Abortion And Pro-Life
November 14, 1979, with the temperature outside
at fifteen degrees, a two pound
baby girl was found in a field wrapped up in
a wet, dirty, old shirt. The
umbilical cord was still attached, and the baby
had been aborted twelve weeks
prematurely. With little chance of survival,
the baby was taken to a medical
center. The little girl survived surgery and
other efforts to save her. The baby
was later adopted by, Susan Morrison, one
of the nurses who attended to her. The
baby was named Christelle, and now she
and her mother talk to thousands of
people about abortion and the pro-life
movement (Maffet 13-14). This is an
example of one person who felt they had
the right to kill an unborn child. There
are one million six hundred thousand
other abortion stories every year in the
United States alone (Swindoll
13). No one should have the right to kill an
unborn child. "Abortion is the
termination of a pregnancy after,
accompanied by, resulting in, or closely
followed by death of the embryo or
fetus: as spontaneous expulsion of a human
fetus during the first twelve weeks,
induced expulsion of a human fetus"
(Webster 2). " The life of a child
starts in the womb where God personally
and sovereignly superintends the
development and maturation of the baby
before birth" (Swindoll 25). Because
life begins at conception, abortion is
more than terminating a pregnancy, it is
taking a life. The development of a
baby can be medically documented. At
eighteen to twenty-five days the baby's
heart starts to beat. At forty to
forty-two days the brain waves can be
detected and at eight weeks the baby can
grasp its hands. It can also swim
with a natural swimmer's stroke and will
already have its own set of
fingerprints (Student Pack 1). It is at this eight
week period that about
fifty percent of abortions are done (Swindoll 13).
Approximately
twenty-seven percent of all abortions are done at ten weeks into
the
pregnancy (Swindoll 13). At this stage of development, a baby can feel
and
respond to pain and yet seven hundred and seventy-two thousand
eight-hundred
abortions are done yearly after this point in a pregnancy
(Student Packet 3).
Also, at ten weeks, ninety-five percent of the baby's
organs, features, and
muscles are formed and working (Student Packet 1).
Fourteen percent of abortions
occur when the baby is eleven to twelve weeks
old and five percent occur at
thirteen to fifteen weeks. Four percent of the
abortions occur at sixteen to
twenty weeks and only about two percent are
aborted after twenty weeks (Swindoll
13). There are five main methods of
performing an abortion. One method is
dilatation and curettage. This
procedure starts with paralyzing the cervix
muscle ring and stretching it
open. Then a curette is inserted into the opening
and used to cut the
placenta and baby into pieces. The remains are scraped into
a bin and
discarded. This procedure usually causes profuse bleeding. A second
form of
abortion is known as the suction method. A hollow plastic tube is
inserted
and attached to a strong vacuum. The baby and the placenta are torn
into
pieces as it is sucked into a bottle. Many times women will need
blood
transfusions due to hemorrhaging after this method of abortion. This
procedure
is done up until the eleventh or twelfth week of pregnancy. The
third method is
called a hysterectomy abortion. The abdomen is cut open and
the baby is removed
and discarded. This method is performed after the
fourteenth or the fifteenth
week (Wilke 27). It has been documented that
there was a baby who tried to cry
and its little arms were moving and the
legs were kicking and the doctor
smothered it with the placenta (Wilke 27).
All babies are alive before being
aborted with this method. Another case was
reported about a baby in New York
that refused to die and later was adopted
into a good home (Wilke 29). At
sixteen weeks saline abortions are done. A
needle is put into the mother's
stomach and it reaches into the baby's bag of
water. A concentrated salt
solution is injected into the fluid which poisons
the baby. This causes the baby
to convulse and die. A day later, the mother
will go into labor and will deliver
a dead baby. It has been recorded that a
woman had a saline abortion and was
sent home right after the procedure, two
weeks later she delivered twins. One
weighed three and one fourth pounds and
the other was three and three fourths
pounds (Wilke 29). God can overrule
what man chooses to do. Partial birth
abortions are the fifth method. In this
procedure the doctor grabs the baby's
legs and pulls them out into the birth
canal. The baby's whole body is delivered
except for the head. The doctor
then pokes scissors into the baby's skull and
opens the scissors to increase
the size of the hole. A suction tube is then
inserted into the hole and the
child's brain is sucked out. The skull collapses
and the dead child is
removed and discarded. This method is performed any where
from four and a
half months until the ninth month (Student packet 14). There are
many reasons
why abortions are done. Most of them are for selfish reasons. Only
one
percent are done because of rape, incest or fetal abnormalities.
