Controversial Paper 5: Abortion

Before you read this, I want to say something. I hardly did this topic justice; there is so much passion and emotion in this debate that I can never portray. Abortion is such a heinous sin, and there are so many giants who fight every day to stop it. This paper barely scratches the surface, and I hope we can all pray that God would continue to guide those who are considering abortions, and that he would see fit to bring his Word to them.

Timothy Wong

Matthew Wood

April 3, 2015

On the Inhumanity and Legality of Abortion

            Abortion has been and is one of the most discussed, most hotly debated, and most zealously defended topics in today’s society. Both Pro-Life and Pro-Choice defendants have strong opinions and powerful evidences for their sides, causing the debate to rage on. However, at this point in American society, abortion is legal in most areas. Many support this decision, advocating for such benefits as a woman’s freedom over her own body, or the valuable research that can be gained from aborted fetuses. However, I believe that abortion is wrong and inhumane, not only from a religious standpoint but from a moral and ethical one.

            The most common argument from Pro-Choice advocates is that a mother has a right to life, and a right to choose what happens to the life inside her. She has a right to her own body. And, in many cases, she has a right to abortion especially if her own life is threatened by the fetus, “when the fetus is seriously in danger to the life of the mother herself” (1). In this case, it is a dilemma of whether the mother or the fetus has a greater right to life. I would consider it an issue of the lesser of two evils. Legally, however, the mother has the greater right to life. “The common law rule is that a fetus is not considered a living human being until it has been born alive” (2). However, I would argue that it is the right and responsibility of the mother not only to protect her own life, but to protect the life of her unborn child. The fetus has no will or ability to defend itself; should not its mother then be concerned with its well-being and right to life?

            This argument, I believe, is supported scientifically by a study performed at Princeton University. “..scientifically there is absolutely no question whatsoever that the immediate product of fertilization is a newly existing human being. A human zygote is a human being. It is not a ‘potential’ or ‘possible’ human being. It’s an actual human being with the potential to grow bigger and develop its capacities” (3). As a living human being with the potential for life, I believe a mother ought to have the same responsibility to this child as she would her born children, or any other person. Furthermore, if a child is to be aborted because of a genetic deficiency, this poses an even greater moral issue. If we choose to abort a fetus because it is or would be mentally or physically disabled, what stops us from doing the same to other adults or children who are disabled? “…it is [as] morally wrong to kill [a] disabled fetus as it is to kill disabled adults; thus shows no more respect or hostility to disabled people and gradually discriminate against them” (1).

            From a scientific standpoint, unborn children, even at the earliest stages, have unique genetic material and are considered human beings. From a legal standpoint, while many still uphold the “born-again” rule in regards to fetal homicide that is quickly changing. The Duke Law Journal states, “Moreover, the born-alive rule serves no purpose in the modern law other than to blindly imitate the past. The rule has simply outlived both its necessity and utility, and states should accordingly abandon it” (4). Finally, from a moral standpoint I suggest that abortion, even in protection of a mother’s life, and especially when an issue of convenience or disability, is inhumane, immoral, and wrong. At the very least, even if a mother is become pregnant as a result of rape or incest, the child ought to be considered a human being, and a vulnerable one at that, one without rights or any way to defend themselves. There are many critical factors to consider before deciding that abortion is the right option, and I do believe it is wrong in all circumstances.  

(1)   Pich, C. (2012, November 2). Should Abortion be legalized? Retrieved April 3, 2015, from https://www.academia.edu/8354859/Should_Abortion_be_legalized

(2)   Definitions of Life and Death. (n.d.). Retrieved April 3, 2015, from http://nationalparalegal.edu/public_documents/courseware_asp_files/criminalLaw/homicide/DefinitionsofLifeandDeath.asp

(3)   Irving, D. (1999, February 1). When Do Human Beings Begin? Retrieved April 3, 2015, from http://www.princeton.edu/~prolife/articles/wdhbb.html

(4)   Curran, D. (n.d.). ABANDONMENT AND RECONCILIATION: ADDRESSING POLITICAL AND COMMON LAW OBJECTIONS TO FETAL HOMICIDE LAWS. Retrieved April 3, 2015, from http://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1397&context=dlj