TOK ABORTION

Do you have an awareness of your own perspective as a knower in relation to other perspectives?
Several different factors affect an individual’s perception and understanding of their surroundings. It’s extremely difficult to separate one’s own perspective without relating it to other perspectives like that of religion and culture. Through my life experiences I have developed the ability to separate the two. I’m aware of my own perspective as a knower in relation to other perspectives and with my new acquired awareness I will discuss a current controversial issue, which is abortion.
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy either surgically or using medication. There are around 301,505.9 abortions yearly. For countless women, abortion isn’t just a simple procedure it’s a life-changing event. I believe that abortion should solely be the women’s decision not that of the government, nor a guardian or partner. The woman is the one that will be carrying the burden of a child so it’s her right to let it live or not.
Many women are rape victims and are then forced to keep the child due to strict laws against abortion. The cruelty of letting her live to remember her offender is sickening. Having a piece of a criminal will probably cause a lot of emotional distress; she might even decide to take her life. For instance, Sarah, a Saudi girl got involved with an abuser and has suffered many years of beatings and rape incidents. After a number of attacks, Sarah decides to leave her husband and live on her own, however to her utter dismay she found out she was pregnant with his child. She was forced to raise the child, an everyday reminder of the beatings she suffered, due to the illegality of abortion in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia believes that as a government following the Sharia law abortion should only be legal before 40 days and only if the pregnancy will cause physical health problems. What right does Saudi Arabia have forcing a girl to endure such anguish? They won’t help her raise the child; they won’t take all the responsibilities needed to raise the child. So, they have no right enforcing such laws.
Also, some women suffer financially and the thought of bringing a child into a situation where he/she won’t be satisfied is unsettling. They would much rather have children when they are financially stable. Women deserve the right to choose their own path since they themselves will suffer the consequences. It’s her body that will get affected so she has every right to abort if she doesn’t think she’ll be able to support a child financially. Working more than two jobs and exhausting herself to the point where she’ll neglect the child is not worth having the child if she can’t give said child the life she/he deserves and she can’t raise him/her herself.
One might counter argue that she can put the child up for adoption, however orphanages are not that well of an environment for a child. An orphan child will live a very stressful life growing up. He/she won’t have as much opportunities and he/she will always be neglected. An orphan often feels as if they’re lost, as if they’re missing a large piece of life and they often are missing the most important part of life, which is a family. Only 1% of orphans get adopted worldwide. When they age out of the orphan system they often get involved in gangs, prostitution or maybe even commit suicide. Why bring a life into the world to suffer? In addition some others might claim that the father has a right to said decision. However abortion is a pregnancy decision so the individual that is pregnant is the one that gets to make the choice. It’s her body that will get affected and it’s her body that will deal with the consequences so therefore it is her decision. Forcing a woman to not get an abortion is like stealing her rights to her own body.
Ethics, religion and emotion play a huge role on the topic of abortion. Every woman has the right to her own choice however, that choice may be both unethical and religiously prohibited. After a 40-day period it’s often considered murder to abort because technically the fetus has grown, it’s the killing of a life. However, it’s also unethical to deprive the women of the right to her body, its considered tyranny. Also, some religions prohibit abortion after a short period of time and with specific reasons such as Islam. Looking at abortion from a religious point of view, many people would go against abortion due to religious consequences. Furthermore emotions may alter a woman’s decision. Suffering is such a strong and powerful emotion, a person that suffered wouldn’t want to suffer again and wouldn’t want anyone else to suffer and when a woman has suffered in life she wouldn’t want the same fate for her child so she ends his/her misery.
To conclude, I chose to ignore my religion and culture for what I believe is right and that is aborting is and will always be only the woman’s choice. It’s her life, her body and her problem to deal with the way she wishes. Sarah’s experience and many others has helped me look at things from a different perspective and it shaped the way I think today.