OPTION C: ABORTION

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?)

The definition of abortion is the removal of an embryo or fetus from the

uterus in order to end a pregnancy. (dictionary.com: abortion) One of my favorite
movies, Juno, is about a young woman who gets pregnant by her best friend, and is
ultimately given the decision early on whether shes going to keep, abort, or give
the baby up for adoption. At first, Juno chooses the route of abortion. As the arrives
at the clinic, a girl from school, Su-chin, is protesting outside. Here is their brief
conversation as Juno is walking into Planned Parenthood:
Su-chin: All babies want to get borned! All babies want to get borned! Your
baby probably has a beating heart you know! It can feel pain! And it has fingernails!
Juno: Fingernails? Really?
Even though their interaction was short, it made an impact on Juno. Instead
of having the abortion, she went home, told her parents, and decided that adoption
was the right route for her.
While not every girl who walks into Planned Parenthood walks out keeping the
baby or deciding to give it up for adoption, I feel there is an important lesson
learned from Juno. In life, were going to make mistakes, however, when it comes to
teen pregnancies, or mistake pregnancies, women should seek guidance from
parents, friends, peers, religious leaders, counselors, or anyone they can trust
before they make a rash decision in aborting a baby. This is what I believe.
I am pro-life, but I understand the pro-choice argument. Ultimately, a
womans body is her own. She chooses what to do with it, and that sometimes
includes abortions. Howard Dean, an American politician, said, The issue is not
abortion. The issue is whether women can make up their own mind instead of some
right-wing pastor, some right-wing politician telling them what to do. A lot of
women believe that getting an abortion is taking responsibility for their actions,
however, I would see that keeping the child or giving it up for adoption is taking
responsibility for their actions.

I read a beautifully written article about a woman who had an abortion at 32

weeks. I feel as though my thoughts about what circumstances would cause me to
have an abortion resonate with hers. After a previous miscarriage at 10 weeks,
[Elizabeth] was overjoyed to find herself pregnant for a second time. At 31 weeks,
she found out that the baby boy she was carrying wouldnt be able to breathe
outside the womb and would not survive. And at 32 weeks, she flew to Colorado to
get a shot that would start the process of a third-trimester abortion; she then flew
back to New York to finish the delivery. (Jia Tolentino. Jezebel.com) In short,
Elizabeth, with the help of her doctor and husband, came to the conclusion to have
a late term abortion. Why? Because the baby was in the lowest percentile of
survival, it wasnt going to be able to breathe, it wasnt going to be able to live. If I
were in the same situation as Elizabeth, as hard as it would be, I would definitely
consider having an abortion. However, since the baby was so late in the third
trimester, she still had to deliver the baby. Dead.
I also believe I would have an abortion if delivering the baby would have
detrimental effects to my wellbeing.
If I were a lawmaker, my stance on abortion would be the same it is now. I
wonder if some type of process could be gone through to approve or decline
abortions. Approved would be circumstances such as Elizabeths where proof would
have to be shown, and declined would be the 15-year old girl who didnt use a
condom while having sex. If youre approved for the abortion, supplemental money
would be given to help pay the costs. However, if youre declined, you can still go
through the abortion, but you must pay for the process.
I dont know how well of a law that would be, but with my stance on being
pro-life, but also understanding the pro-choice side of abortion, I feel as if it would
be the best of both worlds.

Works Cited
Juno. Dir. Jason Reitman. Prod. Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Russell Smith, and
Mason Novick. By Diablo Cody. Perf. Ellen Page and Michael Cera. N.p., n.d.
Web.
Tolentino, Jia. Interview With a Woman Who Recently Had an Abortion at 32
Weeks. Jezebel. 15 June 2016. Web. http://jezebel.com/interview-with-awoman-who-recently-had-an-abortion-at-1781972395
www.dictionary.com/browse/abortion?s=t
Dean, Howard. Quote. http://thoughtcatalog.com/lorenzo-jensen-iii/2015/07/the-25all-time-greatest-pro-choice-quotes/