Life should always be prioritized above one's own convenience
One of the most controversial debates in America at the moment is the one over the morality of abortions. Pro-Life versus Pro-Choice has been plaguing our country for months and everyone seems to have their own opinion. Both sides make compelling arguments regarding their stance, however, Pro-Life will always be the one to prevail in my eyes.
Before jumping in, let us look at the facts of what life is like for a fetus in the womb. At just nine weeks after conception, the fetus is able to bend its’ fingers around an object; at 12 it can kick, turn over, and make a fist. At 20 weeks the fetus can be startled by loud noises outside of the womb; At 22 weeks the fetus could survive outside of the womb with medical assistance. This is all without mentioning that just eight weeks after conception, it has been found that a fetus can feel pain.
Just like any human being that has had the chance of being born, a fetus can hear and touch and even feel pain, so why does its’ life mean any less than yours or mine?
There have been many compelling arguments made by those who are Pro-Choice, such as saying that a fetus is not truly a human being, but a human life begins in the womb, as it always has and it always will. Another argument says that women should not have the give birth to an unwanted child. However, there are no unwanted children, just pregnancies!
There are families all over the country and the world that would want nothing more than a little boy or girl of their own. Needless to say that child would be wanted by someone.
And one of the most compelling arguments: Why should I get to tell a woman what she gets to do with her body? Of course, all women, all people for that matter, have the right to their own body and what to do with it. And while it is true that a pregnancy can have great effects on a woman’s body, the fetus within the womb is not the same person as the woman carrying it. The fetus has its’ own genetic makeup, its’ own emotions and personality. Meaning that the fetus has a right to its’ own body just as much as the woman carrying it does.
There are eight methods of abortion practiced in the United States, some that are specific for late-term pregnancy. The most common method, called the suction aspiration abortion, involves a hollow plastic tube with a sharp tip being inserted into the uterus through the cervix. The sharp end of the tube then tears the fetus apart and the tube suctions the pieces out. This method is performed up to 16 weeks after contraception, eight weeks after the fetus has developed a sense of pain.
Another method of abortion that is used toward the later terms is called the D&X abortion. In this method forceps reach into the uterus and grasp the fetus’s legs, then the fetus is delivered (breached) only enough so that a surgeon can use scissors to pierce the base of the skull, insert a suction catheter and and extract the contents of the skull which causes it to eventually collapse.
One of these methods is more graphic, both of them are equally devastating and most likely painful to the fetus.
While the official Pro-Life organization’s stance on contraceptives is oppositional, I am not. I believe that products such as birth control and Plan-B could possibly keep people from ever having to go through a situation where they are faced with bringing a life into the world, or keeping their life convenient.
Sources
“Facts Archive.” Pro-Life Action League, https://prolifeaction.org/fact/. Accessed 1 Feb. 2019.
“Explainer: What New York’s New Abortion Law Does and Doesn’t Do.” America Magazine, 30 Jan. 2019, https://www.americamagazine.org/rha2019.