Abortion: Pro-Life/Pro-Choice

[3bsaya]

womensissues.about.com/od/reproductiverights/a/AbortionArgumen.htm<br><br>Many people believe that abortion should be a choice. Others believe that it should not. In my opinion, a woman should always have an option. Many of you would probably say "then don't have sex". Yes, abstinence is another option, but accidents do happen. Whether the condom broke, or (god forbid) someone was raped and that person did not use a condom. I know that if I was a victim of rape, that I would definitely not want to keep the baby. Not only because it would be a constant reminder of the incident, but because I am sixteen and I have my entire life ahead of me. <br><br>A lot of teen moms do not get the support they need. A lot of the time, parents refuse to support them. <br><br>In regards to the pro-life/pro-choice arguments made in the article above... <br><br>When women get abortions, the baby is not even a baby yet. It hasn't fully developed and is still the size of a pea... Maybe smaller. One person says "Those who choose abortions are often minors or young women with insufficient life experience to understand fully what they are doing. Many have lifelong regrets afterwards." Minors choose to get abortions because they have insufficient life experience. They are not yet ready to deal with raising a child. Why would you want to force a minor to raise a child when they might not even be able to take care of themselves. <br><br>Abortion is a choice. So those who are pro-"life", you have a CHOICE on whether you want to keep the fetus or not. Just because people are pro-choice does not mean that they will want to have an abortion. It simply means that they want to have the choice. <br><span>    </span>

[6pdasha]

Abortions allow women to decide for themselves whether they are ready to take on a great task of raising a child. Many women feel as if they aren't ready to give birth. The major life decision of expanding one's family should not be dictated by the government! Many pro-life advocates are men, and they do not even go through the process of childbirth. So, why do they feel the desire to advocate their personal views to others? One of the most famous arguments is that abortions kill human beings who aren't yet able to defend for themselves. However, at the very beginning of a pregnancy, the fetus isn't fully developed, and most scientists define it as a bundle of cells rather than a human being. Another argument is that as soon as a fetus is developed, the mother's body becomes shared by two human beings instead of one, and this right cannot be taken away from the fetus. The concept of bodily autonomy defends the mothers who don't want to go through the nine months of pregnancy. 
The decision of having or not having a baby should be left to the mother, for it can have a great impact on her personal life. 

[10cjisoo]

I absolutely believe that every women should have a choice to have an abortion. I don't believe the government should have a right to tell women whether she must keep a child or not, especially being that most of the government is made up of men. I think most men are more easily against abortion, because they forget that women have no choice but to care for the child. In many instances of a women getting unexpectedly pregnant, the man usually leaves and forces the women raise the child alone. If men have the choice to not keep the baby, the women should too. Also, in the beginning of a pregnancy, the fetus is not considered a human but a bunch of cells. This counterclaims the belief that abortion is murder. On top of this, if women, especially teens, get pregnant when they are not ready, it can be absolutely detrimental to their lives. Young women in the middle of an education, or in the middle of building their career, will have be forced to stop their progress so they can take care of the child. The potential for these young women to succeed will not be able to be reached. This can be especially hard for families who are struggling financially. Women who got pregnant accidentally or raped should have a second chance. Women should not have to suffer such huge consequences for something that was not their fault. Abortion being illegal can be detrimental to the children as well. Having a child that is not wanted can lead to neglect to the child, since it is a constant reminder of horrific memories or an end to the mothers education/career. A mom may take drastic measures and put their child in the foster system or put it up for adoption. In the end, the women should definitely have the choice of getting an abortion, especially since they are the ones that will have to deal with the results, not the government.

[10pbeatrice]

There honestly shouldn't even be an argument about whether a person is pro-choice or pro-life considering the fact that if a woman (who should be in full control of her body) refuses or is medically incapable of giving birth to a child then she as well as her choice should be respected. If a person had taken basic biology they would know that at the beginning stages of a pregnancy the "baby" that they keep referring to is actually a literal sac of cells and has no emotion nor feelings so an abortion would not go against moral codes and would not count as murder. There is no person able to control another person's body and decisions except oneself. It is a woman's body therefore a woman's decision whether to have a child or not. If they aren't the only ones then there runs a risk of the child being born with defect, the mother dying, a unwanted child which would need to be handled into adoption, or even a child becoming a nuisance or in an unsafe environment not built to support them.

