Abortion, as a process of intentional pregnancy termination, has always been one of the major discussion matters in terms of the issue of legalization and ethical considerations surrounding the process. While some people consider abortions to be extremely unethical actions that result in a deliberate murder of an innocent human being, others claim the importance of choice available in this highly individual aspect of life and body treatment. Moreover, there is an ongoing debate over the legal support of abortions that varies greatly within the states and authority legislations. The importance of the issue is relevant for practically any generation, but it should be specifically explained to the ones who are not willing to apply critical thinking to the abortion discussion. Thus, having considered the information on the matter of abortion presented by scholars, it should be outlined that the issue of abortion shall not be legally banned because there are numerous precedents to the problem, including pregnancy as a rape outcome, fundamental freedoms concerning the human body, and lack of sex education.
To begin with, the process of abortion itself is not always a pleasant decision to make, as it is frequently caused by the detrimental events taking place in one’s life. One of such reasons includes rape and harassment that results in unwanted impregnation. There are several issues related to the case that make it unethical to take away the women’s right to pregnancy termination. First, the very act of rape causes severe psychological trauma for the victim, making the offendee feel shame, low self-esteem, insecurity, and fear. Bearing this in mind, scholars claim that such a mental state is a sufficient argument for the right to make abortion, as the victims of harassment need help themselves, and they have no moral obligation to give birth to the offender’s child (Alfi & Gunarto, 2020). Moreover, when it comes to the perception of pregnancy as a responsibility for another human being, it should be emphasized that fertilization in the process of rape is by no means a deliberate decision to have a child, and it may then be legally subjected.
Another important notion to consider in the context of abortion is the aspect of human rights definition and exercise on a legislative level. Over the past years, the perception of choice has become modified in the fundamental human right paradigm in favor of individuals due to the widespread tendency of privacy respect. It is outlined in terms of the following policy that every individual has a right to make decisions considering their body, lifestyle, and beliefs. Thus, according to the following logic, abortion is a highly individualistic matter that should be approved and respected by society. Researchers claim that some of the basic fundamental rights women should be entitled to in society – liberty, equality, autonomy, dignity, and health – are highly interrelated with the right to have an abortion regardless of the precedents that lead to such a decision (Rebouché, 2016). Hence, the rhetoric of human rights plays one of the crucial roles in terms of abortion rights supporters on the global level.
Finally, it should be outlined many social and educational factors are to be considered before making a statement of whether abortion is an illegal sin. According to the studies, the overall incidence of abortions made worldwide is highly dependent on the level of sex education, with the number of abortions decreasing with the rising level of family planning and sex-ed social initiatives (Jones et al., 2008). Previously, it was uncommon for educators to raise such questions as safe intercourse and prevention of unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, as they did not feel comfortable with open discussion. However, over the past years, it has become of vital importance to provide young people with information on contraception and safe intercourse, making considerable progress in the field of abortion prevention. Thus, when paying more attention to the issue of preventive measures, there is practically no need to legally object to abortions, as their incidence rate would be decreased significantly.
Having considered all of the aforementioned factors, it might be concluded that having the right to make choices over having a child is a highly personal matter that shall not be constrained by any power, whether it concerns society or government. However, over the decades of debate and explicit actions towards abortion recognition in society, there exists a variety of opposing views that claim abortion to be a breach of all the established moral principles and considerations. To begin with, many people, especially those born a few decades ago, perceive abortion as nothing but a cruel murder of an innocent human being. The process itself might be considered murder in a certain context, the precedents of the abortions may be crueler than the act of pregnancy termination shortly after the fertilization, when the physical characteristics of an embryo, i.e., a multicellular organism that develops after impregnation. Thus, the question of considering abortion a murder should be expanded in its discussion, including the feelings of a future parent and the peculiarities of pregnancy that might affect the future of more than one person.
Another common opposition to the issue is a common belief that abortion should be banned due to the physical cruelty of a procedure, as it puts the future mother at risk of never being pregnant again. Such a theory has the right to exist, as previously the process of pregnancy termination was rather insecure, and the approaches to abortions were limited, potentially causing problems with the fertilization rate and uterus functioning. However, over the years of rapid advancement in the medical field, such a concern has become rather irrelevant, as the chances of losing fertilization ability due to abortion have been reduced drastically over the past years. Moreover, modern technologies can anticipate the possibility to be impregnated on the individual level, considering one’s overall fertilization predisposition, leaving the right to choose to the woman. Hence, despite the existing arguments on the matter of abortions, there are two things one should bear in mind when faced with a situation: abortion is a highly individual decision that is to be made as a result of a thorough critical analysis.
Taking everything into consideration, it might be concluded that over the years of research and examination, there is no way to define for sure whether the process of abortion should be gaining worldwide respect and recognition. However, there is one thing that should be recognized globally without any objection: the right to have an abortion or give birth to a child is a choice made by nobody else but the mother. Such an argument is supported by evidence of various precedents leading to such a choice, including the aspects of human rights, situation context, and the lack of explicit implementation of sex education.
References
Alfi, I. R., & Gunarto, G. (2020). Abortion Due to Rape in A Juridical Perspective and Human Rights. Law Development Journal, 2(3).
Jones, R. K., Zolna, M. R., Henshaw, S. K., & Finer, L. B. (2008). Abortion in the United States: incidence and access to services, 2005. Perspectives on sexual and reproductive health, 40(1), 6-16.
Rebouché, R. (2016). Abortion rights as human rights. Social & Legal Studies, 25(6), 765-782.