Abortion Considered Murder ? Essay, Research Paper
Should abortion be considered murder?
In the United States, women choose to end about 25% of their
pregnancies through abortion. This number has been gradually declining
since 1979. This is similar to the Canadian figure of 21%, but is much lower
than that of the former Soviet Union 60% and Romania 78% where
contraceptives are in short supply. Abortion is morally, scientifically, and
legally wrong.
The human egg is already clearly alive when it enters the fallopian
tubes, many hours or days before it has the opportunity to be fertilized.
Women release one about each month between puberty and menopause – a
few hundred in a lifetime. Almost all of these are destined to die and be
ejected from the body. Unless infertility is a problem, very little thought is
given to these hundreds of deaths. Although the egg is a form of life, there is
a public consensus that it is not human life. Hundreds of millions of male
sperm are liberated during a typical sexual encounter. They are also clearly
alive. Viewing them under a microscope reveals them to be energetic
swimmers. Essentially all of these will die within days. Again, if infertility is
not a concern, little attention is given to these deaths. An average man
produces thousands of sperm a second. At most, a very few during his
lifetime will contribute to the formation of a baby. The rest will die. Few men
are consciously aware of the loss. Sperm are very much alive and kicking.
But, again, a public consensus exists that they are not human life.
In our society, people view life as something precious and worth
protecting. In many recent polls, it shows that most people feel abortion is
wrong in the way it is legal today. Religions fuel much of the intensity of the
abortion debate. The Roman Catholic Church is the largest organized church
in the world and one of the most influential organizations. The openly
condemn abortion. Many Protestant groups, also share the same beliefs.
These groups feel pro-life because of passages from their holy texts. One
example would be, “The hairsplitting difference between formed and
unformed makes no difference to us. Whoever deliberately commits abortion
is subject to the penalty for homicide.” –Saint Basil. Many religions feel
abortion is a type of murder.
Science has shown us a lot about the fetus. Science has shown us that
the fetus gains human life at conception. Human life biologically begins at
the moment of conception. This is a contested yet undeniable truth. There
has never been a human with the same genetic code. There will never again
be a human with the same genetic code. Science has shown us that a fetus is
its own individual being, a person full of life, who therefore deserves rights,
most importantly the right to life. When doctors first began invading the
sanctuary of the womb, they did not know that the unborn baby would react
to pain in the same fashion as a child would. Although it was proven that
they learned that the fetus would. Through science we have learned that the
fetus is only 1/2 its mother, and entirely itself. Abortion is scientifically
wrong, a fetus is suppose to grow , and become a child. It would then go on
to live a normal life.
Laws contradict themselves by allowing abortion to remain legal.
Many laws have been enacted to protect the rights of the unborn, yet laws
still protect abortion, an act that infringes upon the most sacred right of all,
life. The unborn have local, national, and international rights and
responsibilities. They are recognized as humans, they are recognized as
people, and they are defined as citizens. Although in the case of abortion, the
unborn still do not have the right to life. Abortion is legally wrong, and
needs to become illegal.
During the first trimester, a fetus is considered by most physicians to
become sentient. Twenty three weeks after conception, the fetus begins to
dream. Dream requires unconscious thoughts, so the fetus must be able to
think. A fetus is able to think just as much as a sleeping thirty year old, yet it
is illegal to kill a thirty year old. Though killing a fetus, takes place every
day. Many people believe that your not killing the fetus, since it was never
really alive. Most scientist now agree that human life starts at conception.
So they are actually killing the fetus.
Since many now agree that life starts at conception, killing a fetus is as
bad as killing a child, or killing a man. No matter how you look at this,
murder is a crime. Abortion should be a crime. When somebody is killed, a
life has been lost. When a fetus is killed a life has also been lost. Life begins
at conception, a fertilized egg is a full human being and should be protected
as such. Basically , what has been written throughout this essay, implies that
abortion is murder. Life Begins at conception, when the fetus is killed, its
life is over. Murder, is to put an end to a human beings life. Therefore
putting this together, I have come to the conclusion that ending the life of a
fetus, is murder.