Should Women Have a Right to Abortion?

Since the invention of the Abortion, the question of whether women should be allowed to have abortions has been an incredibly controversial question; so controversial that there have in the past been bombings of abortion clinics by "Pro-Life" extremist protesters, and the debate is still going on. Some people believe that abortion is an abomination and a sin and should never be carried out, while others believe that it is a natural right of every woman to have access to an abortion if needed.

On one hand, from a religious perspective, abortion can be seen as a sin and it is possible to argue that it should be illegal. Many Christians argue that abortion is murder, because life begins at conception, and having an abortion is killing an unborn human. Those who believe this usually believe that it is never acceptable to procure an abortion, and the Roman Catholic church will excommunicate anyone who does. Some less extreme Christians, like the Church of England, accept that an abortion may have to be allowed under exceptional circumstances, for example if a woman has been raped, if the baby is a result of incest, or if the mother's life is in danger, an abortion may be allowed. It is also argued that if women are given the right to always have an abortion, no matter the circumstances, it may be abused as a form of contraception, as opposed to 'the pill' or condoms. On the other hand, it is commonly argued that women should always have a right to an abortion, primarily because it is their own body, their own womb and their own foetus, and they should be able to decide what happens to it. Many people believe that a foetus is not self-aware and therefore removing it/killing it is not actually murder, much like how an egg is not a chicken, or a seed is not a tree. Furthermore, there are many situations that can give rise to a situation which requires abortion, such as rape, failed contraception, unplanned pregnancy, guaranteed severe disfigurement of the child, or threat of death of the mother. For all of these reasons, many people argue, it is necessary for women to at least have access to abortion, because much of the time with unplanned pregnancy, the mother is not in the correct state to care for the baby. She may be single, not have a stable income or a good financial situation in general. In such cases it could be considered better to have an abortion than to keep the baby and let it have a difficult life full of struggle and suffering. Some more liberal Christians also argue that the Church's teaching is not infallible and the decision should be based on Conscience and the circumstances of the pregnancy, as mentioned earlier. Some churches argue that women should have a right to an abortion, but we should be working primarily to eliminate the conditions that give rise to a woman's need to seek an abortion. Personally, I think that it is 100% right for women to have access to abortion, for all of the reasons above. I believe that a foetus is no more alive than the cells in your skin, and that it should ultimately be the decision of the woman whether to have an abortion or not, and not have to face any obstruction in the process. Of course this does not mean everyone should have an abortion, neither should it be used as a replacement for contraception. Just like everything, abortion should be considered heavily before being carried out, not just used on a whim because of an unplanned pregnancy. A quote that I very much like (that also applies to the issue of gay marriage) is, "Don't like gay marriage? Don't have one. Don't like abortion? Don't have one, but that doesn't mean that you should stop others making their own decisions." I think this quote summarises the entire argument, as women's right to abortion does not affect you at all, unless you want an abortion, in which case it is a good thing. Therefore I believe that women should always have a right to an abortion.