Abortion in America

The abortion debate is raging in America. The opposing sides in the debate each strongly believe they are right. The pro-choice supporters see a woman's right to choose as central to the debate. The life of the baby is the most important concern of the pro-life advocates. Very little middle ground exists on the issue of abortion. Abortion is murder and should be illegal except in instances when the mother's life is endangered by the pregnancy.

Abortion is murder. The embryo is a person from the moment of conception. According to Shettles, "Scientists identify the first moment of human life as that instant when a sperm cell unites with an ovum or egg cell" (18). Most pro-choice supporters do not believe the fetus is a person until the first or second trimester. Pro-choice people do not think abortion is murder because they consider the aborted fetus a mass or cells or tissue (Shettles 20).

Gestational age may determine which abortion metho...

Abortion Memorial

Photo from the 2004 March for Women's Lives, taken...

Abortion is the taking of innocent human life, which is wrong under virtually any circumstances. An unborn baby is more than potential life. An unborn baby is meaningful human life that should not be considered expendable. After conception, no event occurs in the development of the fetus that indicates a change in the fetus from not being human to becoming one (Foster 33). Human life begins with conception. A middle-aged person, a teenager, and an unborn baby are all in stages of human life. Killing the unborn baby is no more justifiable than killing the two other people. Abortion is a practice that should be prohibited by law because it basically amounts to murder.

An unborn baby's right to life should have priority over a woman's right to choose. No woman or man should have the power to decide if a baby is allowed to live.