| Abortion:
It's not a choice. It's a Child
By Reba Stringham
November 14, 2005 | Killing
humans is not only morally wrong; it's against the law,
so why are people getting away with murdering millions
upon millions of babies in the United States?
In 1965 abortions were illegal in
all 50 states with a few exceptions upon conditions
of rape, incest or the mother being in mortal danger.
Eight years later, in the infamous Roe v. Wade case,
the Supreme Court ruled the abortion laws in most states
were unconstitutional, vetoing most U.S. anti-abortion
laws. This case led to several other Supreme Court decisions
to legalize abortions throughout the United States.
As attempts to protect human life, several states created
and passed different laws, such as those to regulate
teen abortions. However, terminating a pregnancy is
still legal.
In the U.S. constitution and the
Bill of Rights, our founding fathers established the
basis of our rights as they declared, "We hold these
truths to be self evident, that all men are created
equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness."
These words gave our nation meaning
for our right to live, search for happiness and be free
from unlawful acts. Do babies not qualify for these
rights we hold? Aren't babies human also? Until the
mid 1900s, there wasn't much opposition in believing
the unborn were human. Pro-abortion groups, like the
National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League
appeared in the 1960s, saying that the fetus was not
human life and said abortions are painless to the unborn.
As these groups continued to gain support, illegal abortions
in the U.S. increased. Groups like the NARAL said that
if the U.S. were to legalize abortion, illegal abortion
would decrease, as well as child abuse and teen pregnancy.
Since the legalization in 1973, illegal abortion, child
abuse and teen pregnancy rates have increased significantly.
Too many of us don't realize this,
but unborn babies have the same humanistic functions
as humans do. According to Baptists for Life Inc., modern
technology found that within 18 days after conception,
a baby's heartbeat can be detected. Within six weeks
of conception, the baby can move spontaneously and brain
waves can be read. The child can have dream patterns
around the eighth week, along with the human responses
of touch and sound. Most abortions take place after
the eighth week.
By the thirteenth week, the baby's
lungs are functioning and if it were not for the lack
of air, the baby's cry could be heard. Are these not
signs of human life? As we see technology advance more
and more, we learn that human life doesn't begin at
birth. It begins when the sperm meets the egg.
Another aspect that signifies babies
are just as human as everyone else, is they are not
part of their mother's body at all. According to the
Harvard Political Review, genetic research has discovered
the human fetus' genetic code is separate and distinct
from the mother's genetic code. If the baby were part
of the mother's body, the placenta, acting as a guard
against infections, would kill the human zygote, thinking
it were an infection of bacteria. Therefore, those mothers
who claim they can do whatever they want with their
own bodies, have a huge misconception about the difference
between their bodies and their baby's own distinct body.
Abortion has obviously become an
excuse for millions of men and women to get rid of the
responsibility and accountability for their actions.
If couples decide they are mature enough to have sex,
but not mature enough to handle a pregnancy, adoption
is an alternative solution to unplanned parenthood.
Terminating a pregnancy is much more
than murder. Abortion is playing as God. It's refusing
a child's right to live and find happiness. The government
has given us the power and the legality in deciding
whether a human should live. This barbaric act is ugly,
it's sick and it is morally and legally wrong. Abortion
should be stopped. It should be prohibited once again
in accordance to the laws before 1973.
Those who choose to kill their unborn
child are cowards who hide from the accountability in
which they should accept as their own.
NW
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