Negative Opinion about Abortion

I am almost eight months pregnant at this moment in time. After having my first child I discovered that I could not reason with anyone who would want to abort their pregnancy. I feel that a woman is the one who gets herself in the situation to begin with because not enough precautions were taken. Women and men are both educated on the consequences of unprotected sex throughout their lives. This may be on television, in school, or even through the media. Those sources “pound” it into our heads every day that unprotected sex could result in not only unplanned pregnancy, but also sexual transmitted diseases. After having the information, facts, and education on unprotected sex, there should be no reason why women or men should have a reason to want to need to abort a pregnancy.

I think that some mothers think of abortion as an easy way out. Each year over a million abortions are performed because of unwanted pregnancies, inability of taking care of the child, rape, or birth defects. (WebMD, 2008) Unwanted pregnancies, as I explained above, should be no excuse nor should the inability of taking care of the child. There are many options to help take care of your child such as adoption, WIC, food pantries, food stamps, and Medicaid. Rape and birth defects, in my opinion are two reasons that I could come to and understanding with. Those situations are uncontrollable for the most part.
Adoption, in my opinion is the best alternative to abortion. There are many positive aspects to adoptions. The main advantage would include being able to pursue your dreams and goals you had before you got pregnant. Some others might include; not having the financial burden of caring for a child, not having to worry about a sitter so you can practice your social life, and knowing that your baby is in a loving, caring, and stable home. (http://www.abortionfact.com) If you decide to abort, you would always ask yourself “what if?” That’s something that might haunt you the rest of your life. Why should you put yourself through that if there is another alternative?
There are many medical complications that a woman might have due to an abortion. Some of these complications include; blocked fallopian tubes, weakened cervix, and damage to the reproductive organs. Having damage to the reproductive organs could cause stillbirths, miscarriages, tubal babies, and hysterectomies. (D’Silva, 2007) I think most women are not informed about the risks involved in the abortion that pertain to themselves. Some women are probably only aware and concerned that the fetus will be killed, but not aware and concerned about the long-term affects it will hold on their bodies.
About 90% of abortions are performed within the first twelve weeks. (WebMD, 2008) There are different types of procedures to remove the fetus from the womb. The first procedure is called medical abortion or most commonly known as the abortion pill. This is an option up to eight weeks of the last menstrual period and it taken in a pill form at a clinic. This causes the uterus to contract and push out the tissue. Most women prefer this method opposed to others because it is more “natural and private” although the side effects are cramping, bleeding, diarrhea, and nausea. Two other procedures are called vacuum aspiration and IPAS syringe which involves an injection to numb the cervix, and insertion of a tube to suction the fetus out of the womb. (Services, 2009)
Not many people realize that a fetus’s heart starts beating within the first trimester. All of these procedures occur within the first trimester. Therefore, wouldn’t this be considered murder? The definitions of murder are; the unlawful killing of one human by another, to kill unlawfully, to put an end to or destroy. (Dictionary) As long as the heart is beating, I think that the fetus would be considered a human. It’s just a human who is inside another human. According to the definition of murder it is unlawful. It would be unlawful for a woman to kill their baby once they are born, but according to abortion being legal in all fifty states, it’s legal for a woman to kill their baby before it’s born. To me, that makes no sense whatsoever.
Some abortions are performed later in the pregnancy. Another procedure that is used after 20 weeks of gestation is called D&X or partial abortion. This is a very gruesome and I think unethical procedure. Because of how developed the fetus is, I think it would be very painful for it. During the D&X procedure the doctor uses an instrument and reaches in the uterus to pull the feet towards the cervix. Since the fetus is not completely developed the body parts could be dismembered during the process, including the head. After the skull and brains are sucked out of the uterus, the baby is delivered dead. Since this procedure is performed in the second trimester, it is more likely that the fetus does feel pain since general anesthetic is not used. (Deem, 2006)
I think some women make irrational decisions when it comes to abortion. I honestly do not think that they know exactly what happens during these procedures because of lack of education on abortions and the effects of them. Before I did the research on abortion, I did not know exactly all of the different ways that it could be performed. It was very disturbing to me once I was “educated” about it. If clinics would have more information about the actual procedure, maybe some women would change their minds. If the clinics made a patient watch a movie or read a book before making a decision, maybe that would cut the percentile of abortions down. One woman that decides not to have an abortion is one life saved.

References
Deem, R. (2006, April 20). http://www.godandscience.org. Retrieved from http://www.godandscience.org/doctrine/fetal_pain.html
Dictionary, T. A. (n.d.). http://www.thefreedictionary.com. Retrieved from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/murder
D’Silva, R. (2007, May 18). http://www.buzzle.com. Retrieved from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/antiabortion-arguments-reasons-against-abortion.html
http://www.abortionfact.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.abortionfacts.com/literature/literature_9338aa.asp
Services, F. (2009, April 1). http://www.fwhc.org. Retrieved from http://www.fwhc.org/abortion/ab-procedures.htm
WebMD. (2008, September 29). http://www.webmd.com. Retrieved from http://women.webmd.com/tc/abortion-reasons-women-choose-abortion