One of the most ethical controversial issues been debated now in United States
is whether late- term abortion should be banned or not. Most people argued that
it is proper to ban late-term abortion. They believe that it is un-ethical and a
murder of an unborn child not a right of freedom of choice. It is an immoral act
and violates the social and religious norms. On the other hand some people
argued that late-term abortion should not be banned because it is necessary to
terminate a fetus when the life of the woman is in danger as a result of
complicated pregnancy; or when pregnancy result from incest or rape and the
woman may be late in finding out that she is pregnant. Late-term abortion is
also favored when the fetus is genetically defect to avoid bringing a child in
the world to face major medical abnormalities which will be very problematic to
the mother. DISCUSSION This paper will focus the discussion on the supporting
side that late-term abortion should be banned. As mentioned earlier, late term
abortion should be banned because it is ethically an immoral act, an act of
murder and social norm deviant behavior. It involves unsafe procedure that could
result in the woman loosing her life or become deformed. It can put a woman in a
risk of many mental health problems such as depression and feelings of guilt
after the abortion. Most abortions are performed after twenty-eighth week, which
is reasonable age for viability. According to some doctors, after twenty-eight
weeks a child is capable of breathing with or without ventilator. And any
abortion from then on is late and illegal ‘‘Hadley,J. 1996.’’ Late term
abortion is a gruesome murder and violates the moral ethics law. The procedure
involves the inhumane act of extracting a fetus feet from the womb and through
the birth canal until all but it’s head is exposed. Then, the tip of surgical
scissor is thrust into the base of the fetus skull, a Suction Catheter is
inserted through the opening and the brain is removed. What a cruel and
hard–hearted act. No wonder why Pope John Paul II described abortion as simply
the murder of defenseless unborn child and not a civil liberty question as many
contended (Doeglinger;, Richard 1994). He also stated that it is not possible to
speak of the right to choose when a moral evil is involved. What happened to the
commandment “Thou shall not kill” Exodus (20:117) Most people who favor late
term abortion argue that a fetus is not a human being as a result a woman has
the right to do what she pleases with her fetus and should not be considered as
a murderer. The Pro-life advocates who are against late-term abortion argued
that life begins at conception. At six weeks the fetus heart begins to beat and
all the major organs have developed. In that case, any action deliberately
taking to abort the fetus is ethically wrong and is considered as murder. An
unwanted child is a pitiful thing, the thought of terminating something that if
allowed to run its natural course, would result in the birth of a human being
that will bring joy to most families. The Pro-abortionist focused only on a
women’s right to choose and all the social problems inherent in an unwanted
child, forgetting that the unborn child is a precious thing that has the right
to life and deserves the full protection under the moral and ethics law. The
bottom line is our individual rights to freedom, and the pursuit of happiness
should not supersede the authority of God nor should it supplement the moral
absolutes from which they are derived. The Supreme Court decision in January
1973, of Roe vs. Wade decided that there should not be any legislation against
abortion in the first trimester and second trimester. And a woman has the right
to choose whatever she wants to do with her body. According to this court
decision, the unborn child has never been recognized as a person in the whole
sense also life doesn’t begin until birth, and fetus is a little more than the
body tissue (Rodman, Hyman 1987). Pro-life advocates argued that life begins at
conception, if legislature permits abortion because the fetus is little and
unborn, it is giving the women the license to deprive the fetus the equal
protection of state’s murder law there by violating the fourteenth
constitutional amendment which bans such denials. Furthermore, if a child cannot
be safe in the mother’s womb, where else can it be safe? In most culture,
abortion is considered as deviant behavior and violation of social norms. It is
usually accompanied by punishment. In the Nigerian culture for example, if a
woman has an abortion, she faces humiliation and isolation from the women’s
group she belongs to. She pays a heavy fine that will be imposed on her by the
group. If a woman is married and has an abortion without the consent of the
husband that marriage will end in divorce and the husband gets the custody of
any child or children in the marriage. This is also applicable to any teenager
who has an abortion. She will be shamed to come out in public and it will be
very difficult again for her to marry. Also, if the woman or teenager is a
Catholic, the person will be ban from receiving Holy Communion until she sees
the clergy and receives penance because she violates the religious moral norms.
Abortion has a great effect on the relationship between a man and a woman. The
world views motherhood as a natural role for a woman. Late-term abortion is
demeaning to woman’s special role as a bearer and a raiser of children. It
also diminishes a man’s duty to be sexually responsible (Hadley, Janet 1996).
When Pro-abortionist talk about the right of a woman to choose, they should also
consider the right of the spouse or boy friend who did not give his consent for
abortion. He also has right because he has a great genetic link to the fetus. As
was noted, we should not brush aside the distress caused by abortion to men whom
their relationship to their partner is changed because of late-term abortion.
Most of these men would like to be committed to their partner’s pregnancy,
provide support and help to care for the baby (Hardley, Janet 1996). In
conclusion, I feel late-term abortion should be banned because it is ethically
wrong. It violates the social norms and also an inhuman and immoral act of
killing an unborn innocent child. The Pro-abortionist focused on the woman’s
right to choose. I think psychologically, the moral guilt, anxiety, depression
and other emotional feeling that accompanies late-term abortion is more than
‘‘the right to choose” as was contended. Late- term abortion is unsafe and
very detrimental to woman’s health, it expose a woman to many physical and
mental problems such as risk for breast cancer, ectopic- pregnancy and post
–abortion stress syndrome depression (Hadley, Janet 1990). Finally, I suggest
that women should be encouraged to avoid abortion after 23 weeks of the
pregnancy unless they are in danger of loosing their life. Physicians should try
and make an attempt to save the life of a woman and the baby before suggesting
abortion. Again, the government should try to develop a good supportive program
that will help the women who are having problem with their pregnancy the best
way to deal with it through counseling rather than choosing abortion. I will
also support the idea of lobbing campaign to defeat legalized late-term abortion
and for the church to run a host of anti-abortion programs, including those that
facilitate adoptions and provide support for pregnant women and children. In
addition, work closely with other Pro-life groups such as operation rescue to
rescue pregnant, poor, uneducated, young and minority women who are vulnerable
to abortion.