In today’s society, there seem to be many thoughts on the topic of abortion, all boiling down to two general categories: pro-life and pro-choice. I am pro-life and, religion aside, I believe abortion is wrong.
Abortion is the practice of ending a pregnancy by killing a human fetus. It was legalized in the United States in 1973 via the famous court case, Roe vs. Wade. Norma McCorvey, whose fictitious name is “Jane Roe,” was a confused 21-year-old seeking a divorce from her husband. She had one child already and was facing an unplanned pregnancy. She and her attorney were fighting the state of Texas, where the law stated she was not allowed to have an abortion. McCorvey won the case, and abortion was legalized. What most Americans don’t know, however, is that McCorvey is now a pro-life advocate and has devoted her life to reversing the Supreme Court case her name is attached to. This is an ad McCorvey released in 2012 to explain her stance:
Being part of the pro-life community, I believe that if a woman has an abortion, she is killing her child and, in turn, committing an act of murder. No matter what stage of the pregnancy the child is in, it is considered a human being. When a woman has an abortion, she is extinguishing any chance for her child to make vital contributions to society and she is taking away its right to life. She is taking away her child’s right to become someone. Aside from the baby being affected, studies show that women who have had abortions have higher chances of health and psychological problems such as infertility, breast cancer, and an increased chance of miscarriages in the future.
The argument has been made that there are four differences between unborn babies and those who are born: size, level of development, environment, and degree of dependency.
Let's look at each one.
Size
Unborn babies are smaller than babies who are born. Does this mean I’m not a human because I’m 5’5” and Shaquille O’Neal is 7’1”?
Level of Development
Unborn babies are less developed than ones that have been born. Does that mean that a 12-year-old boy who is going through puberty is not human because his voice is pitchy?
Environment
Unborn babies are still in the womb, and because they are not in our world, they are not human. Does that mean astronauts in space aren’t human?
Degree of Dependency
Unborn babies are more dependent on their mothers than ones that have been born. Does that mean that infants aren’t human because they wouldn’t be able to survive without their parents' attention?
Many of us have been, or know someone who has been, born prematurely. A premature infant would fail three out of those four tests. What would the world be like today without Stevie Wonder, Mark Twain, or Albert Einstein? Yes, all three of these people were born prematurely.
At this point, I know many of you are thinking, “It’s my body and I can do what I want with it.” You’re very right. Your body is your body. However, your body is not the body that is living inside of yours. The body inside of you has its own thoughts, own blood type, own heartbeat and its own fingerprints. Why is that?
It is a separate being.
The abortion industry doesn’t want women to know this because it interferes with their profit. They would prefer to keep women ignorant. In fact, 80 percent of women seeking an abortion change their minds after seeing an ultrasound of their child.
After Roe v. Wade, the future of abortion in the US had been determined by the Supreme Court simply avoiding the question that is at the center of every abortion law: When does life begin? The court hid behind basic privacy rights, which I previously stated are only true to a certain degree. They denied the protection of the unborn when they refused to answer this question. Instead of some action being taken, the court chose inaction.
Since the case, millions of unborn have died. If it is legal today to kill an unborn child, then what happens tomorrow? Will it be legal to kill an infant? Why is the punishment the same for killing an infant as it is for killing a 30-year-old, but there is no punishment for murdering the unborn? Where do we draw the line? You have to draw it yourself.
Despite all the available evidence, the court claimed they did not know when life began because that was easiest. This is quite a profound statement considering a murderer is charged with two crimes when a pregnant woman is killed. Why does a woman feel guilty after an abortion? We, as a society, know that abortion is wrong. We may not condone it, but we definitely permit it.
I hope that you are able to see past the loads of propaganda and make the decision for yourself.
The court chose not to choose. What will you choose?
