Abortion - Right & Wrong

Kristin Gebel
Question #3
22 June 2007

There have always been two sides to the abortion issue and in the present day there seems to be even more light shined on the matter. Answering the question, whether women should have the right to decide to have an abortion, I personally have many views. In some ways I believe abortion to be wrong because as we have heard many times before, there is another life to consider. But on the reverse side there are situations such as the mother’s life or rape victims to take into consideration. In all I believe that abortion is wrong. If someone is pregnant mistakenly then they should deal with the consequences, but in certain situations women should have the right to an abortion if needed.
Right away I want to emphasize the fact that women should have the right to decide whether abortion should be legal or not. I personally believe that women should be the deciding factors. I find it hard to take when I see people around asking others to vote no for abortion and the majority of them are male. Men should not be part of the deciding factor. Since men are not caring the child for the nine months of pregnancy or giving birth, I do not think that men should be able to vote on the up coming abortion laws.
Many feel that abortion is wrong and in most situations I agree. When a woman gets pregnant mistakenly it is her duty to go through with the pregnancy. Right now there are many different birth controls out on the market and I feel that it is both the male and female’s responsibility to take the necessary precautions. If someone does not want to get pregnant then there are ways around it, but when someone is careless and ends up pregnant I believe they should follow through with their actions. My friends and I have similar discussions such as this and I always quote, “If you are mature enough to have intercourse without protection then you should be mature enough to deal with the consequences.”
On the flip side there are a few reasons for abortion to be legal. For instance, if a woman is raped I whole heartedly believe that she should have the option of an abortion. She never asked or was willing to be raped and I do not feel that she should have to live with the constant reminder of that horrible day. The same goes for the unborn child. Put yourself in that woman’s shoes, how hard would it be to tell your child they do not have a father because you were a victim of a rapist. I personally would find that very difficult. I do not know, but I am sure there are some women out there that been raped and have gone through with their pregnancy. I applaud those women and give them my at most appreciation, but I still believe that those women should have an option. Let them make the decision.
Another reason for abortion to be legal would be in a situation where the mother’s life is at risk. There are situations where in certain pregnancies problems occur. Now try to place yourself in the mother’s or even the husband’s shoes and imagine that you are getting ready to introduce a new born baby into the world and then the doctor comes and says there are complications and he will only be able to save one life. Who would you choose? Knowing of someone who had to go through a similar situation during her pregnancy, I have seen how hard it is. She already had a one year old and when she was pregnant with their second child she had complications. If it were not for the abortion, she would no longer be here and her one year old would no longer have a mother.
As usual there are still two sides to the abortion issue and I merely stated my opinion toward both. Everyone has the right to voice their own opinions just as I have and I believe that is why the issue on abortion has yet to be resolved. I simply tried to get another opinion out there that says if one mistakenly gets pregnant, abortion should not be the choice, but in certain situations it as previously discussed it may be the only the answer.