Abortion

6 Pages 1435 Words

Abortion:
What is the issue, really?



Unless you’ve been living beneath a rock for quite some time, you’ve probably got an opinion concerning the abortion debate our society is currently engaged in. You’ve heard the sound bites and the arguments. You have almost definitely taken a side, but what exactly do you know about the two opposing sides? Well, there’s the Pro-Life movement which believes, unequivocally, that life begins at conception. No ifs, ands or buts. Put simply, this side vociferously believes that abortions should never take place. Some are less ardent than others and believe certain circumstances may call for the procedure, such as when the woman’s health or life is in danger and in instances of incest or rape. Some are more ardent, like North Carolina State Representative Henry Aldridge (R) who argued that victims of rape do not get pregnant “because the juices don’t flow, the body functions don’t work during a ‘real rape.” (6) Some go even further, such as The Rev. Jerry Falwell, went so far (although he later retracted his accusation) as to blame the events of September 11, 2001 as being the result of God’s wrath against our country because of the existence of legalized abortion. (7) Which segues quite nicely into the other side: Pro-Choice. These people have varied beliefs on the subject. The basic premise of the Pro-Choice movement is that a woman should have the right to choose what she does with her own body. Many believe that life doesn’t begin until well into the pregnancy. Scientifically and philosophically, both arguments are compelling.

Pro-Lifers believe that life begins at conception. For many, this is a belief that stems from religion. In the middle-ages, many Christians believed in “delayed-ensoulment.” (1) This was a belief that a male fetus was injected with a soul, by God, 40 days into the pregnancy and a female fetus received her soul 90 days in. Based on this abs...