Legalizing Abortion: Advantages and Justification Essay

Introduction: Conception of Legalized Abortion

An intentional ending of pregnancy has always raised numerous objections and controversial arguments. Thus, while some people argue that abortion violates the core principles of human existence, the others view it as a legal act and a safe way to remove an undesirable embryo. Since ancient times, abortion was forbidden by the laws of almost every world state. Still, despite the fact that abortionists could be prosecuted for committing the act, it existed in various forms as one of the most profitable medical operations.

Today, induced abortion is a legalized procedure in many countries. According to Sumner, the act that promoted the decriminalization of a pregnancy ending unveiled the abortion business in such countries as the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Russia, China, and so on (4).

Having utilized the existent abortion consequences, one may come to the conclusion that abortion legalization promotes a positive change within a global society. Therefore, decriminalization of abortion is a progressive jurisdiction move, since it reduces unwed childbearing as well as standardizes matrimonial relationships.

Legalizing Abortion: Advantages and Justification

An unplanned pregnancy is a problem that often becomes a personal drama for a modern teenager. The generation Y representatives evolve a troubling inclination to multiple sexual affairs, which enhances the potential risks. Due to their immaturity and excessive ambitiousness, young millennials have little motivation to experience parenting in the early stages of their lives. That is why such pregnancies lead to poverty and population increase. Moreover, it is acknowledged that unplanned children are usually born in incomplete families, which promotes matrimonial destabilizations. Therefore, abortion legalization is a policy that contributes to the normalization of childbearing and exposes it as a conscious and mindful choice, rather than a life-destroying factor.

The argument may be supported by multiple evidence-based studies. Thus, according to Ozbeklik, the ultimate effect of abortion legalization in the USA was an unwed childbearing reduction. Mainly, the abortion judiciary act resulted in an 11 % decrease in teenage parenting among the white population and a 3 % reduction among the Afro-Americans (100).

Abortion as a Reason for Female Infertility

Due to medical experts, abortion tends to inflict further diseases. Specifically, it can become a primary reason for female infertility, especially in the cases of the first pregnancies. Therefore, it is argued that abortion is an illegal procedure since it produces a harmful impact on women’s health.

Nevertheless, the argument fails to prove the abortion illegality since modern highly technological devices allow predicting infertility. Therefore, any doctor can trace the consequences of abortion before it is committed. If a person’s health is in danger, a medical worker is supposed to inform a female about the risks. Consequently, infertility transformed into a matter of choice, and it can not be correlated with abortion.

Abortion as an Immoral Act: Conscientious Objection

Conscientious objection to abortion represents a core rebuttal of the legalization and roots at religious beliefs, according to which a pregnancy termination is murder and can not be justified. Therefore, due to the Biblical doctrines, abortion commitment is equal to a criminal act accomplishment. In 2001, one of the principal Scottish doctors was refused in medical practice in connection with his Christian persuasions. Thus, Helen Barratt, who claimed abortion to be an unacceptable procedure, was professionally discriminated against because of his ideas. In fact, it was acknowledged that 14 % of Scottish medical workers committed abortion operations, despite the fact that they strongly opposed this process (“Conscientious Objection to Abortion” par. 1).

The concept of pregnancy termination is never mentioned in the Bible. However, the devoted Christians justify their opposition by claiming that religion regards a fetus as a person since the moment of its conception.

Unsoundness of Conscientious Objection

A Fetus Is Not a Person

Many experts, scientists, and philosophers regard the issue of a fetus’s inhumane nature in their works. Thus, it is claimed that a person has a right to live from the moment when his/her brain starts working. Since conscious life begins with a birth, rather than with a conception, abortion can not be treated as a murder. Moreover, it is confirmed that a fetus is only an embryo that does not function independently until the eleventh week of pregnancy. Abortion is a procedure that can be conducted exclusively during the first twelve weeks since conception. Consequently, abortion does not imply killing a living person. It should be viewed as the removal of an embryonic formation.

Scientific Explanation of Fetus’s Human Nature

Those who argue that abortion is an unacceptable medical manipulation, often justify their position by dwelling on the scientific theories. Thus, according to the former U.S. principal surgeon, Everett Kopp, the personhood is an innate feature of any fetus since the time of its conception (Sobel par. 4). Due to the author, the genetic code that is formed at the moment of conception is a unique combination that can not be repeated. Therefore, it is claimed that a fetus is an individual and should be regarded as a living creature that has a right to live.

A perception of fetus personhood is dependent upon various factors. However, all the abortion advantages and disadvantages may be utilized and presented by a correlation between two rights – a fetus’s right to live and a woman’s right to make a choice. The scientific justification of abortion unacceptability is stipulated by the idea of human life being prevalent over the other concepts. Obviously, any woman is a conscious human being who possesses her rights and can make decisions relying on her preferences, knowledge, and experience. Thus, pregnancy termination is a personal matter and is considered to be rational in the cases when a person has no financial support and resources to raise a child. Nevertheless, scientific dogmas expose human life as the highest value.

Justification of Abortion Legalization

Both conscientious objection and infertility concern fail to rebut the necessity of abortion legalization. It is a guarantee of women’s basic privacy rights as well as a crucial regulator of matrimonial relationships.

In fact, the procedure of abortion legalization was launched in 1970 as a reaction to the numerous female rights movements. It was claimed that women were discriminated against by the pregnancy termination veto since they were forbidden to realize their personal desires. Moreover, numerous studies proved that unplanned children did not receive all the necessary resources for their successful growth and development. They were also susceptible to psychological traumas, disorders, and addictions. That is why it was decided to start abortion practice as a revelation of human rights appreciation.

There are a lot of arguments that outweigh abortion veto factors. First, the prohibition does not comply with the fundamental law principles. Thus, the privacy right is guaranteed by almost every state constitution. Besides, in the eyes of the law, an unborn fetus is not regarded as a person, so pregnancy termination can not be seen as a murder. Consequently, the general judiciary opinion serves as a rebuttal of abortion objections, since it reveals its logical shortcomings and exposes abortion as a legal process that supports human rights and contributes to the improvement of social relations. The female infertility concern should not be regarded as an obstacle to abortion legalization as well. The modern medicine advanced to the proficiency level that allows eliminating this problem. Therefore, the principles prove that the arguments that support abortion legalization are stronger than those that rebut it, due to the judiciary and medicine progressive policies.

Conclusion: Abortion is a Legal Right

Despite the existent attacks on abortion, it still functions in a majority of countries and realizes the essential women’s privacy rights. The primary objections to a pregnancy termination concern such issues as religious unacceptability of abortion that is known as a conscientious objection as well as the idea of fetus humaneness. These viewpoints, however, may serve exclusively as the reflections of subjective opinions since they do not comply with the fundamental human rights concepts. Abortion legalization is not only a judicial decision but a regulator of societal and matrimonial relations as well.

Mainly, it exposes childbearing as a conscious choice and regards marital relations as a significant precondition of pregnancy. Moreover, the policy controls demographic tendencies throughout the world and prevents poverty that is a direct consequence of unwed childbearing. Finally, abortion legalization is justified by the legal and moral institutions, for it represents an innate right of a female.

Works Cited

Conscientious Objection to Abortion 2001. Web.

Ozbeklik, Serkan. “The Effects of Abortion Legalization on Childbearing by Unwed Teenagers in Future Cohorts.” Economic Inquiry 52.1 (2013): 100-115. Print.

Sobel, Marlena. n.d. Abortion Myths. Web.

Sumner, Leonard. Abortion and Moral Theory, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2013. Print.