To abort or not to abort? Costs and benefits of abortion
In the past I didn't have any strong opinions about whether abortion was right or wrong. I hadn't thought about it much.
I now believe one could make a strong argument that abortion is wrong. Why? Logic. Let me examine some arguments.
If a woman has an unwanted baby, and decides to keep it, it's very true that her life will be altered radically. Proponents of abortion may mention this. Hence, in this sense, an abortion could be a benefit to the mother.
But benefits don't always outweigh the costs.
But what are the costs? Well, the main cost is that the fetus dies, through no choice of it's own. And the choice then becomes this: you either complicate the life of a mother who may have only 60 years more to live, or you end the life of a human that has their entire life to live. Using only this logic, I don't see how abortion could ever be justified, unless you strongly value the life of the mother over that of the baby.
I find it interesting that people often speak about older people sacrificing for the young, perhaps since the young have longer to live (the idea of a parent jumping in front of a bullet heading for their child). But if that belief is commonplace, why don't I ever hear a parallel argument that one should sacrifice for the life of the fetus? You'd think that the latter would be an even stronger argument than the former, since a fetus will have more time to live than a child will.
Other proponents of abortion will tell you that a mother has a right to have an abortion since it's her own body. I rarely hear people discuss just how weak this argument is. It's quite weak.
The fetus is in the mother's body simply because that's where the birth process dictates that it be. If abortion is wrong, should a mother have the right to have an abortion simply because the wrongdoing would occur in her own body?
Well, if you believe crime is wrong, is it OK for someone to commit murder in their own car or home simply because they own that car or home? Of course it's not OK. Is it OK for someone to inject illegal drugs simply because they are injecting it into their own body? Of course not.
If unplanned pregnancies weren't sometimes avoidable, perhaps abortion would be justified. Unplanned pregnancies are not unavoidable. Yes, accidents do happen, and perhaps exceptions could be considered in those circumstances, but an adult is an adult. It shouldn't be difficult to prevent unplanned pregnancies with birth control. However, I agree that many people may have limitations that make it more difficult for them to use birth control.
And what about the all-important question: is the fetus a person? Well, I think the best answer is this: yes it is. It is a human. It is no longer a sperm or egg...it's a developing human being. Why should it matter whether the human being is in the womb or whether the human being has left the womb? After all, the only thing separating the fetus from being a newborn is time.
Time is the only thing separating the fetus from developing into an adult. That's it! There are no significant structural changes that need to occur to change the fetus into a baby. Nothing. Just time. The human being has already been created.
If you believe that humans shouldn't be killed, I really don't see how abortion could be logically justified, since time is the only barrier between a fetus and a baby.
I'm not suggesting that a woman that has an abortion is likely to be evil. That's hardly the case. Myself, I was undecided on this topic until recently. It's a complex topic in the following sense:
I think that a significant problem is one of perception. People don't perceive a fetus as a baby, a human, so they have less difficulty aborting it. What's out of sight is often out of mind.
Look at gamblers. It's easier to give away money in the form of poker chips, right? And why is that? Because it doesn't look like money. Do you think people would throw away as much money if the poker chips were actual bills? No, they wouldn't.
And when people have abortions, the idea of the fetus as a human being is often out of sight and hence out of mind. I understand why people have that perception, but perception isn't always accurate.
After all, time is the only thing separating a fetus from becoming an adult.
After I wrote this article, I found a remarkable photo of a 21 week old fetus being operated on while still in the womb! And guess what...the baby's tiny hand reached through and grabbed the doctor's hand and squeezed it! Now think about how many million of abortions of these babies have occurred! Frightening. And sickening.
Here's the photo.
In the past I didn't have any strong opinions about whether abortion was right or wrong. I hadn't thought about it much.
I now believe one could make a strong argument that abortion is wrong. Why? Logic. Let me examine some arguments.
If a woman has an unwanted baby, and decides to keep it, it's very true that her life will be altered radically. Proponents of abortion may mention this. Hence, in this sense, an abortion could be a benefit to the mother.
But benefits don't always outweigh the costs.
But what are the costs? Well, the main cost is that the fetus dies, through no choice of it's own. And the choice then becomes this: you either complicate the life of a mother who may have only 60 years more to live, or you end the life of a human that has their entire life to live. Using only this logic, I don't see how abortion could ever be justified, unless you strongly value the life of the mother over that of the baby.
I find it interesting that people often speak about older people sacrificing for the young, perhaps since the young have longer to live (the idea of a parent jumping in front of a bullet heading for their child). But if that belief is commonplace, why don't I ever hear a parallel argument that one should sacrifice for the life of the fetus? You'd think that the latter would be an even stronger argument than the former, since a fetus will have more time to live than a child will.
Other proponents of abortion will tell you that a mother has a right to have an abortion since it's her own body. I rarely hear people discuss just how weak this argument is. It's quite weak.
The fetus is in the mother's body simply because that's where the birth process dictates that it be. If abortion is wrong, should a mother have the right to have an abortion simply because the wrongdoing would occur in her own body?
Well, if you believe crime is wrong, is it OK for someone to commit murder in their own car or home simply because they own that car or home? Of course it's not OK. Is it OK for someone to inject illegal drugs simply because they are injecting it into their own body? Of course not.
If unplanned pregnancies weren't sometimes avoidable, perhaps abortion would be justified. Unplanned pregnancies are not unavoidable. Yes, accidents do happen, and perhaps exceptions could be considered in those circumstances, but an adult is an adult. It shouldn't be difficult to prevent unplanned pregnancies with birth control. However, I agree that many people may have limitations that make it more difficult for them to use birth control.
And what about the all-important question: is the fetus a person? Well, I think the best answer is this: yes it is. It is a human. It is no longer a sperm or egg...it's a developing human being. Why should it matter whether the human being is in the womb or whether the human being has left the womb? After all, the only thing separating the fetus from being a newborn is time.
Time is the only thing separating the fetus from developing into an adult. That's it! There are no significant structural changes that need to occur to change the fetus into a baby. Nothing. Just time. The human being has already been created.
If you believe that humans shouldn't be killed, I really don't see how abortion could be logically justified, since time is the only barrier between a fetus and a baby.
I'm not suggesting that a woman that has an abortion is likely to be evil. That's hardly the case. Myself, I was undecided on this topic until recently. It's a complex topic in the following sense:
I think that a significant problem is one of perception. People don't perceive a fetus as a baby, a human, so they have less difficulty aborting it. What's out of sight is often out of mind.
Look at gamblers. It's easier to give away money in the form of poker chips, right? And why is that? Because it doesn't look like money. Do you think people would throw away as much money if the poker chips were actual bills? No, they wouldn't.
And when people have abortions, the idea of the fetus as a human being is often out of sight and hence out of mind. I understand why people have that perception, but perception isn't always accurate.
After all, time is the only thing separating a fetus from becoming an adult.
After I wrote this article, I found a remarkable photo of a 21 week old fetus being operated on while still in the womb! And guess what...the baby's tiny hand reached through and grabbed the doctor's hand and squeezed it! Now think about how many million of abortions of these babies have occurred! Frightening. And sickening.
Here's the photo.
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