
For centuries, women have turned to abortion to terminate unwanted pregnancies. Abortion was first legalized in 1973 in the court case Roe vs. Wade, the supreme court ruled that abortion was a decision that the mother could make on her own because it was her body and her right to privacy. The ruling seemed to separate America and to this day abortion is a very emotional and controversial topic. The abortion controversy consists of two sides: pro-choice and pro-life. Pro-choice supporters support abortion being legal and think that abortion is a choice that the mother makes and think that women should be able to do what they want because it is their body and that’s their right. They also believe that the fetus is not a human being because it is just a clump of cells therefore abortion is not murder. Pro-choice believers also think that there are no complications associated with the procedure. On the contrary, Pro-life believers think that abortion is murder and a sin because the fetus’ life begins after conception and is a human being. Pro-life believers also think that there are many complications associated with the procedure and think that abortions are very dangerous. Since the topic is so controversial, many people don’t want to talk about the issue publicly and sometimes forget how many children and families are suffering. When the court legalized abortion they made women feel that their choice to abort was okay and acceptable to society. The government felt that by giving women the right to do what they wanted with their baby would make women feel as if they had some sort of power, but someone else’s life shouldn’t be jeopardized just so women can feel powerful. Many people don’t think that women choose to abort as often in today’s society but according to CNN more that 700,000 abortions were performed in 2012. Abortions should be made illegal because abortion is murder, an abomination of God, can often lead to health complications, causes mental illnesses in both the mother and families and increases adoption rates. 

Over the last few years, researchers and scientists have been trying to find proof that life begins after conception. Scientists have supported their thoughts by saying that after the chromosomes have come together and formed the fetus, it is considered a human being. Scientists have found that the fetus is developing and growing just days after conception, four weeks after fertilization the heart is beating and a circulation system is in place. (Agresti) . Pro-choice believers say that abortion is not murder because the fetus is just tissue and has not fully developed.  Most abortions are performed within the first thirteen weeks, so the

baby has already developed and has a heartbeat, so therefore is considered alive. Abortion is murdering an innocent unborn baby, not just removing a sack of cells out of a women’s womb. Many pro-choice believers justify their believe that abortions doesn’t cause harm because the fetus is not developed enough and is still in the womb, but fetuses are developing every day that they are in the womb and can endure pain, so abortions are putting the fetus through a lot of pain and is physically hurting them. (Podell) Aborting a baby is wrong because women are taking away a life that will never have the chance to live or experience things that we do. The baby doesn’t have a voice in the decision and are robbed of their right to live. During my research I came across an article that was written by a doctor that discussed his beliefs of abortions. Dr. Baumgartner compared abortions to the millions of Jews that were killed in the Holocaust. In this situation, women are like Hitler when they decide to have an abortion, they are taking the lives of their child just because they have the power to do so and because it’s a convenience to them. Why does society stand behind women that choose to terminate their pregnancy but is outraged by what Hitler did in the Holocaust? These are very similar situations that involve the killings of innocent people. Women try to make themselves feel less guilt by telling themselves that the fetus can’t feel pain or is just a bunch of cells, but in reality women need to understand that their baby has already started to develop after conception and can feel their limbs being ripped apart by pliers during an abortion. 

Along with abortion being a crime, it is also a sin and abomination of God. God says in the bible thou shall not kill. Even though people argue that the fetus is not living, research proves that this is wrong. Having an abortion is against God’s teaching and is immoral. God made his teaching for his children to follow, he emphasizes that we should not kill or murder. Abortion is killing an innocent child of god. Hypothetically, if a woman kills her two-year-old son she is considered a murderer and will face jail time. So why does society allow women to kill their unborn babies without thinking twice about it? Today, generally people do not follow God’s teaching as much as they used to, so this could be why some people are much supportive of abortions. Every part of God’s creation is good and special and he creates his children with love. Abortion is the worst kind of murder because it killing innocent unborn children that have not created any sin. 

Women who have abortions are highly likely to have health issues following the procedure. Although some women feel a sense of relief after having an abortion, most are found to be very distraught. Women can face risk after an abortion such as injury to the uterus or cervix potentially damaging intestines or bladder, hemorrhage, infection and death. (Levatino) These conditions are very serious and can lead to have life changing effects to the women’s life like having to have doctor’s appointments all the time and procedures to fix the mistakes. Abortions can cause women to have complications with future pregnancies such as becoming infertile, meaning it would be difficult to have a baby in the future. If a woman decides to have another baby, the baby could suffer life-threatening complications and many times not make it through the end of the pregnancy. Many teenagers turn to abortion because they aren’t responsible enough or ready to raise a child, they could potentially suffer health complications for the rest of their lives because of an abortion. This simple procedure can change the lives of millions of teenage girls and young women for the negative.  If abortions were made illegal, it would allow for these women and their future children’s lives to not be put on the line and decrease the health risks associated. 

