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 bet