Partial Abortions

Thesis Statement

In this research paper, I will show and respond to the pro-life and pro-choice perspectives, and then advance the topic of abortion by integrating the various perspectives on a biological timeline. Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy before the fetus is capable of independent life.

Discussion

There are many perspectives on abortion. The main perspectives are pro-life and pro-choice, yet the medical and legal communities also have their own perspectives too. The pro-life view is characterized by “all men are created equal.” My personal view is that equal rights should be available to everyone regardless of sex, race, preference, age, etc. Throughout history their have been many conflicts of significance to women and blacks concerning the fight for equal rights; pro-life supporters say “why not babies too?” They also believe “there are no sub-humans.” Personally, I agree that there are no sub-humans. There are humans and not humans. I do not believe fetuses in a vegetative state, similar to a piece of tissue, are not humans because they are not conscious. Just because something has the potential of becoming a human in the future does not make it a human now.

Pro-choice enthusiasts also believe “babies feel pain in the womb.” Yes, babies do feel pain in the womb after they become conscious. Fetuses are not considered babies until they are conscious. This looks to me like they are making over generalized universal statements that only apply to existential situations, which is invalid and therefore an unsound argument. Although I do agree with them from an emotional perspective, I think other pro-choice individuals would also agree that harming babies who feel pain is morally wrong. I think the real question that integrates the two perspectives is when does a baby actually occur?

Some pro-life enthusiasts believe “babies are not sub-humans simply because they are less developed”5 and “aborting babies is morally wrong.” However, fetuses are not babies until they are conscious. They also argue, “Most 18 year olds are not fully developed” and ask whether that makes them “sub-human.” I believe the term sub-human is a fictitious construct of the pro-life perspective to gain an emotional advantage in debates. Should we consider a living piece of skin cut from our body a sub-human, of course not, then why make the same comparison with a growing piece of flesh that is not yet an independent, conscious living being.

Their next argument is that “babies are living humans in the womb” and “killing humans is murder;” therefore, “abortion is murder. However, in modern medicine, abortion involves terminating a pregnancy before the fetus is capable of independent life. This occurs before fetuses become conscious babies. This means that very few babies are legally killed today since partial birth abortions became illegal in 2003, and doctors are unwilling to perform an abortion once the fetus is conscious (after eighteen weeks). Therefore, abortions before eighteen weeks are not murder, and the actual number of nationwide abortions after eighteen weeks is only a small percentage of the former ...