Sometimes
the doctor will advise an abortion for health reasons, but this is
the case in
only four percent of the women. Fifty percent of the women claim
that they do
not want to be a single parent or that they are having problems
in their current
relationship. Sixty-six percent say they cannot afford a
child and seventy-five
percent say it would interfere with their lives.
Unfortunately, ninety-five
percent of abortions are done because of the last
three excuses (Swindoll 12). A
current trend is for babies to be aborted
because the parents do not like the
gender of the child. One woman said that
she had tried all methods she knew of
to conceive a girl. She found out twice
that she was carrying a boy and she had
both babies aborted (Student pack 5).
Many women have abortions because they are
willing to do what others tell
them to do. A victim of sexual abuse said that
her mom told her that if she
continued her pregnancy, she could not live at
home. Many of these girls are
fifteen to seventeen years of age and have no
where else to live. They often
are never told all the facts about abortion and
have no one else there to
support them. It is sad, because many times parents
care more about their
reputation than what is best for their daughters (Green
21-15). Many
women do not know about the long term effects that abortions can
have on them
physically and emotionally. In a survey of one thousand one hundred
and
forty-five women who have had an abortion, eight hundred and sixty-eight
of
them said they would not have an abortion again. Of those interviewed,
nine
hundred and thirteen of them said that they experienced guilt. Six
hundred and
seventy-four have lower self-esteem and seven hundred and
ninety-eight
experienced excessive crying and depression. Other psychological
and emotional
problems women have experienced are nightmares, remorse,
hostility, hatred
toward males, promiscuity, feeling dehumanized, abuse of
children, despair,
eating disorders, suicidal tendencies, inability to
forgive themselves, anger,
rage, drugs and alcohol abuse. Many women also
will have a desire to get
pregnant again, while others continue to have
abortions and some have thwarted
maternal emotions (Spring 66). One woman
said, "I have this dream that I
hear a baby crying and then another. I go to
a closet and open it. Out fall a
hundred babies' bodies." Another woman says,
"No one ever told me I
would live with this decision the rest of my life. It
has been several years,
but my grief continues" (Student packet 11). There
are many physical
complications as a result of abortion. Many women will
later have intense pain,
menstrual disorders, infections, neo-natal death,
shock, coma, blood clotting
defects and a scarred uterus. Women can also
become infertile or sterile. Some
women who do become pregnant again, usually
have complications such as premature
birth, long and difficult labor, tubal
pregnancy, and many will miscarry
(Student pack 13). Women also die as a
result of an abortion. Doctors will not
list it as the cause of death, but
will put hemorrhaging, suicide or infection
as the cause. Abortions leave
behind emotional trauma to families. Tendencies
toward drug and alcohol
abuse, self-destructive behavior, guilt and suicide
occur in ninety-nine
percent of women who have had abortions (Maffet 14).
Abortion became
legal on January 22, 1973. Abortion was ruled as a
constitutional right in
all the states. There were two cases that were brought
to the Supreme Court
which played a major role in the legalization of abortion.
The primary
case was Roe versus Wade. This involved a Texas woman, Jane Roe. Her
real
name was Norma McCorvey. She claimed to have been raped and felt she
should
be able to have a legal abortion. Later Miss McCorvey confessed that
she had not
really been raped. McCorvey was not able to have an abortion
legally, so she
carried the baby and then delivered a baby girl. The baby was
given up for
adoption and many years later she got to meet the child she had
wanted to abort
(Student pack 7). The second case was Doe versus Bolton. This
was a case
involving a couple from Georgia who wanted to abort a baby which
they had not
planned on (Student packet 7). This law did not protect the
unborn because it
said that, "Legal personhood does not exist prenatally." It
said there
would be no restrictions at all on abortions done within the first
three months.
Abortion would be legal after twenty to twenty-four weeks
if a licensed doctor
said it was necessary for the mother's health. This
became a loophole for
doctors to say physical, emotional, psychological,
familial, and age would be
relevant to the mental or physical well being of
the patient (Student packet 9).
This abortion law was passed despite the
fact that the Declaration of
Independence states, "We hold these truths
to be self-evident; that all men
are created equal, that they were endowed by
their Creator with certain
inalienable rights, that among these rights are
life...that to secure these
rights, government are instituted among men"
(Wilke 94). The fourteenth
amendment of the Constitution of the United States
further says, "Nor shall
any state deprive any person of life, liberty or
poverty without due process of,
nor deny to any person within its
jurisdiction, that equal protection of the
laws" (Wilke 94). In addition, on
November 20, 1959, the Declaration of the
Rights of a Child, was approved
by the General Assembly of the United Nations.
