Abortion is wrong because of the cruel ways in which the mother ends the life of her baby. There are many other ways in which the life of the baby can be avoided or preserved. Although abortion is at an all-time high, society should not find it acceptable. Abortion is wrong in all cases after 20 weeks, but is acceptable before then in the case of rape, incest, or to benefit the health of the mother. It should be illegal to have abortion after 20 weeks, because murder is illegal. The United States should not promote or condone such cruel procedures by allowing them to be legal.

As political debates take place during this year's election, a common topic of interest is abortion, whether it should or should not be considered acceptable in today's society. For decades the question of whether abortion should be legal has been at our hands and continues to stir controversy. The solution is not a yes or no answer, but instead, a question of when isn't abortion appropriate. Every state has their own laws concerning abortion. Every life is a blessing, and should be treated as such, abortion is not a decision that should be taken lightly.

Abortion is the process in which an unborn child is killed. There are two types of abortion, surgical and medical. There are three types of surgical abortion. One of which is called partial birth abortion, the woman lies flat and the unborn baby is delivered head first, the head is then punctured at the base. The second type is called dilation and evacuation, in which sharp edged tools are used to grasp, twist, and tear the baby's body into little pieces, which are then removed from the womb. The third process is called, saline abortion, salt water is injected into the womb through the mother's stomach, then unborn baby swallows and as a result is severely burned; this process can take up to 24 hours to kill (American Pregnancy). 

Medical abortion is a type of non-surgical abortion in which pharmaceutical drugs are used to abort the baby, it is generally in the form of a pill. The name for the abortion pill is mifepristone, possible risks are allergic reactions to the pill or, "incomplete abortion, when part of the pregnancy is left inside the uterus, failure to end the pregnancy, infection, blood clots in the uterus, undetected ectopic pregnancy, very heavy bleeding," (In-Clinic Abortion Procedures). The process takes from three to four weeks, and can be used up to nine weeks from the conception of the baby. 

The FDA approves of medical abortion up to seven weeks after the conception, the very earliest to get an abortion is three weeks. The limit is seven weeks because at this time, the nose, mouth, ears, eyes and nostrils are beginning to form, making the fetus a functioning baby. If you are, "under 18, the FDA requires one or both of your parents to give permission for your abortion or be told of your decision prior to the abortion," (Planned Parenthood). In most cases, "a legal guardian can give permission or be notified in place of a parent," (Planned Parenthood). If you are documented showing that you are independent of the care/control of your parents or a guardian, you do not have to get their permission or have to notify them. In some states, you can be excused from involving a parent with the permission of a judge if you are the victim of abuse and it has been reported to the police. 

In each state of the United States of America, every child has a right to life, and no child shall be subjected to torture, cruel treatment, unlawful arrest, or deprivation of liberty. These rights are listed in the preamble of the, "Convention on the Rights of the Child," to preserve human rights and prevent human cruelty. Yet, the government still allows women to kill their babies every day. Without laws stopping abortion, one cannot expect to preserve the life of every child. 

Rape is a reason for abortion that is often overlooked, women are frowned upon for having an abortion when it was not at all their fault they got pregnant in the first place. To make a woman carry a child that reminds her of a traumatic incident is cruel. Abortion is a cruel act, but sometimes has justification. Many use the health of the baby as an excuse for abortion, but only health issues that cause early death should be used as a reason for abortion. Many children are born with health issues such as mental illnesses and live a happy life. For children born under the circumstance of abortion, the mother should still consider having the baby if no sever illnesses are apparent. However, for others who got pregnant on the account of irresponsibility, there are options such as adoption. 1.5 million American families want a child and are considering adopting a child, there is no such thing as an unwanted child. Over half a million women adopt children every year, majority of which are new born.  Millions of families in the United States are looking for newborn babies, because they either do not want to carry the child because of risk or unable to carry a child for health reasons. A large number of women across the U.S. are waiting on a child to be born after already completing adoption paperwork and background checks.

At 20 weeks, the fetal brain has most of the brain cells that are present during adulthood and can feel the pain signals from the body. At this age, "the fetus can feel the pain more intensely than that of an adult," (Unborn Babies Can Feel Pain). The skeleton is complete and reflexes are present by six weeks. All organs are functioning, such as stomach, liver, kidney and brain. All systems are intact and the baby has complete fingers, toes and ears by 7 weeks. The fetus has hair, working vocal cords, sucks its thumb, and can grasp with its hand and kicks. By the age of 20 weeks, "the fetus measures around twelve inches," (BabyCenter). The average baby after full term is 20 inches. The baby at 20 weeks is over half its potential length and can be born fully functional. For those that argue that the fetus is nothing more than a clump of cells, are incorrect, that clump of cells is fully functional and able to live a normal life. It is invalid to argue that the fetus is not an actual baby, life begins at conception. 

