Essay About Abortion Example For Students

Essay About Abortion Abortion is one of the most controversial and talked about topics of our time. It is discussed in classrooms, work places and even on the Internet. Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in or closely followed by the death of an embryo or fetus. This definition includes accidental abortion such as, miscarriage and stillbirths. But this is not what is being debated. People want to know if abortion is ethical, if the fetus can feel pain, and when it is more human than non-human. These questions are very difficult to answer and may never be answered in our lifetime. But one thing we as humans do know is that we have opinions, ranging from completely anti abortion (pro-life) to completely for abortion (pro-choice), and anywhere in the wide spectrum in between. Abortion is a movement that was erected almost 40 years ago. This movement has been very controversial over the years; the main reason being that it is something that there is virtually no in between. You either are, or you are not. Both movements, (pro-life and pro-choice) have been one of the most controversial movements in a political presents. The opposition feels that pro-choice does not mean Pro-abortion, it is the right in choosing whether to reproduce, adopt, or abort. It is every human beings right to make there own decisions, and so it is a womans right to make the choices that affect her life as she sees morally right. It is a womans right to choose what she does with her body and it should not be altered or influenced by anyone else. As you can see, there are two sides of this movement that are constantly looking for contradictions in what other believes. There are many different viewpoints on abortion in the United States of America. Where most Americans do not feel that abortion is necessarily good, they do believe it is a right. Others have similar opinions. They embrace contradictory opinions and consider abortion a form of murder and yet still feel it should be legal for the truly desperate. However, most Americans think abortions are morally troubling. A recent study by George Hunt shows that neither age nor gender appears to have any effect on peoples current views on abortions. (Wolf p54)MovementNow that we know so much about what each movement stands for, it would be rather imperative that we know what a movement is. A movement is constituted by human beings engaged in discourses and practices designed to challenge and change society as they define it Contemporary Movements and Ideologies p.12. To simplify this definition, it is a change in the status quo of society. To simplify even more, it is changing from the norm. The normal way of life 70 years ago had always been the freedom to make your own decision. In most cases thats perfectly OK, however the pro-lifers feel differently, and that is no one should have the freedom to take another life. So essentially what they are trying to change is the taking of life from another innocent human being. Theyre trying established laws in attempts to protect and support the discourses and ideologies of their movements. One question that will often arise is this, why are people engaged in a social movement rather than coping with these problems on the individual basis or through institutionalized channel? The answer to this question is fairly simple. Pro-live supporters are involved in this for the simple reason that they feel passionately enough about it that they want to make a difference in society. Discourses and IdeologiesDiscourses and ideologies are what make a movement a movement. Essentially what a discourse is, is what the actual movement is trying t o say. What the pro-lifers say about this movement is that abortions should not be legal. They say that every innocent human being has a right to life. Pro-life advocates are involved in many practices that enhance what they say. Some simple statistics that are in support of the pro-lifers discourse are these. 1.5 million babies are aborted each year, whereas there are 1.6 million that wish to adopt. -Medical Economics, p.33. Another staggering statistic, between 1973 -1984 there were 15 million babies aborted. That number alone is unbelievable, that is ten times the number of Americans lost in all of are nations wars. Now in all honesty tell me, who is against who. . -Medical Economics, p.88. Blessed is the mother who would never think of asking her child to give up its life for hers.-Thou Shalt Not Play God p.2. Pro-life advocates convey that these are only a few reasons in which to support their movement. These points and ones similar to them helps to dictate what is really impo rtant, hence, their discourse. Macbeth is boring EssayConclusionContrary to popular belief, a movement is not something that someone could wake up and devise in one day. What a movement is essentially is an organization, and a very complex one at that. There are many contributing factors to movements success, far more than listed above. In my opinion when I have listed above is the skeletal structure of a movement success. Why do movements exist? Furthermore, why would people contribute to them? Why did they decide they wanted to deal with this problem in they movement rather than deal with them independently? These are all very complex questions with very complex answers. In short, because there is a demand for it. If and when a group of people decides that they are not happy with the regular status quo, they decide to take that initiative to get that changed. My personal opinion is that movements are extremely necessary in todays society. People in this world are living a specific way, and when that way is not suitable for them, they need to make that decision to create a movement to ultimately achieve their discourse. Through researching movements, furthermore, the pro-life movement, I have to revert to an original statement I already made and that is, movements in todays society are essential. BibliographyBooks UsedClark, Thomas. Thou Shalt Not Play God The Humanist July-August 1995: p3Hunt, George W.. Of Many Things America 31 January 1998: p2Lavelle, Marianne. When Abortion Comes Late In Pregnancy, Though Rare, MostLefevere, Patricia. Ex-abortion Providers; Conversation Tales National CatholicReporter 16 March 22 2000: p6Merril, Ted. Abortion; Extreme Views Ignore Reality Medical Economics 15 July 1996:p33McMillan, Jeff. Focusing On a Womans Right To Self Defense The Chronicle of HigherEducation. 6 December 1998: pA12No Easy Quick Fix Solutions To Abortion Issues National Catholic Reporter 8November 1996: p20Thomas, Judy. Pro-life Turns Deadly Newsweek May 13 2000: p64Wallace, Bruce. When One Fetus Lives and One Dies Macleans