Introduction

Each womans situation is different in terms of her ability and desires to give birth and
raise a child. A woman should have the right to decide if she is able to have the baby
and that the fetuss health is not the only criteria that should be considered. My view is
that even though a fetus may have value, when an abortion is done to protect and
promote other worthwhile goals in the mothers life, then the abortion is be morally
permissible.
As an example, a couple (Deb and Derek) is an entrepreneurial pair and Deb is
pregnant with a fetus that is at a high likelihood to be born with Downs syndrome
(Downs syndrome, a genetic condition, is the most common human birth defect. When
a baby is born with Downs syndrome, the baby will have 47 chromosomes instead of 46
and it slows down development of both the body and the brain (Smolkin 2010)). Debs
life is not endangered by the pregnancy, but she is considering an abortion that may
help her protect her relationship with Derek and as well, the business they worked hard
to build together.

The most compelling argument for an opposing thesis

Considering abortion may cause serious damage to the long-term physical and
emotional health of a woman, it is therefore immoral to allow a woman to go through a
process that will cause her long-term physical and emotional damage and abortion
should be prohibited.
National statistics on abortion in the United States shows that 10% of women whom
undergoes induced abortion suffers immediate complications, of which 20% were
considered major complications (Frank et. al. 1985).
Though some immediate complications caused by abortions are treatable, the
complications often lead to long-term reproductive damage, such as sterility.
Researchers have reported that 5% of women that have undergone abortion are left
sterile as a result (Wynn 1972). The risk of sterility is even higher for women whom are
infected with a venereal disease at the time of the abortion (Wilke 1985).
In addition to the risk of sterility, ectopic pregnancy is five to eight times more likely to
happen to woman who experienced abortion before (Levin et. al. 1982). Ectopic
pregnancy is when a pregnancy in which the fetus develops outside the uterus, typically
in fallopian tube. Evidently, there is a dramatic corresponding increase in ectopic
pregnancy within countries that have legalized abortion (Wilke 1985).
Relief seems to be the only positive emotion that woman will experience after
undergoing the abortion process, this feeling of relief however is often followed by an
emotional paralysis whereby the women experience difficulties in expressing their
emotions (Kent et. al. 1981). Studies that focused on the few weeks after the abortion
process have found that 40% to 60% of women report negative reactions, 55% of them

expressed guilt, 44% complained of nervous disorder, 36% experienced sleep

disturbances and 31% had regret over their decisions to abort. However, only 11% of
the women studied visited a physician to get medical prescription and treatments
(Ashton 1980). Moreover, up to 33% of the women questioned, developed an intense
longing to become pregnant again to make up for the previously aborted child, with 18%
succeeding within one year after the abortion (Reardon 1987).
All the evidence proves that abortion can negatively alter a womans life both physically
and emotionally. Morally, one should not allow any procedure that will negatively alter a
persons life. Therefore, abortion should not be considered morally permissible in any
circumstances.

Explanation of why the opposing argument fails

It is definitely better for the society to allow for abortions than have children brought up
poor and neglected. The China Children Welfare Policy Report published in June 2011
shows that the number of orphans in the Chinese mainland reached 712,000, an
increase of 24% when compared to the same statistic in 2005 (Ya 2011).
If a mother is experiencing difficulties and cannot provide for herself, she may be forced
to give up the child for adoption. Giving up a child for adoption may cause more
emotional damage than having an abortion because the mother is emotionally attached
to the child. Therefore, it may cause more emotional damage when a mother is forced to
give birth to the child that she is unable to provide for.
Children growing up in difficult environments face problems not only upon their own
physical and mental developments, but also due to the lack of supervision and care,
they also realize a higher attraction to crime (Ya 2011).
Undergoing an abortion definitely has its risks and it may cause long-term physical
damage to the mother but so does carrying and delivering a baby. Carrying a fetus and
giving birth to a child is a painful experience and possibly dangerous to the mother
considering the number of complications that can develop during the process. Weight
gain, back pain, and morning sickness are all examples of common physical suffering
pregnant women experience each time they are pregnant and back pain can become a
permanent problem for some women (Mondelli 2007). Furthermore, depression, stretch
marks, varicose veins, obesity, and other problems sometimes plague the woman for a
lifetime after delivery (Mondelli 2007). Therefore, even though abortion does have risks,
so does being pregnant and giving birth.

A clear argument for the thesis

Given that different lifestyles embodies varying values and everyone prioritizes projects
and relationships differently in their life, a woman should have full rights to decide what
she wants to do with her own body. If the mother decides to undergo an abortion to
protect and promote other worthwhile projects in her own life, then the abortion may be
morally permissible.
Each year, nearly 1.2 million American women undergo an abortion and the most
common reason for women to consider abortion is because of contraception failure, as
over half of all women who have an abortion used a birth control method during the
month they became pregnant (Guttmacher Institute 2010). In Debs case, she chose to
abort the child with Downs syndrome in order to protect her marriage and the business
she built together with her husband, Derek. Debs reason for abortion is definitely better
than the women who abort their child based on the fact that the birth control method
failed.
Abortion should be morally permissible if the mother did not decide to abort the child
due to vicious reasons. The main reason Deb decides to abort the child is because the
child has health defects and she is worried that she will lose everything she has in her
life right now. I have to disagree with Patrick that this decision is definitely not a virtuous
one, but it is definitely not a vicious one either, because she is protecting what she
believes matters to her the most. She will not be able to raise the child without Dereks
financial and emotional supports, especially when the child has Downs syndrome.
Therefore, it should be morally permissible for Deb to abort the child.

