The medical definition of abortion is the premature exit of the products of conception (the fetus, fetal membranes, and placenta) from the uterus (MedicineNet). However, science fails to mention that when the woman decides to end her fetus life, she is voluntarily committing murder. Abortion is a controversial topic that has been widely debated for decades, with no clear cut answer. Should the mother have the final choice or should the unborn baby have a right to life? There are other options, such as adoption, instead of ending the life of a fetus. The baby should not suffer the consequences for the choices of the mother and father that led to an accidental pregnancy.  Unborn babies should have a voice. Abortion should be illegal, except for in cases such as rape victims or harm to the mother because of the negative effects it causes for women, men, and the economy. 

The debate of abortion is widely rooted in whether or not people believe abortion is murder. The fact of the matter is that life begins the minute of conception, regardless of how far along the pregnancy is. The fetus is a growing and developing human inside of the mother's womb. According to Scientific Evidence That Abortion Is Murder, "The unborn baby is never part of the mother's body. By the end of the second week of pregnancy, there is a distinct embryo present with a developing brain and a rudimentary heart." Is it ethically "worse" to murder an adult than a fetus? What is the difference of killing an adult and killing a fetus? The only real difference is the adult had a chance to love, to live, and to make memories in this life. According to Kristi Brown, a pro-life attorney and county co-chair for Ted Cruz, in "Three Legal Reasons Why Abortion Should Be Banned," abortion must be illegal if murder is illegal because it should never be lawful to kill any innocent human being. In fact, federal laws already protect the unborn. 18 U.S.C.3596 is a federal law which states, "A sentence of death shall not be carried out upon a woman while she is pregnant" (18 U.S. Code  section  3596 - Implementation of a Sentence of Death). The law is essentially saying an innocent unborn person cannot be punished for a crime he/she did not commit (Brown). With respect to abortion, the same laws should apply; an innocent unborn person cannot be punished (murdered) for a choice he/she did not make. The counterargument that many feminists believe is that a woman should have control over her body and be able to make decisions regarding it. However, a pregnant woman is no longer the sole inhabitant of her body. Unless having a child will harm the mother's health or psychologically destroy her as a result of her experience of rape, there is no ethical reason to end the life of an innocent fetus before he/she gets the chance to live. 

The decision to murder one's own child leads to devastating and negative effects in the future. Many women rush into getting an abortion without thinking twice about the emotional affects they will encounter later on. In fact, abortion has become a common escape for many as 40% of women will end a pregnancy by abortion according to Suzanne Trupin, lead principal investigator of the Women's Health Practice clinical research division for over 20 years. In "The Mental Effects of Abortion," Jeanne Monahan shares a story about her friend who decided to get an abortion and said that not a day had passed where she did not think about her baby and regret her decision. Unfortunately, her friend made a choice with a permanent solution and will have to live with it for the rest of her life. In correlation, mothers who get an abortion have a high risk of suicide (Reardon). According to "Abortion Facts," studies show that women who suffered from post-abortion trauma found that 60% had suicide ideation, 28% had attempted suicide, and 18% attempted suicide on multiple occasions (Reardon). Many mothers carry a great deal of guilt post-abortion and do not know how to cope with it. Abortion is not the answer to release darkness and disparity because it will only leave the woman lonely and regretful. Abortion is a temporary solution to a stressful and unexpected time. Abortion is not good for a woman's mental health. According to Jeanne Monahan, President of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund, women who have an abortion are at an 81% increased risk for mental health problems, including anxiety disorders, depression, drug abuse, and suicidal behaviors; furthermore, 10% of all mental health problems in women can be directly attributed to abortion. It is critical that a woman who is considering abortion know all the information because her choice will impact her for the rest of her life. Women considering abortion should be forced to have counseling before they elect abortion. In counseling, they will be forced to think about their decision and will be given information regarding adoption and other resources if necessary. According to Kathryn Dykes, who is affiliated with Greater Manchester West Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, a study performed after women reached menopause showed that most women who terminated a pregnancy faced strains living with their actions long term (Dykes pg. 94-95). Whether the woman is single, married, dating, or part of a tragic rape experience, abortion affects mental health the same. 