[6sjulia]

First of all I would like to make it very clear that I believe every choice is respectable, but in view of my upbringing the topic on abortion is a touchy one in my case. I do not believe a women should have an abortion if the pregnancy was a accident or what most call a mistake, that in my opinion is murder. If the condom broke or if it was an act done in the passion and heat of the moment the two individuals should responsibility for their actions and act like the two mature adults they believed themselves to be while partaking in such as intimate act such as intercourse. There are so many options after becoming pregnant, teens argue that it will ruin their lives, but most fail to notice that what they made was a miracle on its own. There are so many women in the world who are struggling to become pregnant and are willing to adopt because they, unlike these young bithgivers, want to be mothers and raise children.
Of course I understand the decisions unfortunate victims of rape must choose after their unfortunate events, but it is still murder of something innocent which is entirely out of fault. I do however keep in mind that I look at this with biased never being (thanks God) in such a position and it is not my place to tell women to consider their options carefully in such positions. However, young teens who do participate in unsafe sex and risk themselves the chance of becoming pregnant should think again -> you may actually help someone out in the long run.

[6dmaya]

I understand your perspective on this topic, but I also disagree that just because a pregnancy was a mistake, aborting the pregnancy is murder. Many people are incredibly ill-equipped to care for and raise a child. Of course two people who have gotten themselves into this situation must take responsibility, but having the option of terminating the pregnancy is in some cases (not all) very necessary. If one were to not have the option of abortion, many more children would live lives of poverty, be neglected or be taken into the foster care system because the process of putting a baby up for adoption is not as easy as finding a newspaper add with the perfect family and then handing the baby over to a better life. The life of an unwanted child (particularly if it is being born into a family unable financially or otherwise to care for it) is something that should be avoided at some cost.
Women aren't arbitrarily using abortion as a form of birth control, constantly having unprotected sex and then avoiding the consequences by means of termination. An abortion is an incredibly difficult decision that will probably way on a woman for the rest of their lives, but it is a necessary option to have for various extenuating circumstances.

[10pemma]

I am entirely pro choice, because I believe it is unfair to the woman, and to the baby to bring a child into the world to parents who are unprepared for it. I respect a person's opinion to be pro life, but honestly, it's not your body so it's not your business. Unless someone is able and willing to raise the child responsibly, it's not right for anyone. What will prevent abortion is better sex education on how to protect yourself, and easier access to birth control. People who knowingly have unprotected sex are quite honestly morons, and morons shouldn't be allowed to raise a child. While there are plenty of people looking to adopt, there are thousands more in the foster care system. No child should have to be in the foster care system, and no women should have to go through the trauma of being forced to have a child and know it's out in the world somewhere. That being said, abortion should be a last resort. It is not a form of birth control, it's a backup because things do go wrong. Both women and men need to take responsibility for protecting themselves and preventing unwanted pregnancies. No teenagers should have to become parents, and no child should have to be neglected or raised by parents who were forced to throw their life away because a crowd of "activists" harassed them outside a clinic.

[10calexis]

The fact of the matter is that it should be entirely the pregnant woman's choice to have her child or abort it. It is her body, therefore her choice. Why should random men be allowed to force their opinions down this woman's throat when those opinions should mean nothing to her? There are so many factors that go into this: did the man use a condom, did the condom break, was she raped -- but at the end of the day, it's HER body. It's HER child. And it's up to HER if she wants to actually have the baby or not. ESPECIALLY if the child was conceived from a rape. Rape is enough emotional turmoil on its own. Why ask a woman to keep that child when it was conceived against her will in so many ways? So many people have an opinion about this debate but honestly, it really should be up to the woman carrying her child. 

[6vjeremy]

When an abortion occurs, the baby feels no pain, knows not what it will never experience in the life it is being deprived of. It may be a harsh life, though, as an unwanted part of someone's life, subject to abuse, lack of shelter and proper care. If a woman sees the need for an abortion, then clearly she is not ready for a child to begin with. Whether the baby was a mistake or not, it would be a mistake to raise a human being without the complete desire to do so. What one human does with their own life is of no concern to anyone else. Everyone is allowed their opinions, but when these opinions are forced on others in the form of law things take a step in the wrong direction. It is a tough decision to make, choosing to stop a pregnancy, but it is the mother's decision, and no one else's. People arguing otherwise might say that parents should take responsibility for their actions and keep the child if the pregnancy was a mistake, but perhaps the responsible thing to do is to use the tools at our disposal to prevent mistakes from happening and affecting everyone's lives.

[6ckiara]

I have always been pro-choice. Parenthood is such a wonderful yet difficult and sacred thing to take on, and it should be something that is chosen to take on, since it requires so much responsibility, love, and stability. The most obvious argument is that it is a woman's body, and our society's rule of bodily autonomy states that we have every right to decide what to do with our bodies. As stated by 10cjisoo, if a man can choose to not have a child by leaving the woman, the woman should have the right to decide the same. Many people will argue that a woman could just have the baby and give it up for adoption, but the fact is that many women just don't want to go through with the pregnancy. Pregnancy is no joke and can take a serious toll on women and their bodies, and there is the great chance that your postpartum depression could cause your heart to want the child even though your mind knows you can't. Additionally, illegalizing abortion could have detrimental effects on the children too. Many children would end up in homes with parents that didn't want them in the first place, which could result in neglect, hate, and an overall negative environment. Even if the baby were given up, as so many pro-life people suggest, adoption is a long and tedious process, and many children never get adopted and are instead thrown into the foster system. I do not understand how any of these situations could be seen as better than an abortion, since you would be subjecting a grown child to a life of misery rather than terminating a fetus. As for 6sjulia's comment on abortion being murder, all abortions are performed in the first trimester, when the "baby" is only a conjunction of cells. If we can kill chicks to eat as eggs, then why is it so hard to understand that fetuses are not actual children?

