When Does Life Begin
S. Keats Rowell
February 10, 2012
Sociology
Campbell
When Does Life Begin In 2010 1.2 million abortions were reported in the United States alone. Of that 1.2 million 728,000 were performed at less than 9 weeks, 217,000 were between 9 to 10 weeks, 118,000 were performed between 11 and 12 weeks, and 142,000 were performed at 13 weeks or longer after fertilization. However these numbers do not fully account for all abortions, these are only the abortions that were reported to the United States Census bureau (5, NPG). It is my understanding that thousands of impoverished women in the United States still receive illegal abortions without the hand of an actual doctor. In this paper I will discuss the controversial topic of abortion. Abortion has to be one of the most controversial topics in America and across the globe. Many people and societies have very different views on the legality of abortion. In the United States there primarily two opposing beliefs on abortion you are either pro-life or pro-choice. Carolyn Gargaro a Pro-Life advocate states that “abortion is a matter of life and death of an innocent human being.” Pro-Life views are that of that at the point of conception human life begins; they believe abortion is murder of an innocent human life that should be given its inalienable human rights at the point of conception (1, NPG). According to Pro-Choice advocates “Pro-choice abortion is the belief that women have the right to choose to abort a baby from their body. The "pro-choice" view is that a baby does not have human rights within the mother 's womb (4, NPG).” Or you may be like me one of the few in the middle on this argument. I believe life begins at the point of conception or fertilization. However, I do believe abortion should be accepted under certain circumstances, such as proven cases of rape, incest, or if the pregnancy seriously threatens the life of the mother. There are many different views as to when human life begins, according
February 10, 2012
Sociology
Campbell
When Does Life Begin In 2010 1.2 million abortions were reported in the United States alone. Of that 1.2 million 728,000 were performed at less than 9 weeks, 217,000 were between 9 to 10 weeks, 118,000 were performed between 11 and 12 weeks, and 142,000 were performed at 13 weeks or longer after fertilization. However these numbers do not fully account for all abortions, these are only the abortions that were reported to the United States Census bureau (5, NPG). It is my understanding that thousands of impoverished women in the United States still receive illegal abortions without the hand of an actual doctor. In this paper I will discuss the controversial topic of abortion. Abortion has to be one of the most controversial topics in America and across the globe. Many people and societies have very different views on the legality of abortion. In the United States there primarily two opposing beliefs on abortion you are either pro-life or pro-choice. Carolyn Gargaro a Pro-Life advocate states that “abortion is a matter of life and death of an innocent human being.” Pro-Life views are that of that at the point of conception human life begins; they believe abortion is murder of an innocent human life that should be given its inalienable human rights at the point of conception (1, NPG). According to Pro-Choice advocates “Pro-choice abortion is the belief that women have the right to choose to abort a baby from their body. The "pro-choice" view is that a baby does not have human rights within the mother 's womb (4, NPG).” Or you may be like me one of the few in the middle on this argument. I believe life begins at the point of conception or fertilization. However, I do believe abortion should be accepted under certain circumstances, such as proven cases of rape, incest, or if the pregnancy seriously threatens the life of the mother. There are many different views as to when human life begins, according
Cited: 1) Gargaro, Carolyn. "Abortion - My Views as a Pro-Life Woman - by Carolyn Gargaro." [[ - - Carolyn Gargaro 's Web Site - Home of a Conservative Female! - - ]]. Web. 10 Feb. 2012. <http://www.gargaro.com/abortion.html>. 2) Jones, David A & Colker, Ruth. "Ethical Views on Abortion That Are Neither Pro-life or Pro-choice." Religious Tolerance. 2006. Web. 10 Feb. 2012. <http://www.religioustolerance.org/abo_argu.htm>. 3) M. Allen., "The Limits of Viability." New England Journal of Medicine. 11/25/93: Vol. 329, No. 22, p. 1597. 4) "Pro-Choice Abortion." Popular Issues - AllAboutPopularIssues.org. Web. 10 Feb. 2012. <http://www.allaboutpopularissues.org/pro-choice-abortion.htm>. 5) "The 2012 Statistical Abstract." Census Bureau Homepage. United States of America, 23 Dec. 2011. Web. 10 Feb. 2012. <http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/>. 6) Thomson, Judith J. "A Defense of Abortion." Philosophy & Public Affairs 1.1 (1971): 47-66. Print. 7) "When Does Life Begin?" National Right to Life. Web. 10 Feb. 2012. <http://www.nrlc.org/abortion/wdlb/wdlb.html>.