Stop Murdering the Defenseless
In most states in our nation today abortion is illegal when the fetus becomes a viable human being, meaning that it can survive outside of its mother's womb. This is often referred to as a late-term abortion, which usually occurs between the 24th and 28th weeks of a pregnancy. One of the problems associated with the ban on late term abortions in the United States is that viability is not defined. That is, there is no set week of gestation where a fetus is said to be viable. Late term abortions are performed for several reasons: sometimes the woman was not aware she was pregnant until the third trimester, some fetal abnormalities can not be detected until late in pregnancy, a mother may become too ill to carry her baby to term or sometimes it is just a choice the woman may make that for some reason or another she does not wish to continue on with the pregnancy. Although according to Susan Dwyer, a professor of philosophy and author of many books, late or third-trimester abortions "account for less than one percent of all pregnancies terminated in the United States, about six hundred per year" (56), the process of late term abortion, the emotional and physical pain suffered by the mother and the pain experienced by the baby is completely inhumane and must be banned completely.
Third-trimester or late-term abortions are usually procedures that take two to three days to complete. The abortion itself is performed on the second or third day once the cervix has dilated wide enough to ensure that the fetus can be safely extracted or expelled. In most cases, fetal demise occurs the first day of laminaria insertion, being "a cone of dried seaweed that swells as it absorbs water and thus dilates the cervix non-traumatically in preparation for induced abortion or induced labor" (Dwyer 89). The drugs that are used during this procedure are digoxin and lidocaine, which are inserted directly into the uterus. Once dilation is complete, late-term abortions usually take two to four hours and are performed with IV sedation or a general anesthetic. Some babies though are not deceased before the abortion begins. Registered Nurse Brenda Shafer recounts a particular abortion where the doctor, "delivered the baby's body and the arms-- everything but the head. The doctor kept the baby's head just inside the uterus. The baby's little fingers were clasping and unclasping, and his feet were kicking.
Abortion is the ending of a pregnancy before birth; it causes the termination of the embryo or fetus inside the women. There are two different types of abortion, a spontaneous abortion, which is also known as a miscarriage, and an induced abortion, where the embryo or fetus is purposely removed from the women’s body. The topic of induced abortion has been widely debated for hundreds of years. The issue of abortion was argued way back in the time of the ancient Hebrews. In the United States it became illegal around the mid 1800’s and not until the 1960’s was the argument for the right to abort brought back to the table. In 1973, the Supreme Court case “Roe vs. Wade” made abortion legal. The case stated that abortion was legal in the first trimester (three months) of pregnancy (O’Brien par. 17). Since that day over 30 years ago, there have been many cases in which abortion has been disputed. Congress has passed many laws restricting abortion rights, including in cases such as Webster vs. Reproductive Health Services and Stenberg v. Carhart (O’Brien par. 18). There are many other cases like these and each time is seems more likely that a woman’s right to choose could be overturned (“Reproductive Rights” 26). There are many different ranges of beliefs about the morality of abortion, whether or not one should have an abortion, and under what conditions the termination of pregnancy is acceptable. Many argue at what point in the process of pregnancy a human person comes into existence. People disagree about whether anything from an ovum to a fetus is a form of human life. No person knows this information, but it is debated among the two major sides on this issue. The first side are those that believe abortion should be forb...
Late-term abortion is a very controversial method to abort the baby after the twentieth week of gestation. There are many different grotesque procedures to perform it. These kinds of abortions are contradicted by many religions and morals of people. Late-term abortions almost devastate some mothers because they have spent so much time being pregnant and making an emotional connection with the baby. Some believe this to be murder and inhumane. Late-term abortion should be made illegal because it is morally wrong on many different standards of the American society.
The United States government has a difficult time with coming to an agreement on whether to ban abortions, or keep them. Although the United States is about freedom and the people, the government should be more concerned about the health of its nation. According to the Stedman’s Medical Dictionary, an abortion is “Expulsion from the uterus of an embryo or fetus before viability (20 weeks’ gestation [18 weeks after fertilization] or fetal weight less than 500 g)” (Williams and Wilkins). An abortion can be performed in many different ways, depending on the time in which the abortion is taken place and the size of the fetus. There are three main categories in which an abortion can be performed. The most common form of an abortion is those that invade the uterus and kills the child by instruments which enter the uterus through the cervix. An abortion that happens toward the fifth month of being pregnant, is to kill the preborn child by administering drugs; the mother will then be put into induce labor where she will deliver the dead baby. Then the last three months of pregnancy, doctors will invade the uterus by abdominal surgery; during this time the umbilical cord is cut, thus cutting off the baby’s oxygen supply in which it causes suffocation. Through all of these abortions, the mother of the child is impacted in some way or another. With every abortion the mother undergoes, the more negative affect it has on her fertility, and her reproductive system.