[6mhalle]

Personally, I am one hundred percent pro-choice concerning the matter of abortion. I respect the fact that everyone is entitled to their own opinions but I believe one of the main issues revolving abortion is that it is insanely wrong for men to dictate what women can and cannot do with their bodies. Two years ago at a debate in Indiana, Indiana GOP Senate Candidate Richard Mourdock stated that' raped women should be forced to carry their rapist’s baby to term because their forced pregnancy is a “gift from God”. I first heard this while listening to NPR and didn't even believe it to be real. The fact that this man had the nerve to say this at a public debate where, obviously, women were present, is unbelievable. This statement shows that he has no respect for a woman, her body, or her choices. He is basically implying that is doesn't matter what the woman wants, or even what is in her best interests, only that she must keep the baby because it is 'a gift from God'. He also does not take into account any of the circumstances the woman could be in. What is she is young, maybe only 16 or 17? Having a baby would mean she would most likely have to give up any dreams of college. If not, it would mean that her family would be forced to care for her newborn baby. It is also possible that she could not have to money the care for a child. It is completely unfair to force a woman to keep an unwanted pregnancy and bring a baby into a world of poverty, simply because Richard Mourdock believes rape resulting in pregnancy to be a 'gift from God."

here is the link to an article on the debate if you want to check it out: thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/10/23/1078181/gop-us-senate-candidate-calls-rape-pregnancies-a-gift-from-god/

[6cgonzaleznunez]

On such a controversial topic, I am going with pro-choice. I totally understand the counterclaim in their reasoning on sex being a responsibility and that abortion kills an innocent being but what we have to take into consideration is the circumstances by which a female will even choose to have an abortion. The most obvious is rape. A woman is pressured into this and if she does wind up pregnant as a result, she should have the option to abort the child as it was uncalled for. It was not her choice to have the baby in the first place, and she should not be forced into doing so like she was into the sex. In addition, teenagers sometimes come in contact with the situation where they are left to decide whether they need to get an abortion. This is definitely controversial because a teenager is being talked about. Once we link the image of an adolescent and their right to having an abortion, it is immediately brushed away because she was being "irresponsible" and "it is her fault". The ignorance in these comments is real. Everyone in life makes bad decisions and we've all been there, and having a baby is a huge deal. It is a shame that the risk being taken involves the life of an unborn baby, but if we want to think about its life we need to pick whether we want the baby to live a harsh life. What if the mother cannot handle having it? What if she hates the baby and refuses to love it? Ultimately, it is the MOTHER'S choice, not society's.

[3gterrence]

I'm so done with all this "take responsibility for your actions" bullshit. You guys are teenagers, you're the most irresponsible and lazy group of people on the planet, and you're going to tell adults to "take responsibility" and raise a child when you can't even do your fucking homework without copying it during lunch? Give me a break.

I think it's really trivializing to women to call a fetus a miracle. Aside from just being flat out offensive to call the result of rape a miracle, it really does trivialize the pain that pregnant women endure. Miracles don't exist anyway. 

Abortion should be allowed, no exceptions. There are so many awful situations that can be prevented so easily with abortion. First of all, it is possible to detect down syndrome and other deformities in a fetus before birth. With this knowledge, many parents chose to have abortions because they don't want a child to have to deal with this and I see this as 100% legit. Why should a parent have to raise a child who she knows will live a life of pain and ostracism due to a horrible birth defect? Then there's also the issue of teen moms, which abortions also prevent. Not even really going to elaborate on this one as it is pretty self explanatory. Being a mom in high school is probably the worst thing, like, ever, honestly. Giving girls another way to prevent ending up in that scenario is pretty much another ten points to gryffindor. 

 

[3nkayla]

All women should feel comfortable and should be able to make their own decision in regards to the topic of abortion. Although abortion does take lives away, if a women feels that they are unable to properly care for their child, it is only right for them to decide the fate of their baby. I do see the other side of the situation, however I feel that no women should have to go through a process as tedious as pregnancy, if they don't want to, especially if one is a young teen that is not ready for the commitment. Going through with having a baby is one of the most important and special moments in a women's life and if one isn't ready, it isn't something to be rushed. In the end, it would be the mother who has to care for the child, and they have to feel comfortable. If they don't, then it is their responsibility to take care of the matter, not anybody else's.