Abortion Essay, Research Paper
May, 1990, Bill C-43 was passed into legislation, this was the bill stating that abortion should be treated like any other medical procedure. Regrettably, by 1991 this bill was passed into law. What had been considered an illegal act, could now be purchased for a small fee. The murder of unborn children would now be accepted by the Canadian government. Abortion goes against religious doctrine, it causes severe psychological effects in women who follow through with the procedure, and should be considered murder. The theologians of the catholic religion have shown that aborting fetus’ goes against the will of God.
According to the bible an unborn child is considered holy and sacred. “Before I formed thee in the womb, I knew thee; and before I camest fourth out of the womb, I sanctified thee” (Jer. 1:5). In Gods eyes a fetus living inside a woman is a human being. Ending the life of another human being goes against religious beliefs. The bible states that judgment will be bestowed upon those who do not protect the lives of others. Those who claim ignorance will still be held accountable for their actions. “Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to death; don’t stand back and let them die. Don’t try to disclaim responsibly by saying you didn’t know about it. For God, who knows all hearts, knows yours, and He knows you knew! And He will reward everyone according to his deeds” (Proverbs 24:11-12). God creates “babies” in the womb fully alive and filled with emotions. “For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy” (Luke. 1: 43-44). The church stands by its beliefs against abortion. “The most recent development of church position on abortion has been to condemn abortion on the grounds that what begins as human life [and not necessarily a full human being] is morally entitled to the ‘right to life’” (Terkel 99). Once an abortion has taken place a life has ended, this could be why so many women suffer from the after effects of an abortion.
Women can suffer from what has been diagnosed from what is called Post Abortion Syndrome (also know as PAS). Post Abortion Syndrome may cause women to have symptoms such as feelings of guilt, depression and anger:
I went through, and still go through, severe mental problems – visualizing the procedure in my mind, hating my self, grieving and wanting to escape from the whole situation. The abortion precipitated years of drug and alcohol abuse, and eating disorder and eventually a serious clinical depression. That supposedly safe procedure has had fourteen years of serious repercussions. (Terkel, 55).
This type of depression can surface immediately after terminating the pregnancy or even years later. Women can still struggle with these symptoms throughout their lives. One woman accounts an abortion as the worst decision of her life:
I thought that by having an abortion my problems would be solved as, at least, I would be able to get a job not showing that I was pregnant. Little did I know how wrong I was. I grieved and am still grieving ever since. I have suffered major depression and have contemplated suicide various times. I wish I never had a abortion. I have constant nightmares about a baby crying. This was worst choice of my life and a very bad decision indeed (Ursala’s story).
In fact, “women who do proceed with an abortion had nearly a five hundred percent greater suicide risk in the twelve months after, compared to women who carried to term”. (stats – birth and abortion). Although abortion has been legalized, the burden of guilt will still remain with women who have terminated their pregnancies because they know the existence of a life has been extinguished at their will.
The Canadian Criminal Code prohibits any person from killing another human being, when such an act occurs a punishment will be dispensed to that individual. It has been scientifically proven that even an embryo at just fourteen days individually exist from fertilization. “The embryo is specifically human, and begins to organize itself at once, to interpret and execute the instructions in the DNA code it carries. It is complete, unique, human and alive.” (Early Human Development). At five weeks old, a slowly developing eye can be seen behind the brain. “an appropriate sequence because a refined eye is useless with out a refined brain to read and interpret messages it sends” (Development of the Pre born Child in the Womb). Even though the child is unborn it still shows signs of intelligent life. “By twenty-eight weeks the eye is so sensitive to light that if a physician peers into the uterus with a fetoscope, the child will try to shield its eyes with its hands” (Development of the Pre born Child). How can this not be considered a human being? Unborn children are human beings and under the law should be protected. “Advocates of the fetus’s moral right to use its mother’s body argue that the fetus is innocent and therefore entitled to be born. It never asked to be born but was conceived by two other people whose rights are not as compelling as the fetus’s right to life” (Terkel 128). Society is obligated to defend an unborn child’s right to life. “”Like others who are incapable of making rational decisions – the comatose, the senile, the severely mental disabled – a fetus is vulnerable and dependent on others to make its moral decision” (Terkel 131). Terminating a pregnancy should be illegal and classified as a murderous act. Society does not tolerate a 14 month child, a 10 year old, a 45 year old or a 98 year old to be murdered or any living human being. Doesn’t a six month old fetus have the right to be classified as a human being?
Religious doctrines support the right of life to an unborn child. Scientifically, the embryo is proven to be a separate entity and individual from the mother. Mothers who terminate their pregnancies can suffer from long term effects of Post Abortion Syndrome. The supporting evidence proves that abortion should be classified as a form a murder and be deemed illegal.
“Abortion.” The 1998 Canadian & World Encyclopedia. CD-ROM. 1997.
“Development of Pre Born Children.” http://www.lifecall.org/develo.asp. (10 Jan 2001).
“Early Human Development”. http://www.abortionbashing/earlyhum.com. (12 Jan 2001).
“Jer 1:5 “. http://www.lifecall.org/ourfavo.asp. (10 Jan 2001).
“Luke 1: 43-44″. http://www.lifecall.org/ourfavo.asp. (10 Jan 2001).
“Stats – Birth and Abortion”. http://www.lifecall.org/stats.asp. (10 Jan 2001).
“Ursala’s story”. http://www.lifecall.org/twowomen.asp. (10 Jan 2001).
Terkel, Susan Neiburg. Abortion Facing The Issues. New York: Franklin Watts, 1988.