Many people discuss the psychological effects of abortion on women, but many forget to include the effects on the father. The child is just as much the father's as it is the mother's, and although pregnancy only affects the mother's body, it is unfair and immoral to say that the father does not have a choice in saving his child from being murdered. According to Cynthia Tellefsen, who has worked hands-on with these men in her clinical practice for over 23 years, male abortion pain is the loss of fatherhood and a "wound you cannot see or feel, but it exists." After encountering an abortion experience, men found it to be more emotionally trying than expected and encountered a feeling of helplessness (Tellefsen). These "forgotten fathers" have to deal with the grief over the irrevocable loss of their child and the guilt of not protecting their offspring (Tellefsen). Men tend to grieve differently than women as they are more private about their feelings. Men tend to internalize their grief and can even hear their child's voice in their head saying, "'Daddy don't let me die'" (Tellefsen). Men feel so helpless in the face of abortion because the choice is not ultimately up to them. Abortion upsets the man's masculinity as it eats away at the man's internal instinct to protect, provide, and be strong, and instead makes them helpless and weak (Tellefsen). A man (who is unnamed) shares his story on "Abortion is the Unchoice." He had gotten two of his girlfriend's pregnant at a young age and was told abortion is the only fix (Abortion is the Unchoice). He says, "It ultimately lead to the death of Jonathan Michael, who would now be 30-plus years old and doing something I never gave him the chance to do" (Abortion is the Unchoice). When he got his second girlfriend pregnant, he wanted to keep the baby but the parents agreed the kids were not ready (Abortion is the Unchoice). He says, "This lead to the abortion of Zachary Allen, who would be following his older brother's lead in the life I didn't fight for" (Abortion is the Unchoice). He goes on to say, "My role in two abortions has been long-lasting. I can tell you that the mental and emotional effects on a man are real and devastating. I've had a divorce, no current relationship with my two living sons, countless unfinished projects, and several jobs left before true success-mainly because I never felt I deserved it" (Abortion is the Unchoice). According to Cynthia Tellefsen, a man can play six different roles in abortion: he does not know his partner is pregnant, and she aborts; he knows his partner is pregnant but does not share his true feelings about abortion in attempt to try to love and respect his partner; he pressures her to abort; he supports her decision to abort; he openly opposes the abortion; or he completely abandons her. In any case, the effects are different but all negative and lasting (Tellefsen). The discussion of the effects of abortion are becoming more popular and are even talked about on popular T.V. shows. Grey's Anatomy is a show about a group of surgeons and their work and personal lives. One of the main characters, Christina Yang (a cardiothoracic surgeon) is married to Owen Hunt (chief of surgery). Owen has always dreamed of having kids but Christina never wanted any. They got married anyway, and Owen assumed she would change her mind once she got older; however, she did not. Christina ends up getting pregnant by accident and is devastated while her husband is ecstatic. She tells him that she is getting an abortion and schedules the appointment. They fought for many episodes, and their marriage was filled with awkward silences and anger. Owen tells her that it is not fair to make the sole decision because it is equally their child. However, after a lot of fighting, he tells her that he would go with her to the appointment in attempt to try to love and respect Christina. Their marriage was steady for a couple episodes; however, the fight about the abortion continued. In a heated argument, Owen screams at Christina yelling, "You killed our child! And I can never forgive you for that." It leads to cheating and a broken marriage. Although this is a dramatized example of the effects of abortion, it still exemplifies the strains it can put on a previously great marriage. 

