Abortion is the termination
of pregnancy before birth, resulting in the death of the foetus. There are two
kinds of abortion. The first one is spontaneous abortion, more commonly known as
miscarriage. The second type is induced abortion which we usually associate
abortion with. Induced abortion occurs because of unwanted/unplanned pregnancies
or pregnancy presents a risk to the woman’s health. In
this section, we are going to focus on induced abortion and discussing the moral
and ethical issues associated with it. In relevance to our topic of children’s
rights, we are going to touch on whether the foetus in a woman’s womb is
considered a human and whether it is entitled to a right to life. We would not
only deal with abortion issues domestically but also internationally as this is
a very universal topic.
PRO-LIFE
ADVOCATES
Not
everyone is in favour of intentional termination of pregnancy. In fact more and
more non-profit organizations have sprouted worldwide abhorring abortion. Our
stand is also in union with these pro-lifers as we feel that unborn babies
deserve a right to live. Only in extreme circumstances is abortion a necessity
like when a mother’s life is threatened if the foetus is carried to full term.
Apart from that, we feel that a parent should be responsible enough to make sure
the baby is allowed to live.
The question that has been in great debate since the late twentieth century is when do you consider the unborn baby a human being. Pro-lifers believe that human being is in existence from the moment of conception as the foetus starts to grow – only a living thing grows right? On the other hand of the opposition, defenders of abortion believe that a foetus is only a potential human being until it is viable – hence it does not have any rights whatsoever. The rights belong to the mother instead. Debate after debate ensued but no consensus has been reached. So we are trying to decide what is the best time for a foetus to be considered a life human being. Most people would agree that once the foetus is viable, it is considered a human. Over the years the period of viability is getting earlier which means more people are accepting that abortion is an unpleasant option.
REGULATIONS
ON ABORTION
Since the ancient times abortion was already in use as a crude method of birth control. Until the nineteenth century, it was not considered illegal. After that England, Asia, Africa and America had laws prohibiting abortion. However, the policy laxed again in the twentieth century. Soon abortion was legal almost worldwide. There are however international laws and regulations regarding abortion rights so as to protect the interests of the unborn baby in the womb.
STATISTICS
An estimated 50 million abortions are performed worldwide annually. More disturbing however, is the high toll of mortality due to pregnancy-related deaths. Illegal abortions may contribute to about 50 percent of the deaths.
We are not going to go into detail on the legalization of abortion and the laws relevant to it. However, we are putting the various acts and bills and any legal aspect as a hyperlink if anyone wishes to pursue more interest in the laws.
Other
recommended sites for abortion regulations can be found here :
·
http://hometown.aol.com/abtrbng/
·
http://www.choice.org/4.laws.html#laws
Some other sites of interest: