1Reviews and everything / Hardtalk on abortion problem situation
.docAlex Kvartalny @ flamedragon27.blogspot.com
Group 501
Problem situation on Hardtalk on Abortion
Abortion, or pregnancy termination in miscarriage or by choice, is a highly contentious issue. Many believe it has become a modern lifestyle and a result of casual sex. Other think it is unethical. Should the subjective choice of a woman be taken into account? And, above all, should it be legal?
Norma McCorvey whose case Roe v. Wade (Roe was her alias) is a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of making abortion legal is invited to hardtalk about her views on the issue. Since becoming a member of the pro-life movement in 1995 and being influenced by the Catholic ideas, she now supports making abortion illegal. Here are some positive and negative sides of the problem that were touched upon during the programme.
Pros:
1. Abortion is a legal right and fundamental choice, women have privacy and control over their own lives; it should be the woman’s choice what would be more traumatic to her, abortion or 'childbirth and the unending list of duties waiting to be accomplished'.
2. Abortion should be allowed because there are cases when giving birth to a child threatens the mother’s life. So it is a way of saving women’s lives. This point of view is supported by some religious institutions, namely the church of England. There are many women, who suffer from various hazardous medical conditions such as heart disease, kidney disease, severe hypertension, sickle-cell anemia, severe diabetes, etc. As these diseases can be life-threatening, an abortion often helps to avoid serious medical complications from childbirth. Eventually Ms. McCorvey agrees with the presenter that abortion is acceptable in this situation.
3. Legalised abortion is supposedly safer than illegal both for the mother and the child. This fact is backed up by federal support and recognition by the community. An attempt to restrict the abortions would rise not only the percentage of illegal and unsafe abortions but also the expenses of the procedure.
4. Abortion is a means of birth control. It is a way not to bring another child into this world that a woman cannot take care of, as it was in Norma’s case. Abortion can serve as a potent tool to undo mistakes, thereby preventing mothers to be forced for raising a child at a young age.
5. Making abortion legal creates job places. That is why Norma McCorvey worked at an abortion clinic in the 90s.
6. In cases where women are raped, getting pregnant with such a child is yet another brutality they would be forced to bear. Thus, the option of abortion is the best for them.
7. In male chauvinistic societies, women are considered nothing more than child bearing machines. Therefore, a right to abortion gives her an individual identity, as per which she can decide the fate of her child.
Cons:
1. Though abortion is a woman’s right, women soon feel guilty about taking the life of their child. It’s a mistake they will soon regret. Women should not act as their own gods;
2. Christianity’s sixth commandment tells us “thou shalt not murder” and many find ripping a child away from his mother a murder;
3. Legalised abortion is no safer than the illegal one. Thousands of women, according to Norma, die each year in legal abortion institutions;
4. There are other problems in the US other than birth control and this one can be relatively easily be dealt with;
5. Making abortion illegal will return women to the situation that used to exist before 1973. Here I am referring to the situation when women had to resort to illegal abortion clinics where health and care standards were very low.
6. Abortion promotes an irresponsible behavior amongst people, as they do not want to take responsibility of their own actions. It gives them the freedom of committing careless activities and then getting rid of them easily.
7. An abortion always lessens the chances of having children later in life. Though it is not a mandatory phenomenon, it can definitely happen, leaving the woman childless forever.
At the end of the show Norma McCorvey, although generally being pro-life which is anti-abortion, accepts that there are situations when abortion is necessary but these are rather exceptions than the ground for making abortion legal. She also regrets bitterly about taking part in the Roe v. Wade case.
Being a man, I cannot say that I understand the problem fully. Although I can put myself into both sides’ shoes and accept both views I am more supportive of the pro-life movement, however. The reasons for that are the following: abortion is killing which is unnatural; it is dangerous for the woman’s health and may result in deterioration of her immune system and infertility; no matter how difficult it may be to take care of the child, a person’s life is more important than money. I understand I may be mistaken but that is the way I feel. However, some religious people have been saying that the soul enters the body on the 8th day only. Considering this information, abortion can be justified because it is not a human being that is killed but a mere shell for the soul.