Whether Abortion Is Justified or Not 
Abortion refers to the removal of a fetus, which is incapable of its own survival, by its mother or any other person without the consent of the mother. Abortion may be either controllable or uncontrollable. Abortion is considered uncontrollable when a mother has a miscarriage, while it is controllable when the mother willfully chooses to terminate a baby. Although the purpose of abortion seems simple, the discussion of a subject is very complex. The debate is so wide that the determination of whether abortion is allowed or not has become a question of interpretation. The dispute between the proponents and opponents of an issue has become irreconcilable leaving the subject controversial.
Opponents of abortion argue that the termination of the fetus is a selfish act of denying a chance of the unborn baby to live and survive like any other human being. Proponents of abortion, however, argue that the prospective mother of the child has a right to decide what happens to her body and thus, has a right to choose whether to keep or terminate pregnancy. A mother has a right to raise her children in a decent manner and thus, should not be forced to give birth to a baby if she is incapable of providing for him. Therefore, a question arises whether abortion is worse than murder and whether the government has a right to interfere with the way a mother controls her reproductive system. This gives a rise to another controversy, which is whether mothers, who have become the victims of rape and incest, should be forced to keep the pregnancy against their will. It is therefore clear from the above insights that the debate about abortion must be reasonably considered from both sides of the issue.
Opponents of abortion, who are more pro-life in nature, raise an argument for the preservation of life of the baby over the right of the mother to decide whether to keep or terminate pregnancy. On the other hand, those who advocate for the right of the mother to decide on her reproductive health are referred to as the pro-choice advocates. Catholic Church and the Christian coalition, for example, detest abortion arguing that the removal of the unborn baby is an act of murder, which is forbidden both by the law and God. They advance the idea that abortion violates one of the Ten Commandments of God, which forbid killing. Apart from protecting the life of a child, the pro-life advocates also believe that abortion is a very dangerous process that puts mother’s health in imminent danger. Pro-life advocates provide an alternative to abortion, which states that instead of terminating pregnancy, she can give birth to the child for adoption where it can have good attention. They further argue that if God did not approve children of their existence, he would have the mother miscarry rather than bless her with a child to commit an abortion.
Proponents of abortion are referred to as the prochoice arguing for the recognition of mother’s right over her own reproductive health. In the court of Roe V Wade (1973), for example, the supreme court of the United States of America stated that the right to privacy must receive a wide interpretation as to encompass the right of the mother to choose whether to keep or terminate pregnancy. However, it is not the only proposition as the pro-choice advocates are also interested in the preservation of mother’s life. Instances when the prochoice advocates feel that a mother is justified in terminating pregnancy include situations where the life of the mother is endangered or her pregnancy resulted from rape or incest. Prochoice advocates argue that if the mother planned to keep the child who was a product of rape or incest, she would be traumatized by reminding unpleasant experience that she had in the hands of the culprit. Children born as a result of incest are also considered a curse in a society and thus, the mother should not be condemned because the man is free.
As the world advances, modern ways of abortion emerge calling for special attention. Issues such as the use of emergency pills also raise a question of whether such acts are similar to abortion when the life of the child is yet to be formed. Even though in this case the lady may not be actually pregnant, the pills send the message to the brain that she is pregnant. Intention to terminate the child is then what is referred to as abortion. The woman takes the pills believing that the insemination had already created pregnancy and therefore, the pills aim at removing the fetus. Whether the fetus had been actually formed or not, the mother could have terminated it. Therefore, the pro-life advocates are confused whether such act equals abortion, which is forbidden.
In conclusion, the decision whether to choose the pro-life or pro-choice argument depends on the materials one chooses to read. Most materials pertaining to Planned Parenthood are more likely to be pro-life, whereas materials on human rights take a strong stand on the pro-choice side. The subject of abortion, however, remains controversial and the way one interprets it matters a lot. The question of whether abortion is justified, however, largely remains a moral one.
