The serious topic of abortion is one full of strong opinions and harsh controversy as it is quite literally a life or death issue. In the discussion of abortion, there tend to be two main stances which society has deemed as pro-life and pro-choice. As a woman raised in a Christian household with biblically grounded parents and teachers, it has always been my opinion that abortion is a sinful practice that murders an innocent child and leaves scars on the mother whether she chose to have the abortion or not.
Some may ask how this is murder if the child is not born yet, but I would like to argue that the child is alive at its conception, and is simply in the first stage of his life. By this logic that what is in the womb of a mother is the first stage of a human life, we can argue that if abortion is not murder then it is not murder when the child is at a later stage of development whether that be in the womb or walking on two feet.
If this argument is not enough to show that abortion is another word for murder, then we can use the United States Declaration of Independence to argue a case against abortion laws. The Declaration of Independence states that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Some may use this quote to justify abortion by saying that by allowing the mother freedom to choose whether to have an abortion or not, we are encouraging her pursuit of happiness. Those who argue this fail to recognize that as a human being, the baby has the same unalienable rights as the mother and is therefore equal to her and has the same rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. According to a document that the foundation of this country rests on, the act of abortion takes away the child’s rights to life, therefore destroying any chance of liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Despite this argument, some pro-life advocates still argue against the child’s rights by placing the mother’s pursuit of happiness above the child’s life. Many argue that having the child would restrict the mother’s freedom to live her life and pursue her happiness, however this argument is flawed in two ways. Oftentimes, our human nature especially in the face of the panic that an unexpected pregnancy can cause, blurs our judgment and our openness to looking at the good that could come of a tight situation.
Many women who have had an unexpected and unwanted pregnancy, but don’t follow through with an abortion and raise the child, end up loving the child and consider the whole situation a blessing in disguise. Even for mothers who know that they will find no joy in motherhood or feel as if they won’t be able to raise the child well, or for mothers who became pregnant against their will, abortion is still not justified. There are other options that don’t end the child’s life, such as adoption, that allow the child to live and the mother to carry on with life. The issue of abortion is still one debated in courts and family gatherings today, but the reality of the situation is that regardless of whether you believe it is murder or not, it would be better to let the child live than to follow through with a process that could very well be an unjust homicide and a violation of life.
