Question:

The topic of abortion is very controversial, but nothing has ever been learned by avoiding tough
subjects. What are your views on abortion? Under what circumstances, if any, would you
consider it? If you were a lawmaker, what would be your stand on this issue? (*In India, boys
are valued more than girls and amniocentesis has become widespread. In one province, only one
in thousands of abortions following: amniocentesis was that of a male fetus, the rest were
females. How do you feel about abortion as a tool for gender selection? Suppose that one of the
female fetuses in the previous example was also identified as having suffered severe mental and
physical damage to the point that, after birth, the resulting child would mentally and physically
be unable to care for itself. Would this information influence (change) your decision?)

Answer:
Abortion is a very controversial issue in todays society. There are so many different
opinions on the topic; whether it should be legal, illegal, or only legal at a certain gestation. I
know a woman that was young when she found out she was pregnant and decided that they could
not care for a baby, so she had an abortion. I know another woman, also young when she found
out she was pregnant, but decided against abortion and instead put her baby up for adoption.
There are so many options other than abortion available that, under most circumstances, I do not
think abortions should be an option.
The viability of a baby, meaning the age of the baby when they can survive outside of the
mother, is 22 weeks after conception. (Berger, 2014, p. 60). Even though it is proven that a baby
can survive outside the womb, abortions are still being performed up to 24 weeks after
conception. (American Pregnancy Association). Although not all abortions happen this late (24
weeks), some do happen sooner. It is said that a baby is not considered technically a life up
until this point, but in the fourth week a minuscule blood vessel that will become the heart,
begins to pulsate (Berger, 2014, p. 59). I believe that because this baby has a heartbeat, it should
be considered a life. It is said that because these babies would not be able to live without their
mothers it is okay to abort them. With that being said, there are handicapped children and adults
whom would not have lived or be able to keep living if it wasnt for the people who take care of
them daily. If these people were to be killed it would be considered murder. How is abortion
different just because they are in their mothers womb?
Instead of abortion, these women could go through the pregnancy and place the child up
for adoption. There are many people looking to adopt children. Rather than going through with
an abortion, these women can help a family and give that baby a loving home.
(womensissues.about.com).
However, I believe it is okay to have an abortion if the baby is putting the mothers life at
risk, the woman was raped, or incest was involved. There are times when the baby takes a toll on
the mothers body and her health starts to deteriorate. Some womens bodies just cannot carry
children. There are also times where a woman is raped or incest was involved, and it results in

pregnancy. At this point the woman that was raped will be going through so many emotional
issues a resulted pregnancy will only add to those stresses. If the mother does not want to carry
the baby of her rapist, I do not believe she should have to. And lastly there is incest. This could
result in health issues for the baby. If the baby were to make it to term, it is possible that there
could be something very wrong, and the baby may not live very long. If I were a lawmaker these
would be the only conditions in which a woman could get an abortion.
I do not think that it is fair to be able to choose an abortion for gender selection. It should
not be up to society to pick and choose the gender of their children, it should be left to chance. It
does not seem fair to abort a baby because it is not the specific gender the mother would have
liked.
If testing was done, and the results stated that the baby would not be able to physically or
mentally be able to care for itself once he or she is born, then an abortion should be allowed if
within the first trimester. Once the mother is so far along, I cannot help but believe that although
the baby may have something wrong with him or her, they would feel pain as the abortion took
place. Some times when a baby has something wrong the baby will make it through the
pregnancy but not live long after the birth. I have known a woman that got this news while she
was pregnant, but decided to carry her baby to term even though the odds were not good that the
baby would survive. When she gave birth to her baby he only lived a few hours, but she has said
that she would never regret the fact that she didnt abort her baby.

Works Cited

"Abortion Procedures During First, Second and Third Trimester." American

Pregnancy Association. 25 Apr. 2012. Web. 3 Sept. 2015.
<http://americanpregnancy.org/unplanned-pregnancy/abortion-procedures/>.

Lowen, Linda. "10 Arguments Against Abortion, 10 Arguments For Abortion."

Web. 4 Sept. 2015.
<http://womensissues.about.com/od/reproductiverights/a/AbortionArgumen.h
tm>.

Stassen Berger, Kathleen. Invitation to The Life Span. 2nd ed. New York: Worth, 2014.
600. Print.