Is abortion illegal?

Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy and expulsion of an embryo or of a foetus that is incapable of survival. A statement is neither right nor wrong like every aspect of human life. Abortion is a prime example of that. Of all things in life, there is one responsibility. If a person is an integral and self-respecting person, he or she cannot neglect one thing which is parenting unless making the tough decision of abortion. About 1 in 5 pregnancies in the UK end in abortion (BBC). 193,700 abortions were carried out in 2006, compared with 186,400 in 2005 which is a rise of 3.9%. This statistics showed a sharp increase in the passage of years and presently it has been more. Nearly one in fifty women in the UK aged 15-44 had an abortion. 89% of abortions in 2006 were carried out at 13 or lower week gestation and 68% were at under 10 weeks.

Abortion was illegal in the UK until 1968 (BBC). The law states that abortions can be carried out only in two cases. One, if continuing the pregnancy involves a greater risk to the physical or mental health of the woman and the other if her existing children are at risk because of that, than having a termination (BBC). The law also states that abortions can be carried out up to 24 weeks after conception (BBC). Abortion is illegal in many countries around the world, including Northern Ireland, where abortions can only be carried out if the pregnant woman's life is at risk (BBC).

Anti-abortion campaigners recently tried to have the law changed so that it was illegal to abort foetuses after 20 or 22 weeks, rather than the current 24 weeks. They argued that since some foetuses can survive outside the womb after 20 weeks and babies of that age had a right to life. After much debate, government rejected their arguments. About 19million women experience an unsafe abortion worldwide each year (WHO). 68,000 women die from complications of unsafe abortion each year overall in all developing countries (WHO).

As expected, there are many people that are opposed to abortion. These people are better referred to as pro-life advocates, or essentially, they advocate the life of the baby over the woman's right to choose. Anti-abortion campaigners (pro-life members) and the abortion

supporters (pro-choice members) had their own arguments and the debate still continues. The for and against of abortion with details are considered in this report. Those who refute abortion claim that it is the murder of a helpless baby who has not yet had the chance to live and function as a human being. However, the debate opposite it is just as fervent, it is a woman's right to choose what happens to her body, and if she decides that she is not capable of bringing a child into this world, than she should not be forced to, out of nature. It reduces the chances of unwanted children having unhappy childhoods or even becoming criminals; it prevents the burden not just financially on families but also on societies requiring the single most commitment and responsibility. Groups such as Human Life International (HLI), The Christian Coalition, and many others support the right of human life. There are several reasons why people who are pro-life do not support abortion. A main argument is that one is killing an unborn baby, murdering an unsuspecting life, in their decision to have an abortion. However, they also feel that abortion is a dangerous procedure, and puts the mother at risk as well. Pro-life advocates feel that there are other options other than abortion. Adoption, for instance, provides an alternative to abortion. Adoption would provide the baby with, (hopefully), a warm, loving home. There are many people that are willing to take in children; people who cannot have children of their own. Pro-life advocates who are opposed to any and all killing might definitely support finding a home for a baby as opposed to terminating it. Although, at most times many pro-life advocates feel that one must face the consequences of their actions.

On contrary, the second side to the debate, of course, is pro-choice. The main argument of pro-choice members is that women should have the right to choose what happens to their own bodies. By the right of privacy it is woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy. However, aside from the obvious issue of whether or not it is a woman's right to choose, they also advocates about mother's physical safety. In cases where the mother might be put in fatal danger in giving birth to a child (or during the course of pregnancy) then at those times some people feel abortion should be implicated. There are also other instances like rape and incest where people feel that abortion is justified. It seems unfair to many women in general, that a woman be forced to have a baby that was conceived out of rape or incest. It seems that every time the mother were to look upon

her child, he or she would be a constant reminder of the horrible act that brought about that child's creation into this world. Also, the other main thing to consider is that incest could raise issues of mental retardation and handicaps. However that leads to raise strong questions by the supporters of abortion. Their questions were that how could the conception of a rape or incest act any less a life than one that is voluntary and thus was the life not a life regardless of how it was conceived. Pro-choice members also put forward that any pro-lifer who believes abortion is wrong should first assess whether they are willing to take the responsibility to raise what are essentially unwanted children. If they are not willing to do that, they have no right to say how others should deal with the issue and that argument seems to be sensible. On the opposite side, however women who use abortions as a form of birth control is deliberately a mistake and it might be illegal. However, among all these issues, the womens right to choose remains the main focus of pro-choice advocates. Partial-birth abortions, abortions in the third trimester, and the recent day-after or RU-486 pill, now add a new aspect to the abortion issue. Partial-birth abortions and abortions in the third trimester are exceedingly controversial, because they involve the termination and/or expulsion of an actual foetus from the womb. In some countries like America, partial-birth abortions meant that the baby was breached halfway from the womb, and then its neck was broken and killing it instantly. It has since been outlawed in the United States as a result of the numerous outraged pro-life and even some pro-choice members who found it to be totally and utterly inhumane. Thus the above report has provided an objective and broad overview of the abortion debate and encompassed every portion of the spectrum. Firstly, there is the matter of justice. Secondly, there is radical individualism and its cancerous fruit. And finally the third reason is the slippery slope. Like the newest model of small, economical auto, rationalized justifications for behaviour tend to expand. If people find it right to kill an embryo or a foetus, then they might tend to expand their behaviour and likely to kill other organisms in larger proportions in future. In summary the pro-life members argues that even one-celled creatures are alive. Thus what is growing in the woman is more than a one-celled creature and it should be aborted. It is the product of human DNA and therefore its nature is human. Therefore, abortion is killing a life which is human by nature. And they question that where then, does

the mother get the right to kill the human within her. These objections were answered by the pro-choice members that the life in the womb is not human because it is not fully developed. They added that the human tissue produced in the woman is the property of the one who produces it. Therefore, the life in the womb is really part of the woman and the woman has the right to do as she wills with her body. In abortion, no one is hurt since the foetus is not a person. Rape is a condition that justifies abortion. Most of all, to restrict a woman's right to choose is to deny her rights as a woman. If one justifies killing a baby before birth, it's a small step to say it's also acceptable after birth. And thus even though the abortion debate is filled with issues, the interpretation that an individual chooses to understand those issues is what will ultimately answer their own personal questions about the morality or immorality of abortion.

References:
Human Life International (Online) <http://www.humanlifeinternational.org/>

Encarta Encyclopedia (Online) "Social and Ethical Issues" <http://encarta.msn.com/find/Concise.asp?z=1&pg=2&ti=761553899>

Planned Parenthood (Online) <http://www.plannedparenthood.org/>

Facts on File (Online) World News Digest "Key Issue: Abortion" <http://www.2facts.com/Ancillaries/index/z00002.asp>

United States Conservative Party (Online) <http://www.usconservatives.about.com/cs/abortionstats/>