Abortion is an extremely sensitive topic, no matter what gender one is or what country one comes from. In the OECD (an intergovernmental economic organization with 36 member countries) alone, 19 nations allow the right of abortion without restrictions. Seven nations allow abortion accompanied by the consulting of an expert. Four nations do not allow it, with the exception of abortion due to social or economic issues. Six nations simply do not allow it under any circumstances.
But before we talk about abortion, we must go over feminism, which is directly related to this issue. Feminism simply explained, is a range of ideologies and movements to establish equality between genders. The ultimate goal of feminism is to promote women’s rights, up to the point where it is equal to men. These rights include the right to vote, to hold public office, to work, to earn fair wages or equal pay, and to be ensured access to legal abortion. The reason feminists ask for access to legal abortion is to protect women’s reproductive rights. As much as I think women’s rights should be protected and that feminism is a great movement, I simply cannot agree to this; this absurd claim that women should have the right to legally murder a future human being.
The biggest clash is this: from when should a fetus, an unborn offspring, be considered a human being? No one can deny that before the sperm and egg meet, it cannot be called a human being. Likewise, no one can deny that it is murder to kill a baby that has successfully been born. The borderline here, of when a fetus becomes a human being, is unclear. However, according to the US government’s federal Unborn Victims of Violence Act, it is specifically stated that “In this section, the term ‘unborn child’ means a child in utero, and the term ‘child in utero’ or ‘child, who is in utero’ means a member of the species homo sapiens, at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb”. To put it short, a human being is created from the moment the sperm and egg meet. Abortion, simply put, is the murder of a human being, though it is still inside its mother’s womb.
According to the Declaration of Independence, one of the founding documents of the United States, “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.” It was proved in the paragraph above that unborn babies, in whatever stage they are inside their mother’s womb, are considered members of homo sapiens. Therefore, unborn babies also have the unalienable right to life, which others are taking away. Simply said: there is no right more precious than the right to life. Abortion, under whatever circumstance, is depriving a child of his or her life.
In Roe v. Wade (Jan 22, 1973), the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of abortion rights. Some may simply think, “Well, since the SUPREME Court ruled in favor, it must be right.” However, that is a very common misconception. Experts in their field of expertise just know better than some of us do. That doesn’t mean all their decisions are right. The 14th Amendment bars states from depriving “any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”
Something to note in Roe v. Wade is that the court did not classify unborn children as humans; they excluded unborn children from the class of ‘persons’. However, as aforementioned, it is stated in the US government’s federal Unborn Victims of Violence Act that an ‘unborn child’ is a member of ‘homo sapiens’, in other words, human beings. This just proves that just because something was ruled in favor of by the Supreme Court, it isn’t always right. Abortion is just plain murder, whether it was ruled in favor of by the Supreme Court or not.
Now let’s look at the effects of legalizing abortion. A very obvious effect of legalizing abortion would be the increase in the abortion rate. That is because, obviously, people who had formerly not performed an abortion would feel the urge to perform it, since the punishments that came along with abortion before abortion was legal are gone. Now, in whatever situation, if humans are repeatedly exposed to a certain situation, humans adapt to it. It is no different for abortion. Abortion promotes the thought that human life is disposable. As House Representative Randy Hultgren (R-IL) spoke in Jan. 2017, “When we tell one another that abortion is okay, we reinforce the idea that human lives are disposable, that we can throw away anything or anyone that inconveniences us.”
Another reason abortion should not be permitted is to maintain the importance of taking responsibility that comes with birth. People need to take responsibility for their actions and accept the consequences. Having sexual intercourse, even when contraceptive methods are used, carries with it the risk of a pregnancy. The unborn baby should not be punished for a mistake made by adults. This is not an issue restricted to women only. Oftentimes women are forced to take the burden of bearing a child they do not want, while men or the nation typically take less responsibility. As much as I think abortion is wrong, I think that asking the women only to pay the price is wrong as well. The burden of bearing an unwanted child is too much for one person to bear. Men should start taking responsibilities for the children they have produced, and if they do not, it should be the nation’s duty to force them to. The nation, in addition to making men take the responsibility, should provide sufficient aid for pregnant women and mothers who have born their child. When a sufficient environment is provided for raising a child, abortion will naturally decline.
I cannot emphasize this statement too much: abortion is plain murder. The U.S. government categorizes unborn children as human beings in the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. The Declaration of Independence states that all human beings have the right to life. Human beings, including unborn children. Abortion must not be permitted under any circumstances, simply because it is the depriving of one’s life for the convenience of another. However, realistically, it is wrong to put the responsibility of crime of abortion only on women. It is too much for one to bear; it is a burden men, women, and the nation must hold together. All of us must cooperate and take responsibility for the killings of the unborn babies. That is truly the path that leads to the abolishment of abortion.