Abortion
About 29 years ago, Norma McCorvey, who then
adopted the pseudonym Jane Roe,
became the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit to
challenge the strict anti-abortion
laws in Texas. The case was appealed to
the Supreme Court, which handed down its
controversial ruling on January 22,
1973. The decision legalized abortion in all
fifty states and sparked a
sociopolitical debate that remains charged to this
day. However, McCorvey
never had an abortion and eventually gave away the child
for adoption. In
1995, she converted to Christianity and became a fervent
adversary of
abortion. The woman who had fought for women to have the freedom to
decide
what to do with their bodies came to see pro-abortionists as
killers.
Let’s first take a look at some of the circumstances in which
people may
decide to abort a child. I think it’s a misconception to think
that people
will only opt for abortion in cases of unplanned parenthood.
Today’s
technology enables us to see at a very early stage of the pregnancy
if the baby
is in good health. If tests show that something is wrong and that
the baby will
never be able to survive or will only grow to be a certain age,
parents often
have a very difficult decision to make. In these cases, I think
that parents
definitely have the right to opt for abortion. I find it sad
that, while those
people go through a living hell, they are judged for their
actions, often by
people who obviously haven’t been in their situation and
judge them as killers
who took an innocent life. It’s far more complex than
that. Unwanted
pregnancies remain the main reason to opt for abortion. Here
again, the matter
is very complex and there isn’t a solution that is valid in
every situation.
If the pregnancy is the result of rape or sexual abuse,
there should be no
discussion. The victim has the right to choose for
abortion. Mostly, unwanted
pregnancies are the result of unsafe sex. In these
cases, I feel that the mother
has the right to decide what she is going to do
with the baby, as young men
often don’t want to take the responsibility for
their actions. If they do,
then the couple should decide together. An
important aspect of the decision is
financial security. If you decide to have
the child, you have to be certain that
you will be able provide clothes and
food for it. If not, I think that abortion
is an acceptable solution.
Hopefully, these young people will have learnt a
valuable lesson from this
predicament. The support of parents - or lack thereof
- also plays an
important role in the decision-making process. If they are
supportive and
want to help the young mother to the best of their abilities, the
decision
becomes a lot easier. I don’t think, however, that abortion should be
seen as
some kind of safety valve. People confronted with unwanted
pregnancies
shouldn’t think that they can have sex without contraceptives and
if they get
pregnant, they’ll just have the fetus aborted. That’s a totally
wrong and
regrettable mentality that I see too often among young people
nowadays. And if
not to prevent pregnancy, they should at least use
contraceptives to prevent
attracting STDs. Undoubtedly, there will always be
people who are in favor of
abortion and others who are against it. Religious
beliefs will keep playing an
important role in the debate. However, I don’t
think that people who opt for
abortion should be seen as killers. If you are
not sure that you will be able to
provide a secure future for the child or if
the pregnancy is a result of sexual
abuse, there are sufficient grounds for
abortion. I feel that people who do opt
for abortion shouldn’t be judged for
their actions. To form an opinion of
people, one should have all the facts.
Unfortunately, that is often not
the
case.