Abortion has continued to be a big debate that borders on religion and ethics, medical aspects and illegality. Religious people see the practice as a vice that should be campaigned against as it involves the termination of the unborn hence loss of life. Medical practitioners, on the contrary, advise that the mother’s health should be prioritized should a situation requiring a choice to be made arise. In society, it is considered unethical to practice abortion as it is argued that most cases arise as a result of unwanted pregnancies. Consequently, encouraging abortion would lead to irresponsible sexual behavior in the society because abortion; legal or illegal is not justifiable no matter what one believes in. Unsafe abortion endangers the mother’s life. Moreover, any destruction of human life is considered morally wrong. Pro-life is the political, ethical and moral opposition to abortion conducted for reasons other than the mother’s health or fatal disease. Because life starts at conception the human embryo is considered as an individual and should not be denied the right to life. On the contrary, pro-choicer activists fight for women reproductive rights among which are rights to legal and safe abortion. They advocate for the independence of the women to make such choices without discrimination, coercion or violence. The modern-day pro-life movement is based on religious beliefs. Roman Catholic Church followers believe that birth control methods are a form of abortion. Such include the use of emergency contraceptive pills. This is because they prevent the implantation of the fetus in the womb and pregnancy which should have started at fertilization is prevented. The church also denounces procured abortion as an evil deed. Conversely, the Jewish traditional religion permitted abortion as a means of safeguarding a pregnant woman’s welfare. Catholics also permit abortion if the life of the mother is in danger.
On the part of the Protestants, their views on abortion vary considerably. The Orthodox Church considers abortion as immoral in all cases and laws which permit the practice. Other major protestant churches such as the United States Presbyterian Church are pro-choice advocating for women reproductive rights. In Islamic countries, the abortion case is not debated much. It is required that women gain medical, religious and state permission before procuring an abortion. However, it is not permissible four months into the pregnancy and even prior to this period, it should only be procured in case the mother was raped or is endangered. In India, there is less pro-life activity but the Hindu religion is thought to oppose abortion. The practice is widespread in the country for the purposes of sex choice with the boy child being referred to the girl child. The women comprise the pro-life activists in India. They oppose the advertising of products that help determine the sex of the embryo. Majority of the contemporary Jews are pro-choice. In Israel, Efrat the main pro-life organization fights abortion by empowering pregnant women. The organization largely avails funds to pregnant women in order to ease social and financial strains such that they don’t practice abortion.
In Europe, abortion is legalized through the acts of parliament but its use has been more closely regulated especially in Western Europe. Contrary to Europe, in the United States, there is a range of pro-life organizations whose resentment to abortion is on legal, economic or moral grounds. On the legalization of abortion, pro-choice activists argue that its illegalization leads to an increase in unsafe abortions. This is because professional abortion services will not be available and this will, in turn, lead to a rise in maternal rate. Pro-choice advocates are of the opinion that unwanted children are likely to become criminals and that there is a correlation between the legalization of abortion and the rate of crime in the regions in question. Conversely, this is not a justification because ethically, a fetus has human life whose rights should be upheld. It is also argued that even if a fetus should be allowed to live, abortion is morally allowed because a woman has a right over the control of her body. As such, the fetus should not continue staying in her body against her wish, thus abortion should be carried out. However, such a right cannot be weighed against the life of the unborn. If abortion is committed, it would amount to unfair discrimination against the fetus. The unborn would also be denied a valuable future full of experiences, enjoyment and other activities if aborted. Abortion, if practiced, would have adverse effects on the economy. Because of the costs involved in procuring abortion, it would be a burden on any one nation’s economy, especially on the health sector. Because the unborn are denied the chance to live, the nation also loses potential manpower. On the contrary, if a country illegalizes abortion, sub standardized clinics would come up with no permits. This would cause the revenue authorities losses in uncollected revenues. Either way, practicing abortion costs the economy money and should be campaigned against. Abortion has numerous social effects including immorality in terms of irresponsible sexual behavior.
Abortion is used as a remedy for unwanted pregnancies in countries where it is practiced. Conversely, it is justifiable where conception is as a result of incest, rape or when the life of the mother is endangered. All in all the practice of abortion is wide as a result of moral decay and pro-life advocates should strive to eliminate the vice once and for all. In terms of health effects, induced abortion may lead to a lot of blood loss from the mother if it is not carried out properly. This may culminate into higher maternal mortality rates or result in subsequent health complications. The life of the unborn is curtailed although it is the medical practitioners who are supposed to uphold it. All the same, the health care system is obligated to save the mother at the expense of the fetus in case of complications or if the conception was as a result of hard cases. Although the issue of saving the mother’s life is better defended, the negative effects of abortion outweigh the benefits and therefore it should not be practiced. Many cultures worldwide have a hard-line position in matters involving the upholding of their ethics. For instance, in the Muslim culture, the mother would have to seek spousal, medical and state permission before procuring an abortion. As such, it is only prudent to campaign against the vice in areas where abortion is legalized in line with valuing human life and upholding our cultural values. Encouraging abortion would result in irresponsible sexual behavior thus unwanted pregnancy. Abortion results in killing the unborn and any form of damage caused to human life are thought to be unethical.
Conclusion
The majority of abortion cases are induced and they are approximately 98% of the total cases. The percentage of abortion cases as a result of hard cases are rape 0.3%, incest 0.03% and for the purposes of protection of the mother 0.2%. It is, therefore, the responsibility of various stakeholders to ensure that abortion is fought as it is not justifiable under any circumstances since it can be avoided. Human life should be treasured from the time of fertilization to the time of natural death and the will of the mother should not be weighed against the life of the unborn. The issue of abortion should, therefore, be given much attention from various stakeholders so that its possible consequences can be dealt with accordingly. The youth should also be taught moral values in order to help them develop responsible behavior.
