Abortion Essay -- social issues

Abortion From 1973 to 1987, over 22 million abortions have been performed. Pro-lifers would call that a terrible waste of humanlife. True, 22 million lives were taken, but I believe that we are better off without those. Webster's dictionary defines abortion as "the expulsion of anonviable fetus." Abortion might possibly be the mostcontroversial topic right now. I'm sure by now that you've heard of all the different types ofabortion. Almost all abortions performed in the US are surgicalabortions, where the fetus is removed by suction or other means.(Medication offers another option, to be discussed later in thisreport.) During a suction abortion, the fetus is dismembered anddisposed of by a small tube. This process takes but about 10 minutes, and the mother experiences very little or no physicaldiscomfort. Pro-lifers immediately say that emotional trauma andguilt haunts every woman after she has an abortion. However,during my research, I found numerous women who led (and continueto lead) prominent and scot-free lives after their abortions. Ithink that the mental state of the mother depends very much onher personal feelings toward abortion, and the actual experiencethe had before and during the abortion. I have found that most of the time,they employ the use of a few strategies for making their viewsknown. One tactic pro-lifers use to convince people of theirviews is to play on fear and emotions. Their graphicdesc riptions and gruesome pictures are a crude attempt to "scare" people out of abortion, while their pious talk andsobbing try to make us feel sorry for them and the unborn.Another popular strategy of pro-lifers is to protest things like"Life begins at conception! The fetus is human!" Science hasproven these facts, and pro-choicers are by no means trying todeny them. However, pro-choicers feel that the rights of theparents (namely the mother) override the rights of the unbornchild.Neither of these tactics work on pro-choicers like myself. True,pro-lifers are entitled to voicing their opinion (just as I am),but I feel that some of their methods (as illustrated in thenext section) are very unorthodox. A new bill was introduced in April 1994. The Freedom of Accessto Clinic Entrances Act (aka FACE or FACEA) protects womenseeking abortion, and the facilities performing them.Specifically, FACE protects reproductive health service staffand patients from vi... ...arepeople out of abortion. Judging by the reaction of the class,people have wised-up to pro-lifers. People will no longertolerate being bombarded with graphic descriptions, gorypictures, and sorrowful testimonies. To but it bluntly, I am fedup with extreme pro-lifers. Granted, not all of them are as badas I make them out to be, but about a year ago, while walkingout of my dad's office at Jewish Hospital, we were "harassed" bythree pro-lifers. At first I thought they would respect ourprivacy and let us pass. However, they blurted out "Did you knowthat there are abortions being performed at Jewish Hospital?!"What did they intend that question to accomplish? We tried toignore them kept walking, but they persisted and attempted toforce their pamphlets and handouts on us. I would have had noproblem had they simply offered us a pamphlet, but I feltviolated when they thrust them into our faces. After researching this report, I still hold my ground about being pro-choice. I think that th e woman's rights override thoseof the fetus. Regardless of the reason or circumstances safe,reliable abortion should be made available to any woman. Acts of Violence Against Abortion Providers and Clients.