Since life begins at conception, abortion is synonymous with murder, because it is the act of taking a human life.  Abortion should not be used as another form of contraception. The purpose of the "U.S. Abortion Statistics," website is to provide strictly facts so that one can make their own opinion. The facts were shocking, shedding light on number such as, one out of three women in the United States has had an abortion by the age of 45. Half of the woman in the United States have had an abortion in their lifetime for reasons such as they are not ready, cannot afford to support a child, do not want to be a single mother, have all the children they desire, and/or do not want people to know they have had sex, or are pregnant. Americans have aborted 48, 589, 993 children since 1973 (Dave Thomas).  Some would argue that, "Abortion goes against the commonly accepted idea of the sanctity of human life, and how it should be treasured by all," although allowing abortion to be legal goes against this, most religious groups believe that a life is to be looked upon as precious (Women and American Religion). Abortion punishes the unborn child who committed no crime.  

The Bible states in the ten commandments as number six, ""Thou shalt not kill" (New Kings James version), an abortion is a form of murder, and Exodus 21:22-23 compares the killing of an unborn child to being murder. Psalms says "Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him" (Psalm 127:3-5), this quote explains the pride and joy that should come with conceiving of a child. The Bible is a collection of texts that describe what God's children are supposed to be, and directly speaks on the topic of murder. In 1989, the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child because "the child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care" and because "in all countries of the world, there are children living in exceptionally difficult conditions" (Taking Sides. Vol. 13). In each state of the United States of America, every child has a right to life, and no child shall be subjected to torture, cruel treatment, unlawful arrest, or deprivation of liberty. These rights are listed in the preamble of the "Convention on the Rights of the Child," to preserve human rights and prevent human cruelty. Thomas Jefferson once said, "The care of human life and not its destruction ... is the first and only legitimate object of good government."

Many believe that the life of the child is part of the mother, therefore it is her choice whether to carry the pregnancy to full term or to abort it, while others believe that the life of a baby is not a choice that any one person should have, because it's a life that God made. The sources I read agree that abortion is a serious decision, where the disagreement begins is who should be responsible for this decision. Some of the other sources disagree on whether the process of abortion is safe physically and mentally. The question of whether abortion should be legal is one of morals and will never have an agreement across the board, because no two people have the same morals. It is up to the government to set guidelines and put laws in place to preserve the rights of the unborn, George W. Bush said, "I do not believe the promises of the Declaration of Independence are just for the strong, the independent, the healthy. They are for everyone-including unborn children." 

American women argue that it is their choice to do what they want with their bodies and their children, and that abortion is a safe treatment to exterminate the life of an unwanted baby. The ability to take away this right of women, and tell them what to do with their bodies is controversial and a sensitive topic. This is because woman for years have fought for their rights, and limitations on abortion are seen as a way of taking them away. 

However, for women who demand, "complete control of their body, control should include preventing the risk of unwanted pregnancies through the responsibility and use of contraception or, through abstinence" (10 Common). 60% percent of Americans are against abortion and 51% of Americans are against using tax dollars to fund abortion; therefore it is, and should be seen as morally wrong to use tax dollars to fund such a procedure (Guttmacher Institute). Many women who have an abortion are under the age of 25 and do not have enough life experience to understand fully what they are doing. Many have lifelong regrets afterwards. Abortion is known to cause intense psychological pain. Studies show that, "more women suffer long-term mental disorders such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder following abortion than miscarriage or child birth." Beyond the emotional stress that comes, "Abortion is the only surgery for which the surgeon is not obligated to inform the patient of the possible risks of the procedure, or even the exact nature of the procedure.  Indeed, abortion providers are the only medical personnel who have a 'constitutional right' to withhold information, even when directly questioned by the patient,"(Aborted Women). Paul John's "3 Ways to Make the Pro-Life Argument to People Who Don't Care about the Child," is about why abortion is wrong, not just for the baby, but for the mother. Abortion increases the risks of breast cancer and depression, also suicide rates amongst those that who have had an abortion are six times higher than those who have not. This is most likely caused by the knowledge that they have taken a life intentionally, opposed to the accidental loss of a life which the human mind is used to dealing with. Meaghan Winter is a journalist who conducted a series of interviews on women of all ages and background about their abortions. Throughout the interviews, she noticed that a number of them were traumatized by their choice to end a life (My Abortion). Abortion is not to be taken lightly, and the decision more times than not, can lead to depression and post-traumatic stress. 

Abortion is a surgical procedure that ends the life of another human being. Abortion is ultimately wrong because it is taking the life of a child that has not had the chance to live. Life starts at the conception of a baby, and abortion is a way of ending it. This offends God by condescending his power, and the natural rights of humans. Abortion has proven unsafe physically and emotionally because it has been known to ruin future chances of getting pregnant. A life created is to be treasured and taken care of, not to be taken away without a chance at life.

