Abortion is a controversial topic around the world. There are two groups when talked about when discussing this topic: pro-life and pro-choice. People believing in pro-life want to make abortion illegal. They believe it is not only wrong, but is cruel to kill an unborn child. It also can be harmful to the mother. Dorothy Shaw, president-elect of the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) is quoted in the article “Unsafe Abortions Kill Thousands of Women, Experts Say” by Kuala Lumpar calming “Unsafe abortion is a serious public health problem for women, accounting for 13 percent of all maternal deaths globally each year (1).” Kuala Lumpar of the Agence France Presse [a French newspaper] goes on to state “Some 70,000 women worldwide die from unsafe abortions each year while many more suffer serious injuries, especially in poor countries…(1)” These are both valid points; but what if a woman is raped and becomes pregnant, if there is a fatal problem with the unborn child, or if the mother becomes fatally ill? If abortions became illegal families would be left with nothing but heartache and sorrow for something that can ultimately be fixed.
Women of rape cases have every right to an abortion if they choose. Why should they have to keep a baby that was made with a man that they never wanted to sleep with in the first place? According to Bioethicist Andrew Varga, “It is also said that a pregnancy caused by rape or incest is the result of a grave injustice and that the victim should not be obliged to carry the fetus to viability. This would keep reminding her for nine months of the violence committed against her and would just increase her mental anguish (1).” As Varga states, the child would be a constant reminder to the mother of the pain and violence that she went through. If abortion was to become illegal, women would have to keep a child that was made out of fear. And what if that woman didn’t want children, or
Cited: 2006. 25 Apr. 2007 . Lumpar, Kuala Agence France Presse 06 Nov. 2006. 27 Apr. 2007 . Peyser, Andrea Post. 9 Nov. 2006. 25 Apr. 2007 Varga, Andrew