belief. Just as religion people
believe either abortion is right or it is wrong. Abortion is by some people and some
groups, both religious and not, as an act of murder, but then arises a question, when
does life being? In what trimester does life begin? What constitutes life? Is it legs,
feet, hands some human form, or is it knowledge, reason, wisdom? According to
Merriam-Webster OnLine life is the quality that distinguishes a vital and functional
being from a dead body. With such a vague definition of life then how can we say that
abortion is wrong, and that it is murder? It is here where the views of the pro-choice
advocates take precedence.
Pro-choice advocates quote United States and state law, both of which do not consider the
fetus a person. The pro-choice position is based on the belief that it is a woman's
fundamental human right to decide when or whether to have a child. They also believe that
women should have the right to the most statistically and scientifically accurate
comprehensive and unbiased information (Lowenstein, 52). The pro-choice argument can be
extended farther, that a woman's right to control her body overrides any claim made by
the fetus. (Cannold, 21). The pro-choice argument is more liberal in that it is not
judging a woman for the choice that she will make, and is allowing a woman, or a family,
decide whether it is a good time or a bad time to have a child, which is the fear of
pro-life advocates.
The pro-choice approach to abortion is that the fetus is no a human being or a citizen of
the world and as such has no rights. The only being that has right is the woman. There
are some religions that incorporate the pro-choice view of abortion, but they are sects
of some of the main religions like Catholicism, and Judaism. To say that the woman holds
all the rights and control of the fate of the fetus is to say that there is not
potentiality in the fetus and so it has not rights. It is also to say that even if the
fetus did have rights it is the woman's painful undertakings that are held in higher
regard than that of an unborn, unknowing fetus.
These views on abortion, both the pro-choice and pro-life, are based solely on belief.
The pro-life belief takes the approach that we are not individuals but a family and as
such are responsible for the other members of the family. The pro-choice belief is that
though we are a family we must allow each member to make the decision that best suits
them during the circumstances that are being undergone during that particular period.
Though it is easy to see that both groups belief strongly that abortion just for abortion
is wrong, but pro-choice belief more strongly that abortion with thought is a more
correct action.
An abortion has never been easy throughout the history of the human race, and may never
be. As of September year two thousand there was a drug approved by the Food and Drug
Association (FDA), this drug is Mifepristone (RU-486). This drug if used within seven
weeks of pregnancy is safe and will not cause as many complications as a traditional
abortion on a doctor's office. In a traditional abortion women are at risk in future
pregnancies like excessive bleeding, premature delivery, cervical damage, and sterility.
This is but a small list of the much longer listing of reported complications of
traditional abortions. The new medication to the battle of abortion is RU 486
(Mifepristone) and Misoprostol, together these drugs are named Mifeprex. The combination
of these two drugs together may cause, Excessive bleeding, abdominal pain, diarrhea,
nausea, vomiting, headache, dizziness, fainting, back pain, fatigue, fever, viral
infection, anemia, insomnia, anxiety (France, Rosenberg, 29). These seem to be the only
noted complications for Mifeprex.
To solve such a controversial and complicated issue as abortion is to feed yourself to
the lions. The initial solution that came to mind was to start a governmentally funded
program that would allow pregnant women to take a week of tours of abortion clinics, and
seminars where both views of abortion would help the woman, or family members, decide
before actually going through an abortion operation or before her/there final decision.
But a program like this will have many set backs especially with the introduction of
Mifeprex.
The reality of civilization is that knowledge is power. It is known throughout the world
that the citizens of the Unites States of America tend to be conservatives. And as
conservatives Americans tend to believe that humans younger than thirteen years of age
can not reason, and are unable to make good decisions. It has been proven that starting
from the age of six or so begin to make decisions and to reason, if this fact holds true
then why not give the knowledge to children from grades four and over. It is also
scientifically proven that males and females tend to go through puberty ranging from age
eleven to thirteen.
If children have the ability to reproduce starting at age eleven, then why do we begin to
teach our children about abortion after they have already had sex-education. In high
school it is a requirement to take seven semesters of physical education and one semester
of sex-education. In my elementary school I learned about sex in sixth grade in the month
of May, which is just two month away from summer time. Why did I learn about sex after I
began having feelings, and needs that I could not understand or even explain.
To solve abortion we must take the approach that children about the age of ten and on
will begin to have feelings for the opposite sex, and will begin to experiment different
things to try to find some understanding for these feelings. There needs to be curriculum
for children of this age that will introduce them to this subject at the same time that
they are beginning to have these feelings. It needs to be something that is focused and
where young males and females can sit in the same room to view the video, or
presentation. This has to also be accompanied by having a sit down day for parents with
their children where parents speak to their children about sex and abortion. Children
that learn about this issue and other will be better prepared when they get older, and
fewer deaths may occur. A better informed youth brings about a wiser decision for the
future.
The solution to abortion does not begin and end with ten year old children, but extends
to high school aged youth. Teachings of abortion should also be a requirement in high
school. If anything it should be a requirement to take one semester of abortion-education
and one semester of sex-education. This requirement is something that is needed for
today's youth, but our more informed youth can later change it as they see fit.
This solution of course leaves out the current issue of abortion and does not exactly
find a solution for the current times, but no all problems can have an immediate
solution. Some problems must be solved within time. There is one cliche that still holds
true even in today's world, Knowledge is power. To give the youth the knowledge we are
giving them control over their own destiny.
Bibliography
Abortion And Catholic Thought: The Little-Told History. 27 November 
2000.
http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/cathwomen/abortiondecision.htm
Cannold, Leslie. The Abortion Myth: Feminism, Morality, and the hard 
choices women make. New Hampshire; Wesleyan University Press, 1998.
France, David and Rosenberg, Debra. The Abortion Pill. Newsweek.9 
October 2000: 26-30.
Gibbs, Nancy. The Pill Arrives. Time. 9 October 2000: 40-49.
Lowenstein, Felicia. The Abortion Battle: Looking At Both Sides. New 
Jersey: Enslow Publishers, Inc., 1996.
Merrian-Webster Online. 27 November 2000.
http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary.
Risk and Complications: A Comprehensive Listing. 27 November 2000.
http://www.prolifeinfo.org/up11.html.
Sachdev, Paul. The Perspectives On Abortion. New Jersey: The Scarecrow 
Press, Inc., 1985.
You Are Not Alone. 27 November 2000.
http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/adecisionbottomhigh.htm