Along with health risks, abortion also causes women to suffer from mental illnesses.  Women can often suffer from Post Abortion Stress Syndrome(PASS) that can lead to women having symptoms of guilt, anxiety, depression, flashbacks and suicidal thoughts. (Babbel) PASS is very similar to PTSD, a condition that many soldiers suffer from when they return home from war. PASS can put women in a very dark state of mind and often cause them to not want to leave their homes or associate with anyone. Women can go through a great deal of guilt after having an abortion because they feel bad for the decision that they made to abort their baby and can often feel that they made the wrong decision. Since abortions are such a permanent thing, women can suffer their whole lives wondering if they made the right decision to kill her baby. Women who had miscarriages only suffered with anxiety and depression for a few months, but women who had abortions suffered for two to five years. (Boyles) Suffering that long can be detrimental to someone’s life and their relationships that they have with their families. Many women do not know how to cope with depression and therefore turn to drugs and alcohol as a coping mechanism. In the article “Abortion and Subsequnet Substance Abuse”, Reardon conducted a research experiment to see if there was a correlation between abortions and substance abuse. Reardon found that women who have had an abortion are more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol. Drug and alcohol abuse can change and uncontrollable take over someone’s life. Another way that women deal with depression is by taking anti-depressant medications from their doctor, but sometimes the medication can put the women in a more depressing state or not work at all.  Mental illnesses associated with abortions should be taken seriously because it is affecting millions of women around the world and no one should have to live their life suffering with these illnesses due to one procedure.

Additionally, abortions tend to affect the father of the baby and even the family members. Losing a child is never easy for a mother, but also for the grandparents, father, aunts, uncles, or even cousins. (Flanders) Women are being selfish when they choose to abort because they are not thinking of the repercussions of their actions and how great of an impact it will leave on their family. Family members can also go through depression and guilt because they are losing a part of their family, the depression and guilt is compared to as if a mother had a miscarriage because the family is in shock and aren’t sure how to process the information. Abortion causes many family members to become angry and confused, resulting in tension in relationships and families breaking apart. People often jump to conclusions that the reason the mother chooses to abort is because the father talks her into it, but many times the woman won’t let the father know because she doesn’t want to jeopardize their relationship. However, the father can often become so angry that he isn’t able to look at the woman the same for the choice that she made to abort their child. The father is expected to be the masculine partner in the relationship and isn’t supposed to be emotional, but the father can also suffer from symptoms of PASS this is because legally the father doesn’t have a say in the decision.  Losing a child is very emotional, whether it be from termination or natural causes so the father can experience depression just as much as the mother can.   

Adoption has decreased drastically in the U.S the past few years while abortions are increasing.  Many people get emotional when talking about abortions because women abuse abortion and use it as birth control. In the USA, there are approximately two million infertile couples waiting to adopt, many times regardless of the child’s medical problems such as Down Syndrome, Spina Bifida, HIV infection or terminally ill.(Brown). There are plenty of couples that would be willing to adopt an unwanted child, but instead women are given the option to abort. Instead of a women having the option to terminate her pregnancy, she should give her baby up for adoption. Adoption is a beneficial situation for all parties because a couple that is infertile would have the opportunity to start a family and provide a full life to the child instead of the baby ending up in the bottom of a trash can. Many women don’t consider adoption because people often think that when babies are put up for adoption that they will most likely be put into the foster care system. Foster homes now a days have a really bad reputation because some of the foster home families are not in the foster care system for the right reasons and often just take kids in for the money, so parents fear their child will become abused or live a life full of trouble. The birth parents think that by aborting they will save the child from living a bad life, but the parents shouldn’t have the right to decide if the child will get the opportunity to live or not. Adoption – especially the adoption of a newborn baby – almost always involves a loving, excited couple who have dreamed for years of holding and caring for their own special treasure. Adoption can cost an arm and a leg for the adoptive parents (it’s free for the birth parents), so they are most certainly not in it for the money. (Brown) Many parents choose to abort because they are too young and don’t have the financial stability to raise a child or they aren’t ready. Adoption would allow the pressure to be taken off the birth parents’ shoulders by allowing for their baby to have a better life than what they could have provided. There are also adoption agencies that will allow for the birth parents to interview couples so they can see which one they think will be the best fit for the baby. Adoption comes with many options for the birth parents to stay involved in the child’s life if they wanted to. The birth parents can choose to have an open adoption so they would be able to receive pictures of the baby, updates on how they are doing and even scheduled visits with the baby. If the birth parents do not want to have any contact with the baby or adoptive parents, they can also choose to do that. There are many options and agreements that the birth parents and adoptive parents can come to so that everyone’s needs and wishes are met. Adoption is a great option if the reason that the birth mother wants to abort is because of lack of financial or emotional support. The mother would not have any financial obligations to the baby and would only have to carry the baby through the full pregnancy and then give the baby to the adoptive parents at birth. Adoption is a great alternative for an unwanted pregnancy and provides a child with a loving family and give the child a chance to live a full and happy life. By making abortions illegal it would either make the mother have to care for the child or give the baby to a loving family. 

In conclusion, abortions negatively impact millions of families. Abortions can change someone’s life in the blink of an eye. If abortion was made illegal it would stop allowing women to commit murder and sin, decrease health and mental illness complications and increase adoption rate. Some people will say it is murder while others object to say that it is just a clump of cells, but people need to remember that whatever they choose to believe a child’s life is being taken away and the mother can suffer consequences of an abortion for the rest of her life. Abortion causes more harm than they cause good and a procedure that is so dangerous and has so many complications shouldn’t be allowed in our country. 
