OPINION

Abortion: The rights of the unborn child
By: Sarah K., SNN Opinion Editor, Ascension Collegiate, Bay Roberts, NF

Abortion is justified murder. This statement, from the website aboutabortion.com , sums up the sentiments of many people. The debate rages on in today's society - ProLife - the rights of an unborn child versus ProChoice - the right of a woman to decide.

In my opinion abortion is murder, justified or not. I believe in the right of the unborn child and I feel that a mother should carry the baby to full term and then, if unable to care for the child, put it up for adoption. I can think of only one specific case when abortion was justified.

The majority of North Americans feel that abortion may be justified in three instances. Number one, when the mother's life is at stake; number two, in cases of rape or incest; and number three, when the baby's health is at stake. The specific case I am thinking of fits into all three of these categories. Some of you may have heard about it on the news, or read about it in the papers.

A twelve-year-old girl was home alone with her older brother after their parents had left them for the evening. Once he was sure that the parents were not going to make an unexpected stop back at the house, he forced himself on her. Thus, fitting into the category of rape and incest.

A few weeks later, the girl discovered she was pregnant, with her brother's child. As a twelve-year-old, she was not yet capable of carrying the baby for the full nine months required for proper development and growth. She was jeopardizing the health of both herself and her child. Because this incident became so sensationalized by the media, her family found it difficult to find an abortion clinic that would perform the procedure. They had to travel out of state in order to save their daughter's life.

This is the only case where I consider abortion would be appropriate. Otherwise, unless the mother, child or both are at risk, infants should be carried to full term and then both father and mother (it takes two you know) should sit down and discuss their options together, as a family.

Okay, okay, I know what you're thinking. Maybe in a perfect world families stick together but what about the case where the father denies parenthood of the child, or when he is so upset by the news of her pregnancy he leaves his wife, or girlfriend or companion to look after the child and herself? Then, the responsibility falls on the shoulders of the mother and her family and friends to decide on the future of the pregnancy. The emotional bond between mother and a newborn child is stronger than that of the bond between father and child. If the mother proves strong enough, the baby could still have a fighting chance at survival. Single mothers have raised many great people. Don't use parenthood, or lack thereof, as an excuse for abortion.

While both parents may love the child equally, the mother carried the baby for nine months and then brought that baby into the world.

Abortion solves no problems. If it was simply a choice, like deciding on what to wear, or what party to go to Friday night, then many great men and women may never have existed.

Consider this, what if Columbus' mother had decided that she wasn't ready to have a baby? What if Whistler's grandmother had an abortion? What if Mahatma Ghandi's mother had terminated her pregnancy? What if John F. Kennedy had never lived? What kind of a state would our world be in? All aspects of our lives would be forever changed.

Instead, abortion is a matter of life and death. " To be or not to be", Hamlet's famous soliloquy on suicide certainly comes into play here. To let your child live or to kill your own child is not a simple choice. It is one of the most important choices a woman will ever have to make.

In my opinion abortion is first degree murder. The murder was thought about, and carefully considered. If plans to murder a young child were discovered, both the people plotting the murder and the person who committed the murder would be punished to the fullest extent of the law. But now, a mother-to-be can plot the murder of her own child. Not only that, but there are clinics that are used solely for the purpose of murdering innocent children.

I ask all of you, is this morally right? Should a doctor be able to make a living by killing unborn children? Should a mother be legally able to murder her own child, in cold blood, without even giving that child a chance? I think that most of you will agree with me when I tell you that my answer is No! Never should one person's health, that of an unborn child, be jeopardized because of another person's desire to terminate her pregnancy.

This article portrays my own opinion on the subject of abortions.
They do not reflect the opinions of this publication.

For further information on the abortion issue, both sides, check out the following websites:

Canadian Abortion Rights Action League

InterLife - ProLife Website