It stated that, "The
child, by reason of physical and mental immaturity,
needs special safeguards
and care, including appropriate legal protection before as well as after, birth"
(Wilke 94). The unborn are beginning to
gain more rights. From state to
state, legal rights of an unborn child can mean
the difference between the
death of a fetus being a criminal act to being just a
matter of legal
consequence. Mothers are now starting to be prosecuted for
harming their
babies through drug and alcohol abuse. Drunk drivers are also
being punished
in some states for injuring fetuses. Accidents like these would
have gone
without punishment up until a few years ago. Almost half of the
states, such
as Delaware, do not consider the killing of a fetus as murder
unless the
child is born and then dies (USA Today). Patricia Bast Lyman added to
the
American Center for Law and Justice, fetal rights to its docket. It
was
stated, "The law is a teacher and we think the law should teach respect
for
children at all states in the womb." While fetal rights are growing,
the
woman's right to control her body in ways that could affect the fetus,
are
lessening. Planned abortion is the only circumstance under which the
killing of
an unborn child goes on without consequences. The growing
consideration of a
fetus is a surprising change in the law. The so called,
"born-alive"
rule is still in effect in almost half of the states. This rule
says that the
fetus must be born alive, even briefly, before its death can be
recognized as a
homicide. In 1994, this rule showed its inadequacy. A woman
was hit by a vehicle
that ran a red light. The car she had been riding in was
damaged, and so was her
baby. The day after the accident she delivered a dead
baby. The man who had hit
her was charged with manslaughter. Later the judge
dropped the charges because
of the "born-alive" rule. The mother stated, "It
was bad enough
losing my child, but then to learn there was no penalty was
too much to take. I
was three weeks from my due date, and they were telling
me my daughter was not a
person" (USA Today). In another case, however, a
woman was given sixteen
years in prison because of her part in a drunk
driving accident. She was charged
with manslaughter in the death of a baby
who met the legal requirements of being
"born-alive," but two days later the
baby died due to the injuries
(USA Today). There are two opposing positions
on abortion. The pro-life position
believes that abortion is immoral and
should not be legal. The pro-choice
position believes that a woman should
legally be able to have an abortion, and
that it is her right to terminate
the pregnancy or carry the baby (Burtchaell,
101). Pro-abortionists say
that the unborn child is just fetal tissue and not
really alive until it is
born (Walton 12). Pro-life groups say that the unborn
are, in reality, a
living human who has to die a painful death when being
aborted (Walton 12).
Many doctors perform abortions because of the financial
rewards. Fortune
magazine says that abortion is now one of the major businesses
in America.
They estimate that abortuaries probably make more than half a
billion dollars
a year. This estimate was made ten years ago (Walton 8). Doctors
who perform
abortions are breaking the Hippocratic Oath that they repeat before
entering
the medical profession. The Oath states, "I will follow that
method of
treatment, which, according to my ability and judgment, I consider for
the
benefit of my patients, and abstain from whatever is deleterious
and
mischievous. I will give no deadly medicine to anyone if asked, nor
suggest any
such counsel. Furthermore, I will not give to a woman an
instrument to produce
abortion" (Colliers 113). Not only does the Hippocratic
Oath say something
about abortion, but so does the Creator, God. He is the
Creator of the unborn.
Psalm 139:13-16 says, "For you created my inmost
being; You knit me
together in my mother's womb. I praise You because I am
fearfully and
wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full
well. My name was
not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven
together in the depths of the earth, Your eyes saw my
unformed body. All the
days ordained for me were written in Your book before
one of them came to be
(Bible 640). God values each and everyone of us
highly, especially His children.
In Genesis 1:27 it says, "God created
man in His own image, in the image of
God He created him; male and female
He created them" (Bible 3). God further
tells us in the Ten Commandments in
Exodus 20:13, "You shall not
murder" (Bible 80). God has the ultimate
authority in life and death. One
of the strong messages from the Pro-life
movement comes from Deuteronomy 30:19.
It says, "I call heaven and earth
as witnesses against you that I have set
before you life and death, blessing
and curses. Now choose life, so that you and
your children may live" (Bible
209). They encourage people to choose life,
to carry their babies to full
term and not abort them. To God there are no
exceptions for choosing life. He
does not allow us to kill a child because it
was conceived as a result of
rape or incest or has deformities or handicaps. He
tells us in Deuteronomy
24:16, "Fathers shall not be put to death for their
children, nor children
put to death for their fathers; each is to die for his
own sin" (Bible 204).
