Abortion is it The Right Thing to Do Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Abortion is it The Right Thing to Do - Essay Example In the USA, the debate is predominantly between pro-life and pro-choice groups, which oppose and support abortion respectively. The contention in this paper will be to examine both sides of the debate with the intention to determine which side has a more solid argument on the matter. Since the legalization of abortion in 1973, its opponents have brought forward several arguments to protest against it, most of them being based on moral and religious as well as health grounds, and many of these have been and are still quite compelling. One of the most common arguments against abortion is that it is tantamount to murder,and inducing an abortioninvolves ending a human life; this is because most anti-abortionists mostly hold that life begins at conception. Pro-life groups often cite the fact that since there have been over 52 million abortions in the USA alone over the last forty years, abortion has quintessentially claimed more lives than most of the wars in modern times. As such, it is argued that those who procure and provide abortions are in essence conspirators in murder and should get the same treatment meted out to convicted murders. In addition, another reason why abortion is opposed is the danger involved in its procurement, owing to the fact that there are many parts of the world where abortion is either illegal or the facilities are not available. In addition, in comparison with other medical procedures, abortion is often unregulated, and as a result there are many instances of botched up abortions leading to severe complications, especially when it is procured illegally by unqualified personal (Vlassoff et al. 114). Despite the fact that abortions carried out legally and by qualified medical professionals are considered generally safe, it is estimated that since the legalization of abortion in 1973, over 347 women have been killed while undergoing abortion. It has also been speculated that abortion increases one’s risks of getting breast cancer by at least 50 percent in addition to being possible cause of complications and difficulty when giving birth in future. However, as long as abortion is legal and carried out in health facilities, women are informed of all the potential side effects before they agree to the procedure. That way they make an informed decision out of their own free will in more or less the same way the government respects smokers’ right to smoke despite the potential risks (Kilerbert). Pro-lifers have also been very vocal in propagating the argument that abortion is offensive to God, and since he is the only one who can create life, he should be the only one who can take it away; therefore, abortionists try to play God, which is both immoral and sinful. As aforementioned, several of the arguments put forward in opposition of abortion are actually quite tenable; however, they do not tell the whole story and many of them, especially the ones based on religion and morality, are highly subjective and often emotional. For instance, despite the beliefs of several religious organizations that abortion is illegal and despite the fact that none of the religiou s books such as the Bible or the Koran mentions it, not everyone comes from the same religious background or is a believer at all. As such, arguing