Society is anti-abortion yet looks down upon teenage pregnancy. That is very contradicting. There is a lot of controversy about abortion. Is what’s growing inside a woman considered a baby, and if not, when is it? Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy, not a baby. It cannot be biologically proven that personhood begins at conception. According to ROE v. WADE, 410 U.S. 113 in 1973, a woman’s right to choose abortion is a “fundamental right” recognized by the US Supreme Court.
There is a lot of controversy revolving around the topic of abortion; is it just, is it immoral? Some say that “thou shall not kill,” but scientifically speaking, there is no proof that a fetus is a living person. An argument made by Joyce Arthur states, “Declaring fetuses to be legal persons with rights would generate countless legal and social dilemmas. Fetuses would have to become dependents for tax and estate purposes, be counted in official census-taking, and be subject to many other laws affecting persons.”
Once a fetus comes to term, then it is a baby, and no baby should come into this world unwanted.
Another argument made is fetuses have feelings and can feel pain. However, through research, it’s become apparent that fetuses are incapable of feeling anything, much less pain. According to Stuart W.G. Derbyshire, Ph.D., senior lecturer at the University of Birmingham, “not only has the biological development not yet occurred to support pain experience but the environment after birth, so necessary to the development of pain experience, is also yet to occur.” Therefore, a fetus is not a living person and abortion should not be supported — but not looked down upon. There is no actual harm and pain being inflicted upon the unborn fetus.
Stephanie Santiago
Golder College Prep High School
Formerly of Forest Park
