The Dilemma That Is Abortion

Source: flickr.com

I'd like to touch on the topic of abortion for now. Yes, it's quite a controversial and sensitive topic, but I've been seeing some articles on abortion pop up on my Facebook feed now and then so I thought I should at least give a stated opinion about it. I know this won't end the pro- and anti-abortion debate, but speaking only for myself, I know where I stand and why I stand for it.

In general, I am against abortion. Why? Let's first go to the end.

What bodily function do medical personnel check to see if a person is alive or dead? The heartbeat. If the heart stops beating, the person is dead. The heart = life. Now, what is the very first organ that forms after the sperm fertilizes the egg? The heart. When you look at the ultrasound screen and see that pulsing point of light that is the heart, you know the fetus is alive and the fact that you're going to have a baby hits you.

The fetus is not just another part of a woman's body that shoots itself out after nine months. It is another life. The difference between the heart of a fetus and an adult is merely one of degree. So whenever an abortion is performed, a life is snuffed out. There's no getting around that.

That is why I cannot understand the logic that would support abortion in the name of freedom of choice alone when to kill a baby after it is born would be called infanticide. All I'm saying is that abortion and infanticide are two sides of the same coin, and the only thing separating the two is a mother's womb.

But aren't there instances when abortion may become necessary? Yes, I understand that if the life of the mother would be placed in jeopardy if a pregnancy were continued, like in an ectopic pregnancy, it would be best to abort that pregnancy. But these are extreme circumstances where a decision is not (or at least should not be) arrived at lightly (just like the decision to take a life in self-defense).

But what about pregnancies due to rape, or when there is a genetic defect / illness detected in the fetus? Now those are tough calls, and are difficult on so many levels. I won't presume to advise what the decision should be except to say that any decision should be arrived at with careful deliberation.

I hope that, when faced with the question of abortion, the woman would at least be aware of what she is really deciding for. Abortion goes beyond the right of a woman to do what she likes with her own body. She is not only deciding for herself, she is deciding the fate of two lives. And unlike a newborn baby that can at least breathe on its own or even be given up for adoption, the fetus is totally and utterly dependent on the mother for its survival. The fetus has no choice in it at all.

The decision whether or not to abort is, in the end, a decision whether or not to take a life. A woman should ask herself, what is she trying to gain in exchange for a life? Is that goal worth taking a life for? Can she live with that choice? That choice, and it is such a heavy choice, should be weighed with all the gravity such a decision deserves.

The decision whether or not to take a life merits nothing less.