Abortion not only negatively affects the women, causes grief in the men, and involves the killing of a baby, but it also largely affects the economy. Gina Diorio uses the published research of Mark A. Olson, a former liberal community organizer turned pro-life consultant. He states, "Abortion in America has cost our nation more than $16 trillion in federal revenue." Olson calculated this number by taking the population loss due to abortion (126,469,904) and applied the per capita individual tax burden to the lost population due to abortion per year. Needless to say, the interest of the economy is at stake. Olson concludes that the fiscal problem our nation is facing can only be solved by ending abortion. Obviously life is sacred apart from economics, but arguing the effects of abortion without mentioning its effects on economics would be incomplete (Diorio). There is fault in these statistics because not every fetus would grow up to be a tax payer or a contributing adult to society; however, abortion is obviously still a detriment to the economy. There is no way of knowing the contribution these unborn babies could have made, but should they not deserve a chance? According to Mitch Behna, since the legalization of abortion in 1973 by Roe v. Wade, over 50 million babies have died in the United States with over 3,000 killed on a daily basis. Not only is it terrible morally, but can you imagine how many more contributions these babies could have made to the world? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Social Security Administration, Guttmacher Institute, and National Center for Health Statistics, "if abortion had never been legalized in 1973, more than 17 million people would be employed, resulting in an additional $400 billion from those workers, with $11 million contributed to Medicare and $47 million contributed to Social Security" (Behna). Abortion advocates will say that the cost of raising children burdens their parents and the public with additional welfare spending (Antkowiak). However, according to Laura Antkowiak, NRL research assistant, "Even if the child were to receive welfare for a longer period of time, spend three times as much time in prison as the average America, and be unemployed for three times longer, that child's tax payments would still bring a substantial return on the dollars spent supporting her through welfare." Children play a huge role in the economy as consumers, workers, innovators, and taxpayers (Antkowiak). 

Adoption is the best alternative for abortion. According to "Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," 1.5 million married women are infertile in the United States. There are ways to treat infertility; however, it is expensive and largely unsuccessful (CDC). These couples, who are unable to have children of their own, will willingly adopt from a woman who is going to abort and may even go through the process of pregnancy with her. One woman, Denise, explains how she got pregnant when she was 18 years old and in college. She says that she had everything going for her and did not want to lose that (Denise). She went to Planned Parenthood for a free pregnancy test where a counselor explained to her that since this was an unplanned pregnancy, and Denise had so much going for her, the only option was abortion. Denise, being self-centered and naive at that age, believed her and had the abortion. Shortly after the abortion, Denise says, "I went into a deep depression. I dropped out of school and fought with my parents. I had an abusive and manipulating boyfriend and I was miserable. I was suicidal and cold hearted." Two months later, she got pregnant again, but this time she decided to give her child up for adoption. She says, "I will always regret being responsible for taking the life of my first baby. I have NEVER regretted giving a life to a deserving couple." Gianna Jessen is a woman who was on the flip-side of this experience. Her mother was 7 1/2 months pregnant with her and was advised by Planned Parenthood to have a late-term saline abortion. This method of abortion burns the baby from inside and out and blinds and suffocates the child (YouTube Testimony before Congress). After 18 hours of being burned in her mother's womb, Gianna Jessen was born alive (YouTube Testimony before Congress). She was adopted by two wonderful parents and was given a chance to live a great life. In Gianna's testimony before Congress, she reads a quote from the founder of Planned Parenthood: "'The most merciful thing that a large family does to one of its infant members is to kill it.'" She asks Planned Parenthood, "'If abortion is about women's rights, then where were mine?'" Gianna Jessen argues that Planned Parenthood cannot determine the quality of someone's life. Planned Parenthood receives $500 million in tax payer's money a year to primarily destroy and dismember babies (YouTube Testimony before Congress). What if Planned Parenthood advised adoption as readily as they advised abortion?