Consider a powerful objection to your argument

Though a woman possesses the rights to decide what she wants in her life, it is
unethical if her action violates another persons rights. In our scenario, Deb decides to
have an abortion because the doctor stated that the unborn child is likely to have
Downs syndrome. Despite the high likelihood however, no one is able to accurately
state the actual probability in this scenario and there is still the chance the child is
perfectly healthy.
In a study, at least 400 women were given incorrect diagnosis about their fetus during
ultrasound scans each year due to a combination of misreading of complex scans, old
equipment, and human error (Macrae 2011). The study also revealed that the results
interpreted from ultrasound scans vary as much as 20% of the time between certified
medical staff (Macrae 2011). Civilized society does not generally allow for intentional
harm or the taking of another human life without punishment and abortion is no
different. If the doctor cannot confirm a fetuss actual health, then the doctor should not
suggest an abortion because it is immoral to kill.
An alternate viewpoint is that many individuals whom have Downs syndrome are still
very successful, despite the obstacle of having Downs syndrome. Well known
individuals whom have Downs syndrome like Chris Burke (a famous American actor
and singer) and Sujeet Desai (an accomplished musician who graduated from Berkshire
Hills Music Academy at his normal age) only needed the opportunity to develop to reach
their potential.

Respond thoughtfully to that objection

Abortion is not murder because the procedure is performed before a fetus develops into
a human being. A fetus should not be considered as a real human until it is physically
delivered from a mothers womb because it is unable to live independently from the
carriers body. If a fetus is to be considered a human, then it could be argued that killing
sperm or eggs are also killing potential humans.

If the argument then states that

abortions should be banned and considered immoral based on the fact that we are
killing a human, then contraception should be considered immoral as well as its purpose
is to stop the fertilization of the egg (Smolkin 2010).
Children with Downs syndrome require more time and effort to care for and even then it
is still not a guarantee that they will live a healthy life with a normal lifespan. It is
impressive that some individuals with Downs syndrome are successful living with their
condition but they are in a very small minority within their group as most affected
individuals and their families struggle to live a normal life. As optimistic as new parents
may become, many parents have relatively failed to raise a child with Downs syndrome
into a productive member of society. An unprepared parent fares even worse as they
will likely suffer from peer pressures, financial hardships and unpredictable
circumstances.

Conclusion
Irrespective of her reasoning or justification, every woman has the right to decide what
she wants to do with her body and the fetus existing within her. A mentally capable
woman should also be able decide if she wants to keep the fetus in her body. Therefore,
a pregnant woman has the right to abort the fetus. Though the number of abortions will
decrease wherever it is prohibited, women whom have the strong desire to undergo the
procedure (and have the resources) will find methods ranging from illegal abortions and
foreign medical procedures to achieve the desired results anyways.

Reference
Ashton, Psychosocial Outcome of Induced Abortion, British Journal of Ob&Gyn. (1980),
vol.87,p1115-1122.
Frank, et.al., Induced Abortion Operations and Their Early Sequelae, Journal of the
Royal College of General Practitioners (April 1985), vol.35,no.73,pp175-180.
Guttmacher Institute (2010). In Brief: Facts on Induced Abortion in the United States.
<http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_induced_abortion.pdf>. 15 July 2013.
Kent, et al., Bereavement in Post-Abortive Women: A Clinical Report, World Journal of
Psychosynthesis (Autumn-Winter 1981), vol.13,nos.3-4.
Levin, et.al., Ectopic Pregnancy and Prior Induced Abortion, American Journal of
Public Health (1982).
Macrae, Fears hundreds of healthy babies are being aborted every year simply
because
of scan blunders, Mail Online (14 October 2011)
Mondelli et. al., Long term follow-up of carpal tunnel syndrome during pregnancy, a
cohort study and review of literature, Electromyogr Clin Neurophysiol (September
2007), vol.72,p253, vol. 47, no. 6, pp 259 271.
Reardon, Aborted Women-Silent No More, (Chicago: Loyola University Press, 1987).
Smolkin, Debating Health Care Ethics. Warren Bourgeois and Patrick Findler.
McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 2010. Print.
Wilke, Handbook on Abortion, (Cincinnati, Hayes Publishing Co., 1979).
Wynn and Wynn, Some Consequences of Induced Abortion to Children Born
Subsequently, British Medical Journal (March 3, 1973),

Ya, Number of orphans continues to increase, Global Times. (June 2 2011).