The Pros And Cons Of Abortion

Few issues in our world today are as hotly debated as abortion. The debate between a woman’s right to “choose” and an infant’s right to “life”. Both sides preach the same gospel: We, as humans, must respect life. Regardless of which side of the debate you find yourself on, you will be greeted with fervent pleas to respect life and freedom, whether it is the freedom of women or that of infants. This is because they all know that the dignity of human life must be preserved at all costs. Once we lose respect for life, we lose our motivation to do anything beneficial to society. We have no reason to help others, and therefore lose all justification for satisfying our own desires. We cannot help ourselves if we cannot help each other. Why would

According to a 2014 study performed by the CDC, over 650,000 legal abortions were performed in the US alone that year. That’s over 650,000 lives lost to the “Pro-Choice” cause. However, the NPR and ProPublica recently teamed up to discover that the US has the worst maternal mortality rates in the developed world. On average, 24.9 women die in every 100,000 pregnancies. This may not seem like much, but compared to the next highest rate of 9.2 deaths per 100,000 pregnancies, found in the UK, the difference is drastic. Mothers, sisters, daughters, and friends have perished, many because of “Pro-Life” abortion shaming. Too many people have died for the sake of saving the lives of others. For groups that preach so heavily about saving lives, there is an awful lot of disregard for those lives that are not being specifically targeted by either side. Those who plead for an end to abortion aren’t factoring in the specific and tragic cases in which a mother may need an abortion to survive. Why should she not deserve respect while her unborn baby

I do not have personal experience with respecting life in this particular scenario. I do, however, make my best effort to respect all life I encounter. It is not always easy to respect life. For anybody to say so would be a lie. There are days when we struggle to muster the strength to offer a kind word or a helping hand. There are people who are weak and uncomfortable, and may appear undeserving of love. The Menomonee Falls Health Care Center, which I visit once a month to socialize and present a Catholic service, is home to many elderly and sick people. Most of them have trouble moving and communicating. It is a uncomfortable place to be, surrounded by sick and dying. The smell of cleaning supplies and cafeteria food is one that I will always associate with the distressing sight of the ill. When I struggle to respect these people, I remind myself of all of the times I have been sick with a stomach virus or unmotivated because of personal issues. Whenever I have hiccups in my mental or physical health, I can always count on my friends and family to nurse me back. How can I show anything less than respect when I am surrounded by such love and support? I actively try to show my respect through small daily actions of love for those around me. At this point in my life, that is the most I can do. However, I am excited to break out of my current place in life and become a more active