How do we solve the issue of abortion? Carl Djerassi, an eminent chemist who created the birth control pill, states that improving education, better utilization of birth control throughout the world, and making contraceptives cheaper and readily available in high schools are steps to lessening abortion rates. Educating children in junior high and high school about safe sex, how to use contraceptives, and other alternatives besides abortion are crucial. There should be free counseling visits for every student at every high school so they can go to a safe place and ask questions about sex and pregnancy that they may not be able to ask their parents. Women who are pregnant and considering abortion need to be given all their options, and educated on the negative psychosocial effects she will face post-abortion. Mandatory counseling for women considering abortion should be enforced to present alternatives and resources to the woman. 

Abortion is a heavily debated and controversial topic, and although many people are pro-life, many people are also pro-choice. One of those people is Sady Doyle, who argues that abortion is actually a palpable social good. She believes that if people understood the positive aspects of abortion, people might actually start to admit that they like it. She claims that abortion saves lives, improves lives, and makes for a stronger society when in fact, abortion does the exact opposite. Abortion kills babies, causes depression and suicidal thoughts in mothers and fathers who choose abortion, and destroys the economy. Doyle believes that parents should not be forced to endure the cost of childbirth unless they choose to do so. While that may be right in a sense, children should not be forced to endure the cost of death against their will. It is not healthy for parents to have children unless they want them; however, every decision must suffer a consequence. If couples choose to not have safe sex and properly use contraception, then they will have to live with the consequences. However, on the bright side, adoption (as discussed earlier) is a great plan for parents who do not want children. Pro-choice advocates may also say that making abortion illegal will lead to unsafe back alley abortions. However, this is false because that mentality assumes that the legality of abortion does not influence a woman's willingness to have an abortion (Abort73.com). External restrictions largely impact the frequency of abortion (Abort73.com). According to What About Illegal Abortions, "Women who live in close proximity to abortion facilities are twice as likely to have an abortion than women who don't; women who have their abortions publicly paid for are up to three times as likely to abort; and requiring women to make a second trip to the abortion clinic makes them 15% less likely to abort" (Abort73.com). Furthermore, this back alley abortion argument has no solid historical basis (Abort73.com). Dr. Bernard Nathanson, cofounder of National Abortion Rights Action League, legitimized the claim that 10,000 women were dying due to back alley abortions per year prior to the legalization of abortion (Abort73.com). Before Dr. Nathanson's death, he admitted the number was false saying, "I confess that I knew the figures were totally false, and I suppose the others did too if they stopped to think of it. The overriding concern was to get the laws eliminated, and anything within reason that had to be done was permissible" (Abort73.com). Centers for Disease Control reports that 39 women died from illegal abortions in the United States and 24 women died from legal abortion the year prior to legalization of abortion (Abort73.com). According to What About Illegal Abortions, "The number of women 'saved' by legal abortion from 1970 to 1980 was 0.0001% of the total number of innocent human beings killed by legal abortion" (Abort73.com). 

Abortion should be illegal, except for in cases such as rape victims or harm to the mother because the negative effects of abortion outweigh any argument for pro-choice. Abortion should be illegal because no mother should suffer the guilt of killing her own baby. Women who become pregnant by accident are not always in the right state of mind to be making such a large decision that will impact the rest of their lives. Men should not have to feel weak and helpless in the face of watching their partner make the decision to kill their child. Innocent, voiceless children should not have to suffer the consequences for choices they did not make. Abortion is not a form a birth control; it is voluntarily killing a child. Children growing up should not be taught that killing a child is a socially approved form of birth control. The economy should not suffer because carrying a baby for nine months and giving it to a family who cannot conceive a child of their own is just too hard. Abortion can be made illegal, but it will take compromising from both sides. Pro-life must allow cases such as rape victims or harm to the mother to have the option of abortion and pro-choice must understand that a pregnant woman is no longer the sole inhabitant of her body and must value the choice of the child. Society must come together in harmony and value life for what it is. Making abortion illegal will lead to more social contributions from children who now get to have the chance to live, improved mental health to men and women, and opportunities for families to have children that cannot conceive themselves.  

