FREE ESSAY ON ABORTION

ABORTION

Abortion, Is It Wrong or Right?
Amy was scared. No, she was absolutely terrified. She had gone to one little party and
done something dumb. It all started when she and her friends started drinking. She met
this really cool guy and knew his name but not much else. Because Amy was drunk he had
convinced her to have sex with him. Within a couple of days She then found out that she
was pregnant… pregnant at age sixteen. So many thoughts and questions overwhelmed
her. Should I tell the boy that got me pregnant? Should I tell my parents? What would my
friends and everyone else think of me? Was there some way to just make it all disappear?
An abortion, that would take care of it, she thought. But then again that was like taking
the easy way out. Maybe she should have the baby, and put it up for adoption. She
couldn't take care of a baby right now. She has plans for college and job. Amy wrestled
with her problem but she could not yet come to grips with the fact that she was really
pregnant. She knew that the Pro-life groups and the Pro-choice groups would have totally
different opinions and struggled to decide which was right for her. Many girls these days
have had to make this decision, and most that go through with an abortion do not even
realize what it is. There are many different opinions to this procedure that I will
discuss but first, what is an abortion?
The dictionary defines abortion as the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by,
resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus. The abortion
process starts by making an appointment and taking a pregnancy test. If you are
definitely pregnant then you will come back in two weeks for the abortion. When you
return the next two weeks a nurse will take you to an examining room where you will lie
down on the exam table covered by a white paper cloth and your feet in metal stirrups. As
the procedure begins a long metal tool is inserted into the vagina and opens it to hold
the vaginal walls apart. A painkiller is used to numb the cervix. The opening of the
cervix widens about half an inch or about the width of a pen. A small tube attached to a
vacuum aspirator machine, which is like what the dentist uses to remove saliva from your
mouth, is inserted. The machine sucks up the contents of the uterus with a curette- a
spoon-shaped instrument- to make sure everything has been removed. The whole process
takes only ten minutes. Afterwards you have some cramps, those similar to severe
menstrual cramps, for about an hour. The doctor will give you a prescription for an
antibiotic and a twenty-four hour emergency number. Then in two weeks you would come back
for a check up to make sure the process was complete. This procedure that I described is
the most common type or method of abortion. About ninety percent of abortions are
preformed this way. There are about 1.6 million women who have legal abortions each year
in the United States. Of those 1.6 million, about one in four are teenagers. This is the
main reason it is such a controversial procedure.
Whether you side with those teens that think girls should have the right to abortion or
those who think girls should not, you can always find support for your point of view. One
group is called "Pro-life" or "Right-to-Life." They believe that a fetus' right to live
comes first, before the right of the pregnant woman. In a religious perspective they
believe it is immoral. The New Testament strictly says it is wrong. The pro-life movement
has pursued this debate of immorality for twenty years. They say that interests and
personhood exist in the fetus from its origin, and rights flow from society's recognition
of these interests. Just as society recognizes the interests of future generations, it
should recognize the interests and rights of the unborn fetus. American culture places
high value on human life and should sanctify it in all its forms. 
On the other hand there is the "Pro-choice" group. They believe it is a woman's
fundamental human right to decide when and whether or not to have a child. They think
abortion is a moral choice that protects women from involuntary parenthood. In their
religious perspective a fetus is not a person until its eighth week. The Catholic Church
doctrine today, holding that all abortions are the killing of human beings, contradicts
its own historical position. The argument that abortion disregards the sacred character
of human life is distinct from the contention that it violates the rights or interests of
the fetus. The pro-choice groups say that if early abortion is wrong, it is not because
it violates the interests of the immature fetus; well, the early fetus has no interests.
So, after all this information of what an abortion is and the point of view of both
sides, you ask yourself who is right? You will have to decide for yourself. Your view on
abortion is distinctly a personal choice. No one can make it for you. The Supreme Court
decided to make abortion a legal option in 1973 during the Roe v. Wade case. Now, whether
or not you agree with this is up to you