Legalization of Abortion
The pro-choice supports legalization of abortion and argues that is upon an individual to choose whether to have an abortion or not. They believe in the theory that life begins at birth stating that an embryo in the first three months is just a potential human being but not actual one (Peikoff). It is therefore the choice of a woman to give the embryo a chance to proceed to a human being or terminate it.
The embryo, in its first trimester, is a part of the human body just like appendix and can be removed when one chooses to. It does not exist independently and cannot therefore have rights – including the right to life. There are various reasons that allow a woman to perform abortion. They include: unwanted pregnancy, pregnancy resulting from rape or incest and lack of finances to support the baby after the birth. Women who get pregnant when they are not prepared always face frustrations and should be allowed to abort since they will end up not taking good care of their children when born. Those that get pregnant as a result of rape or incest should also not be left to bear the child if they do not want.
Some people may argue that they should be left to carry their babies until delivery and adopt the baby while forgetting that the pregnancy will be reminding the woman of the trauma she passed through. What about if she does not get a place to adopt the baby? The baby will be surely reminding her of the things she passed through at the day when she was raped during all her life. Taking care of a child needs time, effort, and money. It requires a lot of concentration of the mother during the first three years. At the later stages in the child’s life, finances are required to give the child basic needs such as food, shelter, and clothing. If the mother skint and is not ready, why should she be punished for her entire life? Pro-choice also argues that it is good judgment to terminate the life of the unborn and save the life of the mother rather than losing both incase the mother’s health is in danger.
They add that it is good to save the mother’s life because, being an adult, she can still bear and give birth to another child. Moreover, human beings have a right to choose. There is no reason therefore forbid a woman to choose abortion. When abortion is not legalized, many unwanted children will be born who will be subjected to different kinds of violence. Some of them will be left on their own and turn into street children.
Subjecting a child into abuse, violence, and suffering is totally immoral. Many people may complain of increased crime but they do not think of what might have caused the crime. Many of the criminals may be those children who were born and neglected by their parents, not because their mothers wanted, but because of the tough laws on abortion.
