Teen pregnancy is an issue that impacts individuals and society in many different ways, and the issue of teenage abortion is one that is fraught with controversy – pro life individuals decry abortion as being akin to murder, whereas pro choice individuals insist that a woman has the full right to decide about her life and her body without having to succumb to pressure and feelings of guilt.
Many do consider that teenage abortion or indeed any abortion is simply wrong and that it violates the sanctity of human life.
In this view, the unborn fetus should not have to bear the punishment for a teen’s irresponsible behavior (such as indiscriminate or unprotected sex) or even sexual abuse (when the pregnancy is a result of incest, rape and so on, it should be the perpetrator who should be punished rather than the fetus).
The pro lifer will offer the argument that if a teen carries the pregnancy to term, she has the option of putting her child up for adoption and that with 1.5 million Americans waiting to adopt a child, there is no dearth of loving families waiting for a baby, thereby presenting a viable alternative to teenage abortion.
It is argued that teenage abortion can have many negative consequences – it can increase chances of having an ectopic pregnancy, a miscarriage or pelvic inflammatory disease later in life, goes up significantly. The emotional pain and stress, to say nothing of guilt can be tough to bear for any woman who chooses to end a pregnancy.
However one valid point in favor of teenage abortion is that during the first trimester when all abortions take place, the fetus is not an independent entity of its own, incapable of existing without the mother’s womb.
Though adoption is often presented as a viable alternative to abortion, for many women, the idea of having a child adopted may be unacceptable. Also statistics show that most women are unable to do so – after the birth, women may find it impossible to give their babies up.
There is also the fact that when the pregnancy is a result of abuse, having the child will be a constant reminder to the woman of the horrors that she has undergone and there is no reason why a woman should have to pay for something that someone else did to her.
It is important to remember that abortion is a safe procedure and it is the woman should has and should have control over her own body. The right to abortion is central to the issue of civil rights, and neither the government nor the society should have the right to control a woman’s body.
Statistics also show us that teen mothers and their children have a bleak outlook when it comes to their future prospects.
The fact is that whatever a woman decides; whether she decides to go on with her pregnancy, or decides to undergo teenage abortion, she will face difficulties and censure from others. So rather than being pressured by others to make a choice, make the choice based on one’s own reality and circumstances.
You mentioned that an unborn fetus shouldn’t bear the punishment for a teen’s irresponsible behavior. How would they endure punishment for being born? Nor should they be considered a punishment. They are a result of what happens. It’s life. Yes, even though a teenaged girl may have been raped, putting the girl through more guilt of an abortion on her isn’t the answer. Also, fetus is the Latin word for “small child”. Whatever you choose to call it, it is a child. Whether one day in the mother’s womb or at the end of 9 months. It’s a simple truth that is getting lost through time.