Mr. Jacob
Anatomy B2
26 May 2015
Bioethics Research Paper: Abortion-
Abortion is a largely discussed topic throughout the United States. There are debates whether or not it should be legal or illegal as well. To begin, abortion is the termination of a fetus from the uterus by natural causes before it is able to survive independently. The decision over whether or not abortion should be a legalized option continues to divide Americans. One side is known as pro-choice, supporting the case that choosing abortion is a woman’s right, and shall not be restricted by any governmental or religious authority by any means. On the other hand, the complete other side of this debate is considered pro-life, contending that personhood begins …show more content…
Pro-choice choices also fall under the pro-legal category, since it supports abortion being a “fundamental right.” Another argument that can be debated on both sides pro and con would be when does personhood begin, before or after the child is born? Pro-choice would be the side that personhood begins after birth, not at conception. They believe that the baby isn’t viable, being able to survive outside the womb until of course it is born. Also, if you look at it as a pregnancy, you are terminating the pregnancy, not the baby. A person’s birthdate is calculated from the day they are born, also known as our birthdays, we aren’t being counted while we were in the womb; fetuses are not counted in the US Census. A huge pro-choice argument is also if the baby was not someone the women planned on having sexual intercourse with, for example rape or incest. Women who never planned on aborting and had this happen to them may wish to abort the child because of emotional feelings it may bring about. Abortion also gives pregnant women the option to choose whether or not to bring fetuses with profound abnormalities to full term. In other words, some fetuses have such severe disorders that doctors can detect before birth and state if death is guaranteed before or shortly after birth. Some examples of disorders that can result in early age death include anencephaly, where the brain is missing and the …show more content…
This consists of the idea that life does begin at conception. When one is pro-life they strongly believe that abortion is in fact murder, since it is the killing or ending of an innocent being. Of course this side of the argument believes that abortion should be illegal. Many states have passed fetal homicide laws that relate to the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which states, “That under federal law, anybody intentionally killing or attempting to kill an unborn child should be punished... for intentionally killing or attempting to kill a human being." In addition, with about 38 states according to the statistics being under this act may cause others to follow (slope effect). Another argument upon the pro-life side is that abortion reduces numbers, numbers of adoptable babies. It is unfair to allow abortion when there are couples out there that cannot biologically become impregnated and are waiting to adopt. As a result of declined amounts of women putting their child up for adoption, the numbers of adoptions dropped drastically from 1973 to 2002. It is obvious that having a child is a lot of work and this side defends that if you’re having a child then you should be ready to accept the responsibility that comes with it. This basically means you should be taking the responsibilities of your actions and dealing with the repercussions. If women are incapable of caring for the child they are conceiving then they