Abortion

Abortion

Introduction

Abortion can be defined as the termination of a pregnancy by the influence of a human being with the intention killing the foetus. It is amongst the most controversial, difficult, and painful subjects to be addressed today in the world. A crisis occurs over the person who has the right to make the decision to abort and under what circumstances if he or she is allowed to make the decision. The basic question is: are there circumstances or status when the mother to a child is permitted to perform an abortion? This issue mainly comes in when the pregnancy puts the mother into a risk and keeping the pregnancy increases her chances of death. Today, abortion has become a political issue in some countries and the whole debate revolves around whether abortion can be made legal. This is mostly as a result of the risks that mothers are exposing themselves to as a result of the illegality of abortion in most of the countries. However, there is one big question that each and every individual should ask himself or herself: whether legal or illegal, is abortion morally correct? In addition, it is important to note that something might be legal and still be a sin before the eyes of the lord. This paper will seek to analyze the issue of abortion and morality issues surrounding the issue. According to the bible, God is the giver of life and for that matter he is the only person who has the right to take it under all circumstances.

Morality and Abortion

An individual is said to be moral if his or her behaviours are in line with the recognised standards of good or right conduct. Abortion has been considered immoral by many people but each group of people have their own justifications for their arguments. The issue in morality is closely related to the character of individuals in the society. As stated earlier, a debate has been on the highest by politicians in some countries where these countries are determined in making abortion legal. Even worse, some countries have already made the case legal whereby individuals from these countries are now going to the hospital to carry out abortion. Politicians have argued that regardless of whether abortion has been made legal or not, ladies are still doing it and they are being exposed to great dangers in countries where abortion is illegal since these individuals do it in hidden places.

Abortion

There are also some other institutions and denominations that are for the idea of abortion arguing that there are certain circumstances where a mother should be given the permission to perform an abortion. Some of these circumstances include: pregnancy as result of rape cases, mother being exposed to risks by keeping the child, unwanted child, a lady too young to raise a child, etc. This gives the whole community a bad name since the community is not helping its people to flourish (Connors & McCormick, 1998, p.65) It is always good to act with integrity so that the person whom we say we are is portrayed by our actions. The issues surrounding abortion can only be addressed by the bible which is trust by most individuals all over the world. Being honest and obedient to the creator can help the world save these children since their lives are in the wrong hands. The many who are for abortion need to know that the lord is the only giver of life and he is the only one who has the right to take it. Another fact is that, the moment this child was conceived, it acquired a life and is therefore a being in the image and likeliness. To acquire the true definition of moral individuals in the society, we need to adhere to god’s call and respect all life knowing that we are created in the image and likeliness of god (Connors & McCormick, 1998, p.33). It is sad news to hear some denominations saying that abortion should be allowed if the child happens to be a risk to the health of the mother. If it is god’s plan that these two people will not survive, the mother could even die during the process of abortion is through.

Freedom to Choose Between the Wrong and the Right

As a matter of fact, not all that is legal is moral. Whether abortion has been made legal or not, the act is immoral and against god’s command (Connors & McCormick, 1998, p.37). However, God gave us the freedom to exercise we need to. The kind of freedom that god has given us is the freedom with responsibility. Rewards for every action that one takes awaits him or her. The bible gives young people the right to enjoy life but in addition, they are told that they will be answerable to any actions that they take. Abortion has not been legalised in all countries due to the influence of the church. The Catholic Church is known to be in the fore front in opposing abortion under all conditions. The church leaders have stood strong in their opinion concerning abortion. This have indeed led to the act of abortion remaining illegal in some countries thus curtailing the freedom of the citizens perform the act.

Abortion

Effects of Abortion

When an individual is planning to perform an abortion, he or she never considers the effects that are likely to befall her at the end of the incident. The moment an individual performs an abortion, she becomes stigmatised immediately. Chances of the soul of the child haunting the parent frequently are very high. The conscience of the mother always reminds her of the incident and all that this does is adding to the stigma. The torture that the mother undergoes is so much that given the opportunity again, she would go for the option of bearing the child. Abortions especially the local ones are very dangerous. The lady could undergo some damages in her uterus leading to permanent lack of a child. This is again very dangerous compared to the issue of raising a child. The worst case happens if the lady has been married but the husband later comes to know that the lady cannot get a child because she performed an abortion. The man might end up leaving the lady forever which is real torture on the side of the lady. This is an individual’s act that affects her life and the life of the boyfriend. By definition, personal acts are acts that we perform as individuals but they have an impact not only on us but also on people around us (Connors & McCormick, 1998, p.45). There have been cases of cancer reported on ladies who have performed abortion. This can be attributed to the fact that the gadgets that have been used to perform the abortion may not be very sterile of may react with the body to cause disease.

Character, Choice, and Community

An individual’s character defines the consistency of that individual in the way he or she carries out his or her activities to bring out the person he or she claims to be. An individual with a good character sticks to his or her virtues and is not moved by the pleasure that there is in vices.

Adhering to virtues such as discipline and honesty helps in giving a peaceful world where residents will be responsible in their deeds. The growth and development of an individual involves a series of steps whereby the development has got no limit. The growth involves individual and community development whereby individuals move from little children to adolescents and then to adults while communities move from tyrannies to democracies, oligarchies to communities, etc, (Connors & McCormick, 1998, p.31). Growth involves facing both opportunities and challenges and the individuals acquire success by taking great risks in life.

Abortion

Conclusion

Abortion is one of the most sensitive issues that have attracted the attention of everybody in the world. Many questions have been raised over the same issue especially concerning whether there are incidents when abortion should be allowed. In some countries, abortion has been made legal and the individuals proceed to the healthcare centres for the service. In other countries, debates over the legalization of abortion are underway with the churches especially the Catholic Church totally against it. The explanation by the Catholic Church is that god is the giver of life and for that matter; he is the only one who is allowed to take it. Politicians on the other hand are concerned with the risks that the citizens are engaging in by conducting abortion in the hidden places. In these countries where abortion is not legalized, very many people lose their lives in the process of abortion. Abortion has been considered immoral by many people but each group of people have their own justifications for their arguments. The issue in morality is closely related to the character of individuals in the society. However, the bible is totally against abortion as this is associated with murder which god forbid. God has given people the freedom to choose between what is right and what is evil. The moment an individual performs an abortion, she becomes stigmatised immediately. Also, Chances of the soul of the child haunting the parent frequently are very high. An individual’s character defines the consistency of that individual in the way he or she carries out his or her activities to bring out the person he or she claims to be. An individual with a good character sticks to his or her virtues and is not moved by the pleasure that there is in vices.

References

Russell, B. J & Patrick, T. M. (1994). Character, Choices, & Community. New York/Mahwah: N. J. Paulist Press. The Three Faces of Christian Ethics. . New York/Mahwah, N.J. Paulist Press, 1-174.