One of the main arguments for abortion is that abortions are safe medical procedures that are employed mainly during the first trimester, when the fetus cannot survive independently from its mother. According to Humber (2009), patients can expect to return to work the day after both types of induced abortion, but will experience bleeding and cramping for about two weeks after the procedure (p. 118). As a result, the abortions have an overall complication rate of 0.01% and 1.16% for immediate complications (Humber, 2009, p. 118). In addition, it is thought to be more humane because the fetus has not developed pa...
There are two types of ways to have an abortion, surgical abortion or medical abortion. Surgical abortion is a procedure performed in two different ways. If the women is in the first trimester the procedure is done with a suction. Around the twelfth week depending on the woman, it takes 2 to 3 days to prepare the cervix for dilatation. Medical abortion is done with two types of pills, mifepristone is the first pill you take to stop embryo’s growth. The second pill is called misoprostol, is taken a few days later to expel the embryo. When the fetus is aborted it is only the size of an average palm. However, some children can survive, Gianna Jessen was aborted and did not die. Her biological mother had a late-term saline abortion, where salt is injected into the mother's womb and it burns the baby inside and
When human life becomes an option, that is when morality kicks in and the debates start. Human life is optional when abortion is in the scene, which is the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy. In 1973, abortion became legal in the United States, with each state having their specific guidelines to go along with it. Most states have restrictions on the time frame in which the termination can take place, normally between the first 6-28 weeks, while some have no time restrictions (Abortion Restrictions in States). Although this procedure is legalized, it is by no means close to being socially acceptable. Abortion is one of the most sensitive and controversial issues in today’s world because all lives are meant to be valued; when a
Abortion has been considered a controversy in the United States for many years. Abortion is the “expulsion of the fetus from the uterus.” (Robert H. Lauer) There are two different types of abortion, miscarriage and induced abortion. Women decided to have abortions for many different reasons and use it as a birth control plan. Many women decide that they can’t have the baby due to schooling, work, money and other responsibilities. Also, many women decide not to have the baby because they are single and don’t want to raise the child alone. (Robert H. Lauer) Although abortion has been legal in the United states recently, it was not legal in many states until 1973. (Thomson Reuters)
In 1973, the United States Supreme Court ruled that under the 14th Amendment, abortion is a woman’s decision. The ruling, in the case of “Roe vs. Wade”, further states a woman has a right to an abortion until “viability” which is defined as being able to live outside of the mother’s womb. Viability usually occurs around 28 weeks or 7 months. This means that a woman can abort a baby just two months before it is born. I strongly disagree with this ruling because this is killing innocent babies. Furthermore, many medical doctors confirm the fetus can feel pain as early as 18 weeks. Dr. Emidio Novembre spoke before the U.S. House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee. According to Dr. Novembre, “The fetus can perceive the pain, feel the pain and tries to avoid the pain. The fetus is a person and the person wants to live” (Reinhard). The fetus pain debate goes back at least as far as 1984, when President Ronald Reagan said, “Medical-science doctors confirm that when the lives of the unborn are snuffed out, they often feel pain, pain that is long and agonizing” (Yarrow). This evidence proves the fetus is a person and the attempts to kil...
