I'm writing in response to the article, "Who has the 'Right to Life'?" First of all, the central issue is whether or not a fetus is a living person. Abortionists have decided that the fetus is not a child and, consequently, can be taken care of by whatever means necessary. To say that the issue is about limiting women's rights is missing the issue of controversy entirely. But let's just suppose - for the sake of argument - that it is about women's rights. We won't even consider the fetus a living person. Women should have rights. Voting, the ability to own property, equality of pay, availability of education to women - all good stuff. Women's rights, however, are not all-encompassing; they can't do everything that they would like.
This includes everything a woman would like to do to her body. For example, we would say it would be reasonable for a woman to pierce her ears. It would not be reasonable, however, for a woman to cut her own arm off. (If you disagree with that statement, stop reading. There is no way we'll be able to understand each other.) Why is cutting an arm off unreasonable? It presents too much of a risk to the person's life and, if the person were to survive, would pose significant problems in the future. Considered in this way, abortion is comparable to a woman cutting off her own arm. In most cases, the risk of abortion outweighs the benefit and a normal birth is the safer option. It has been shown in studies that women who have had an abortion suffer from double the risk of breast cancer, more than double the risk of cervical, ovarian, and liver cancer, cervical lacerations, and possibly death (abortion carries all the risks of major surgery).
Even if the abortion goes smoothly, the mother may eventually feel like having children later on in life. Due to the abortion, problems arise such as placenta previa (a life-threatening condition for mother and child), labor complications, ectopic pregnancies, and the list goes on. Also, many women who've had an abortion suffer from a psychological disorder that resembles Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Don't believe me? Google "effects of abortion" and see. A comparison of abortion and normal birth shows that birth presents less of a physical and mental health risk to the women. Therefore, birth is the necessary alternative to abortion.
Jordan Bergmann
sophomore
Keough
Oct. 13
