SHOULD ABORTION BE LEGAL?
by Pauline Rocco and Bob Johnson
Should abortion be legal? This article will draw a distinction between abortion for convenience sake, and abortion for medical reasons, as well as abortion in the limited cases of rape/incest.
Looking at the issue of abortion, relying solely on reason which is a requirement of being a Deist, it becomes obvious that abortion for convenience sake is wrong. The key argument for proponents of this act is that a woman has a right to her own body. This is a true and correct statement. All people have a right to do to their own bodies what they will. However, the fetus, or unborn baby, is a distinct individual. Even though it resides inside its mother, it is a separate entity genetically. Its DNA is completely its own, and different from its mother's DNA. From the moment of conception, it is an entirely separate genetic individual. Therefore, the argument in favor of abortion on demand, or abortion for convenience sake, that a woman has a right to do as she wishes to her own body, is not applicable to the question of abortion, since the mother's body is different from that of her baby, or fetus. It does not matter what a group of men in the form of the US Supreme Court said about the issue in Roe v. Wade. What matters to a Deist is reason, reality, and life, not opinion.
Regarding abortion for medical reasons where the mother's life is in jeopardy, that should be left to the discretion of the mother, family, and doctor. It's true, the mother and the unborn baby are still two separate individuals/entities, but under these difficult circumstances, it's truly a personal decision for those directly involved. It's akin to a mother and child falling into dangerous river rapids and a family member or bystander must decide who to save. It's a terrible decision that must be made. Regardless of the decision, one life will be lost and one saved. This situation differs so fundamentally from abortion on demand, which is to kill the unborn baby for convenience, as opposed to choosing which life will be saved.
Abortion in cases of rape and/or incest should be treated the same as abortion for medical reasons. It should be up to the victim of the rape or incest what she wants to do in this rare and terrible situation.
The overwhelming number of abortions in the US are done for convenience. As the State of California reported, ". . .abortions for medical reasons are extremely rare ..." http://www.os.dhhs.gov/dab/decisions/dab665.txt . Thus, if abortion on demand was made illegal, many thousands of lives would be saved every year. And life is the most valuable gift anyone can give or have.
For alternative choices to abortion visit: http://www.abortion--alternatives.org/
The below pictures illustrate the fact that the unborn baby is actually an individual person.
Fetus - 6 weeks
Fetus - 8 weeks
