The Terrible Choice: The Legal Issue Of Teenage Abortion

Teenage abortion has become a complicated issue in today's time. Teenage abortion is on the increase; it is a never-ending battle that poses a legal, medical, social, and moral dilemma. There have been many legal battles have been fought in the United States over the issue of abortion. Merz states that the earliest American law on abortion was based on the British common law. In addition, Merz says until 1803 the British common law did not view abortion as a crime if it was performed before the fetus "quickened". Since a fetus is not yet a baby, does the unborn child have the ability to feel pain? Doctors today know that unborn children can feel a touch within the womb and that they respond to pain. All over the world teens are
They have argued that it is just an embryo and is not yet a child. In the book The Terrible Choice: The Abortion Dilemma, Glanville Williams, a well-known English criminologist, was quoted saying abortion should be treated like a tonsillectomy. It is a minor operation to remove unwanted or harmful "tissue growth". Farah's article also looks at Michael Tooley's views. The fetus has a heartbeat and should be considered a living organism the second it is conceived. Taking the life of an unborn child is murder. They did not ask to be created in the first place, so who are we to say they should be terminated. Some also think that if their child is going to be mentally retarded or physically handicapped it is considered alright to have an abortion. In the book The Terrible Choice: The Abortion Dilemma, Pearl S. Buck wrote in the foreword, "a retarded child, a handicapped person, brings its own gift to life, even to the life of normal human beings. That gift is comprehended in the lessons of patience, understanding, and mercy, lessons which we all need to receive and to practice with one another, whatever we
When a teenager makes the decision to have sex they should be thinking of the consequences that will follow. If a teenager thinks they are old enough to have sex, they should be old enough to handle raising a child. It is very self-centered to choose abortion because we are only thinking of what will benefit ourselves and not what will benefit our child. Sure, there will be the problem with finishing school and what our parents will say, but we have to think of the child. There are many people out there who cannot have children who would love to adopt a child. If we feel old enough to have sex, then we should feel old enough to take on the responsibilities that may come with it. Teenagers can get away with almost anything these days. If we make abortion completely illegal for anyone, then teens will be forced to take responsibility for their actions. This may also decrease the pregnancy rates and encourage kids to have safe sex or not be sexually active until marriage. In the Women's International Network it was found that unsafe abortion is another problem the world is facing. Abortions among young women under the age of 20 in developing countries range from 1 million to 4.4 million a year. Most of these abortions are unsafe, and can result in infertility, disabilities, or even death. Many young women that have unintended pregnancies turn to abortion. Many will risk unsafe abortions to avoid leaving school. In Zambia, 81% of