The Truth about Abortion

Of the many issues that are controversial in our society, none affect me quite like the abortion issue. Although, I am obviously not a woman, this issue is still very important to me. Being one of the most emotionally appealing issues to attack, it makes defending difficult. Nonetheless, the abortion issue deserves my support, and I would like to inform those who are against abortion why I so strongly support it. Although pro-life advocates claim that abortion is the murder of a human being and should be illegal, scientific evidence and logic say otherwise.

The most important piece of information that you need to have on the abortion issue is that a fetus is not a human being. The neocortex, the region of the brain that enables consciousness, does not develop until late in gestation. That means that from fertilization to near the third trimester what is inside the womb is nothing more than an organism in a persistent vegetative state. Now that that is understood we must begin to define the human condition. The human condition is one’s perception of life through natural and inevitable events. Basically, it is the general term used to describe how we perceive the metaphysical, biological and sociological events in our lifetime. Fortunately, the only word you need to understand is perception. Perception is a subcategory of cognitive science or the study of the brain. The brain provides perception and is the key to the human condition. Basically what I’m saying is without a brain you don’t think; therefore, you are not a human being.

Still, pro-life advocates will rant about how abortion is wrong and that every child should have a shot at life. It is because of this that I must tell you the story of Jacob. “Who is Jacob? He is nobody, and he had nobody to care for him. The fatherless son of an HIV positive prostitute, he lived five excruciatingly painful years before the multiple drugs used to take the pain away stopped his heart. Jacob’s suffering was inevitable because he was born an AIDS baby. It was known that he would die young, yet some pro-life advocate thought that he should get a shot at life. Jacob didn’t deserve the life he was forced into” (Kincaid). “He should have been aborted” (Kincaid).

To give perspective on this issue from a pro-life point of view I will provide some counter-arguments. The following arguments against abortion were taken from Abort73.com, a popular pro-life website: “A new human being comes into existence during the process of fertilization. It is false to claim that no one knows when life begins and dishonest to argue that abortion does not kill a human being” (Jones). It is true that fertilization is the creation of an organism and abortion is the removal of set organism from its host; however, that organism is not a human being. If you were to look at a recently fertilized egg in a microscope you wouldn’t see a baby with little feet and a large head, you’d see a little blob inside of a bigger blob. What constitutes the human condition is the ability to think. Thinking is a function given to us by our brain, something a cell doesn’t have. Therefore, abortion is not the killing of a human being. “The differences between embryos and adults are differences that don't matter. Human beings inside the womb are smaller, less developed, and more dependent than human beings outside the womb. These are differences of degree, not differences of kind. We can all point to other people who are bigger, stronger, smarter, or less dependent than we are, but that doesn't make our life any less valuable, or any less deserving of protection” (Jones). An embryo is no more a Human being than a seed is a blooming flower. Similarly, a caterpillar isn’t considered a butterfly before it enters its cocoon stage. Being larger or smaller means nothing in the grand scheme of things. What matters is what you are, and in this instance you’re either an embryo or you’re a human. “It is reasonable and necessary for society to outlaw certain ‘choices’. The only way people can successfully live together in a community is to give up a measure of personal freedom. Personal choices that infringe on the life or livelihood of another human being must be legislated against. Therefore, it is impossible to justify abortion by simply arguing that women should be ‘free to choose’” (Jones). The fully grown woman’s health and opinion must take precedence over the life of a cell. Moreover, the ability to choose should take precedence over other’s opinions. A cell will live or die by the decisions of the carrier, whether it’s a regular menstrual period, an accidental miscarriage or an abortion. Therefore, the burden must be on the woman to make that choice and not for society to make it for her.

Whether you are like me and support abortion and reproductive justice or you don’t, it doesn’t matter. There will always be situations were abortion is necessary. Objective scientific evidence and logic support abortion, and to eliminate it, just because of your personal bias, would be foolish. It is because of these foolish actions, made to eliminate abortion as an option, that the world is so grossly overpopulated. Thousands of unwanted children are the result of pro-life advocators, and that is not justice. At the same time, a cell that would have eventually had a loving family and lived a great and meaningful life is killed before it even knew it existed. What can we deduce from this situation? Perhaps the issue is just too complicated for us to be able to say that one side is right and the other is wrong. Maybe this will be the one issue that will remain a moot point for all time, and perhaps it’s best that way.