An abortion is a medical procedure that ends a pregnancy. For instance, in Cameroon, scientists define abortion as termination of pregnancy before 28 weeks -- 7 months -- of pregnancy. However, the current laws in Cameroon only allow for discontinuation of pregnancy if the life of the mother is at risk. That said, year in and year out, many youths have lost their lives because of illegal abortion. This in mind, shouldn't the government legalize abortion?
PRO-LIFE
To begin with, opponents of abortion legalization, identifying themselves as pro-life, believe that life is sacred, and hence one should not destroy it. The thing is, human life begins at fertilization, and therefore abortion is the immoral killing of an innocent being. Further, a baby, whether s/he is born or not, has the right to live -- who are we to decide on behalf of the baby? Moreover, humans are the only animals who can intentionally kill their unborn child -- other animals respect life. In sum, abortion is first-degree murder.
In addition, individuals identifying themselves as pro-life suggest that everyone should have responsibility for their actions. Put differently, some people think that abortion is an easy way to avoid having a baby. So, they have sexual intercourse whenever they want. After that, if they notice a pregnancy, they will abort it. It sounds easy, right? Well, actually, it sounds irresponsible. Put plainly, abortion promotes sexual promiscuity -- banning abortion promotes self-discipline and chastity.
What's more, pro-life individuals argue that abortion has a viable alternative: adoption -- adoption accomplishes the same result. Here is the thing, with many families waiting to adopt a child, there is no such thing as an unwanted child.
Lastly, health scientists propose that abortion may lead to health disorders such as infertility, cervical damage, premature births, hemorrhagic shock that results from excessive bleeding, and post-abortion syndrome -- psychological pain, stress, and emotional burdens. Additionally, women may pick up an infection post-abortion. Worse yet, women who acquire post-abortion infections are five to eight times more likely to experience ectopic pregnancies -- fetus develops outside of the womb. Bottom line is, abortion can affect physical and mental health.
PRO-CHOICE
First, proponents of abortion legalization, identifying themselves as pro-choice, are of the opinion that many women do not become pregnant by choice -- mistimed pregnancies and unwanted pregnancies from rape and incest. For this reason, it is wrong to force these women to remain pregnant when they do not want to be. Better yet, the ability of women to have control over their own reproduction is fundamental to achieving gender equality.
Second, raising a child is not an easy task: it requires social, emotional, and financial commitments. As such, if a person feels they are not ready for a child, it means the pregnancy is unwanted. The resultant child may grow in a non-conducive and destructive environment.
Third, individuals identifying themselves as pro-choice reckon that when abortion is banned, many women who do not want a child seek out illegal abortions. The thing is, these abortions are unsafe, and they risk the lives of the women who try them. Worded differently, access to legal, professionally-performed abortions reduces injury and death caused by unsafe, illegal abortions.
Fourth, not all pregnancies are viable and the pregnant woman should be able to choose to end it. In other words, abortion gives women or couples the option to choose not to bring babies with certain medical conditions, such as sickle-cell disease, Down syndrome, and Turner syndrome, to name but a few, into this world. Even better, legal abortion protects women's health and lives. For example, for women with life-threatening diseases, such as heart disease, kidney disease, severe hypertension, sickle-cell disease, etc., the availability of legal abortion has helped avert serious medical complications that could have resulted from childbirth.
Finally, Legalizing abortion is useful to help control family size (family planning method), and it should be promoted if the moral and religious objections can be overcome.
LONG STORY SHORT
Defined as medical termination of pregnancy, abortion has the ability to improve our economic, health, and socio-political status. Notwithstanding, abortion is marred by several shortcomings and controversies that limit the aforementioned benefits. All in all, the health, economic, and socio-political effects of abortion are not always clear-cut.
That said, should the government legalize abortion? What do you think?
-Dr. Ndifor Judethaddeus