Women would often die days later after having an abortion done at a clinic due to improper procedures performed in the abortion process ( Agresti, N.P). In a clinic abortion, the most common type of abortion performed during the first trimester of the pregnancy is called an “aspiration abortion” (In-Clinic Abortion Procedures at a Glance, N.P). During this procedure, the fetus’s heart needs to stop and would be done by an injection. Afterwards, the fetus is removed through the cervix with a vacuum and the rest is scraped with a curette. This can be unruly to witness as the tissues are discarded afterwards. In addition to aborting the child, the woman would have feelings of regret and they have the tendency to commit suicide more than a woman if she was suffering from post-mortem depression. The court case of “Roe vs Wade” legalizes abortion allowing more rights for the women but pro-life supporters argue that it counters the argument that all living things have their natural right protected. This right does not extend to the fetus and that is what pro-life supporters want to change. Abortion should not be legal as it violates the natural right of the unborn, can be considered murder and meddles with the morals and values of
Abortion, the termination of a fetus in a women’s early days of pregnancy, can have many benefits for women and also the fetus inside of the women. Abortion has been practiced since the 1650’s, and is still being practiced today in America. Although it used to be illegal, it became legal in 1973 after the court case, Roe v. Wade. This procedure has saved many lives over the years. Abortion can be performed surgically in a clinic, or with special pills to abort the fetus. Women should have the right to an abortion because it can save her life, she might have been raped or, taken drugs that might have harmed the fetus. Also, the fetus might have a disability and there is a chance that the mother might be a teen without enough money to support her baby financially.
Abortion defined is the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. Each year in the United States 1.6 million abortions are performed with 91% of them being performed during the first trimester (under 12 weeks of gestation). There are second trimester abortions as well (under 24 weeks of gestation) which occurs in 9% of the accumulative abortions a year in the United States. And about 100 abortions are performed in the third trimester (above 24 weeks gestation) this is approximately .01% of all abortions. 1.5 million U.S. women with unwanted pregnancies will choose abortion each year.
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by destruction of a fertilized egg, embryo or fetus before birth, prior to the time when the fetus attains viability, or capacity for life outside the uterus (Encyclopedia, 1995, p.43). Currently almost twenty-five percent of pregnancies in the United States are aborted. About one forth of people who abort are teenagers, fifty-seven percent are younger than 25, and almost eighty percent are unmarried. During the first trimester is when most of the abortions take place. Only about ten percent are performed later in the pregnancy (Slife, 1998, p.329). Abortions go back as far as Ancient Greece where it was used as a type of population control. Then in the Roman Times men had total control over the procedure. “Man could give law-enforced command that his wife have an abortion, or he could punish or divorce his wife for having one without his consent” (Encyclopedia, 1995, p.43).
Abortion is can be defined as the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, most often performed during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy (Dordon,2012). It is sensitive but yet popular topic that brings a lot of debate in both the government and as well as with religion and everyday life (Gauthier, 1986). Why is abortion such a controversial issue? The reason for this is because with abortion it allows a woman to put an end to their pregnancy when they want too (Korsgaard, 2013). The problem with that is when women do that they are also abolishing the life of a primitive embryo, also known as a fetus. The issue of abortion dates back to over thousands of years ago (Warren,1997). In the United States of America abortion began to become an issue around 1820 (Dordon,2012) . At the time the law had stated that abortion could only be performed on individuals if they had not reach the fourth month mark into their pregnancy(Gauthier, 1986). If they were already at the fourth mark they were rejected for legal abortion procedure and it was then considered illegal.There are different types of procedures that are used for an abortion (Korsgaard, 2013).There are only two types that are really in the United ...
Abortion is a deliberate medical or surgical procedure that terminates a pregnancy. The U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade legalized abortion allowing women to terminate their pregnancy within the first trimester, mobilizing advocates on both sides of the issue. Since then, abortion elicits conflicting views and has divided society into different opinions and different sides. People argue that women have a constitutional right to determine what to do with their bodies. Others say that a life is a life, no matter how small. In the United States, abortion is a controversial issue because it is a broad and complex subject that touches ethical, social, and legal issues. Although others believe a woman has the right to choose what she does with her body, abortion should not be legal because there is no consensus whether a fetus is a human, and there are other alternatives than abortion.
The deliberate termination of a human pregnancy is called an abortion. Abortions are a widely debated subject throughout the world. In the United States, abortions are legal due to the Roe v. Wade law. Some would argue that abortions are ethnically and morally wrong, while others assert it is simply a woman’s choice. There are a number of legitimate reasons why a woman would choose to abort her unborn; financial status, age and health are just a few. With today’s technology and a certified doctor, this procedure is harmless to both the mother and her fetus. Abortions are viewed by many as dangerous and immoral acts of humanity against an unborn fetus. But in reality, abortions terminate a pregnancy that could result in a child being born into a family with inadequate finances, irresponsible parenting, and possible health problems. For these reasons, abortions offer a perfectly viable solution in situations that would otherwise result in children being raised under circumstances that are at best, not ideal, and at worst, harmful and potentially dangerous.