Religious Objections To Abortion example essay topic

I believe that it is a woman's right to choose whether or not she shall have a child. The issue of abortion is widely disputed in our nation, and is considered taboo because it has to do with sex. Many people are against abortion because of religious or moral beliefs. However, most of the people who argue against abortion have no adopted children. The reality is this: if an unwanted child is born into this world, they will suffer a great deal throughout their life. Also, the abortion is performed when the child is not yet developed.

Still, many persons throughout the United States consider abortion to be nothing but infanticide. Of course, there is a risk involved with abortion, but as science improves, so does the safety of such practices. There is a small chance that a woman undergoing an abortion will be subject to hemorrhage (a 1 in 14,799 chance), sepsis (a 1 in 4,722 chance), tetanus, and anemia. Such events rarely happen, though. So, besides health risks and moral and religious beliefs, abortions are a good thing for quite a few reasons. First of all, in many scenarios, an abortion is necessary and it would be wrong not to let the mother choose an abortion.

For example, if a woman is raped, is she expected to keep the child? Of course not! Even if the mother decided to have the baby and support it, for the rest of her life she will be burdened simply because she was a victim of a predator. Also, if a woman was being safe and using protection, and the protection failed, she should be given the chance to choose. Although it was partly her fault, she was being responsible for her actions and practicing safe sex.

Finally, there is the circumstance under which tests prove that if the baby is born, it will be deformed or handicapped. Such a child will suffer for the rest of their life, however short it may be. Though the parents may choose to keep the child, if it will suffer physically, they might want to stop its suffering before it even starts. Plus, not as many people misuse the practice as we may think. After all, abortions are not cheap, anywhere from $300 to $2000. Surgical abortion in or before the first trimester can be performed by either menstrual extraction or vacuum aspiration.

As I mentioned before, these methods are extremely expensive, and only people who consider it completely necessary will have an abortion performed. After all, this is a serious surgical operation we are talking about, not a game. It can be somewhat painful, and women who go through this process usually have very legitimate reasons for doing so. As long as an abortion is performed early on in the pregnancy, the baby has hardly begun to develop yet. Finally, what it comes down to is that women have the freedom to decide what to do with their bodies. Consider the personal experience of Melissa, a client at A radia Women's Health Center.

Says Melissa, "I simply could not see bringing what turned out to be twins into my family, and taking away from my children what little they already had... I know my decision was right, but it was also very painful". Women like Melissa have hard decisions to make, and although they need help making those decisions, the choice cannot be made for them. It is each woman's right to decide what is best for her and her child, based on personal, moral and religious beliefs. After all, no matter what you believe, it is immoral to force the conscience of another person.

Without choice, will and reason are rendered useless and vain, and so passive that they are serving necessity, and not a higher power. Like Virginia Ramey Mollenkott said in her amazing essay on women's right to choose, "To force any human being's conscience is an act of violence. To coerce a woman to bear a child she feels she cannot adequately support is an act of sexism". In conclusion, there is no reason to ban abortion. It is the mother's choice, and hers alone, whether or not to give birth to a child. If there are moral or religious objections to abortion, then the one objecting has every right to not have an abortion.

But under no circumstances can that person force anyone else to make the decision "their way". If we truly care about the freedom and rights of American women, then we will not interfere with their power to choose what is best for them.

Bibliography

Mollenkott, Virginia Ramey. Respecting the Moral Agency of Women. A Milton's Encyclopedia, Volume 3, Lewisburg: Bucknell University Press, 1978 Pro-Choice Views, About. com- News / Issues, About. com, Inc.