The Abortion Debate

In modern society, contemporary medicine has advanced at an exponential rate. With this newfound control over biological processes, at what point does it challenge our values as an ethical society? Abortion is an extremely controversial point of discussion that brings into question our very definition of what it means to be human. If it is morally wrong to purposely and directly kill a living organism, then it is morally wrong to purposely and directly kill a live human embryo or fetus. For starters, the current political policy on abortion is far outdated. Roe v Wade, the landmark case that resulted in the Supreme Court decision to legalize abortion nationwide, came to a close in 1973, over 44 years ago. The amount of scientific progress

A mere 4 weeks after fertilization, the embryo heart begins to beat. After about two months, the nervous system takes shape and the first brain waves can be monitored. At week 8, all major organs are present. Around week 20, the fetus can hear, move, and swallow. About a year ago, Utah passed a law requiring doctors to give anesthetics to fetuses 20 weeks or older, as the fetus could potentially experience pain while being killed. Keep in mind, you can legally abort your fetus in any state up until around 27 weeks, some states even allow you to abort the fetus after the federal

Is it more humane to let a woman kill a fetus, or to deny a woman the right to kill a fetus? Many advocates for pro choice will tell you that women need access to abortion because of rape or incest. In reality, rape and incest only account for about 1.5% of all abortions, meaning that the other 98.5% of abortions were the direct result of consensual sex between two non-relatives. Pro choice advocates also argue that abortion is a viable option for women who aren’t ready to take care of a child. While that may be true, adoption is also a viable option. In addition, contraceptives and birth control can be purchased for cheap. The cost of birth control is appropriately low with or without health insurance. For women of disadvantaged backgrounds, the low cost of these preventative measures is a far more financially stable option than the upwards of $900 that abortions can reach. Contraceptives and birth control can also be considered moralistically superior to abortion, as they prevent the fertilization of a human zygote altogether rather than attempt to sweep the consequences under the rug after the