In Romans 8:28 God also tells us that, "In all
things God works for the good
of those who love Him, who have been called
according to His purpose" (Bible
1218). He says all things, not just for
the perfectly formed baby or the baby
that was conceived in harmony and love,
but for all situations. God also
reminds us in Exodus 4:11 that He is the one
who gives us our mouth and who
makes us deaf and mute or who gives us our sight
or chooses to make us blind
(Bible 64). The Bible tells us that women do not
have a right to control
their own body. He tells us in Psalm 127:3,
"Children are a heritage from the
Lord; children are a reward from
Him" (Bible 636). In Ezekial 18:4, God
further reminds us that, "Every
living soul belongs to Me, the father as well
as the son-both alike belong to
Me. The soul who sins is the one who will
die" (Bible 871). Pro-choice
women feel they have a right to choose about
their bodies. The Bible clearly
states that no man is allowed to take a life
before birth. Matthew 18:14 tells
us how precious babies are to Him. It says,
"Your Father in heaven is not
willing that any of these little ones should
perish" (Bible 1030). To those
doctors or clinic workers who are involved in
abortions God gives a stern
warning. He says in Deuteronomy 27:25, "Cursed be
he that accepts a reward
to kill an innocent person" (Bible 206). There are
solutions to the
abortion problem. Unfortunately, there are some places which
originally started
out to help women, but became greedy and no longer provide
all sides to the
pregnancy and abortion issue. One such organization is
Planned Parenthood. It
was started about sixty years ago. In 1963, a Planned
Parenthood pamphlet said,
"An abortion kills the life of a baby after it has
begun. It is dangerous
to your life and health. It may make you sterile so
that when you want a child,
you cannot have it" (Student Packet 15). In 1984,
there were eighty-eight
thousand eight hundred and twenty-four abortions done
by Planned Parenthood.
They now have over fifty clinics around the
country. Planned Parenthood says
that , "Abortion is currently the safest of
the most frequently performed
surgical procedures," yet abortion is the sixth
leading cause of maternal
deaths (Student Packet 15). Planned Parenthood
receives about thirty million
dollars a year from Title X, a government
program, and millions more from other
tax supported programs (Walton 8). Even
though there are some bad centers for
women, Crisis Pregnancy Care centers
and Right-to-life centers are good places
to go for real help. They tell
women the truth and give them alternatives to
abortion. Adoption is one
alternative given to women. Adoption needs to be
presented as a loving act
for a child and a unique and special way to build
families. Adoption laws
must be modernized so that laws advocate the rights and
needs of the baby,
biological parents and the adoptive parents (Sider 69).
Adopted children
have more socio-economic advantages than kids who stay with
their unmarried
mothers. They have better educated mothers and live with
families with a
higher income. Thousands of babies are being aborted daily, and
yet there are
about two million infertile and fertile couples or individuals
that want to
adopt children. In 1986, fifty-one thousand one hundred and
fifty-seven
American children were adopted. Half of these children were healthy
babies
under two, from all races and backgrounds. Another alternative
or
preventative measure would be to teach or encourage abstinence in
dating
relationships. This needs to be taught in the home first and then
supportive
teaching by the church, community and in the schools (Student
Packet 8).
Shepherding or maternity homes are also a helpful alternative
for the pregnant
woman. A woman can come and live in these homes during her
pregnancy. She is
given the support of a loving family and learns about
healthy family
relationships, adoption and bringing up her own baby (Falwell
118-119). Legal
changes need to be set into place. One change would be the
consent requirement
law. This law says that the consent of the husband or man
who is responsible for
the pregnancy will have to agree to the abortion.
There are states that prohibit
minors from having an abortion without their
parent's consent. In Minnesota, a
pregnant minor that chooses not to go to
Court to have a judge decide whether
she is mature enough to make the
abortion decision or if an abortion is in her
best interest, must tell or
notify both of her parents and have their consent
before having an abortion.
The law makes no exceptions for girls of divorced or
unmarried parents who do
not have guardianship (Tribe 198-199). Limiting the
reasons for abortions
also will lessen the number of aborted babies. A
compromise is that a woman
would have to be examined before having an abortion.
This was suggested
because in Pennsylvania women wanted to kill their fetus
because it was the
wrong sex. This reason for abortion became outlawed in
Pennsylvania
(Tribe 204). Abortion is wrong and there are no exceptions. No one
should
have the right to kill an unborn child. God says it is wrong and He has
the
ultimate say in life and death. Mother Theresa stated, "It is a poverty
to
decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish"
(Student
Packet 13). Abortion is not a quick fix for a child that is
unwanted. Every
child should be a wanted child. There are viable solutions to
this problem, and
we must do all that we can to promote those solutions. By
doing this, we can
help stop the killing of innocent children.