Paper Example on World Issues: Abortion

At what point does life begin? That is a question that has been debated by many. It also forms part of the argument to justify or denounce the practice of abortion depending on ones stance. Over the years I have found the debate on abortion to be fascinating especially because of my Christian background which denounces abortion. Due to my interest, I have conducted research from several scholarly articles and renowned sources to develop a credible argument against abortion, which I shall present to you. Abortion is inappropriate because it constitutes murder, goes against the will of God, and has a negative impact on the well-being of women. I shall now elaborate.

Abortion results in the killing of many unborn children. According to the latest Centers for Disease Control and Preventions statistics from 2013, over 664,435 legally approved abortions occurred in the US alone (CDC, 2017). While the figure has been on a steady decline year after year, the data means that every two years, over a million potential citizens die because of abortions. Over an extended period, these statistics become even more damning since it means that over the last couple of decades, the US has lost tens of millions of children to the practice of abortion (Jatlaoui et al., 2016). As of 2013, 17 percent of all conceived children were aborted (CDC, 2017). Comparatively, as of 2014, only 4,486 soldiers had died in the war in Iraq. Is it not ironical that hundreds of thousands of children die under societys watch while fewer men and women die in combat? This leads me to my second point.

Aside from being a murderous act, abortion also goes against the will of God. In Psalms 127:3, God describes children as a heritage and as a reward from himself to people. Thus, by terminating pregnancies, people reject the blessings of God. Furthermore, in the book of Genesis 1:27, God says that he created human beings in his image. As such, the act of aborting a child is comparable to discarding Gods creation. God is the one who breathed life into man and gave everyone the ability to be alive. It is that life that continues to flow from generation to generation. By aborting children, people usurp the duty and power of God as being the one in charge of taking and giving life. And now I shall move on to my third point against abortion.

Abortion has a negative impact on the health of the women who procure these services. A survey by Pourrezza and Batebi (2011) examined the psychological effects of having an abortion among women. Through the use of questionnaires, they found out that 43.7 percent of the respondents had a reduced self-esteem after the procedure, while 37.5 experienced nightmares following the procedure. Heightened levels of depression were also noted during the study done by Pourrezza and Batebi (2011). Another report by Fine-Davis (2007) takes a literature review approach and shows that women who had psychological problems before an abortion were more likely to have their conditions exacerbated by the action. Similar challenges occur in women who are coerced to abort and those who have weak support systems such as the backing of friends and family (Fine-Davis, 2007).

To recap, abortion is inappropriate because it constitutes murder, goes against the will of God, and has a negative impact on the well-being of women. It is our Christian duty to educate the masses on what is expected of them by God. We have to lead by example by distancing ourselves from such vices. Additionally, we can conduct social media advocacy or engage in public debate on the issue. In Isaiah 49:15, God says, Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! God values each and every life. He recognizes the death and feels the pain of all children who are killed even before they are born.

References

CDC (2017). Abortion surveillance system. Retrieved June 28, 2017, from https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/data_stats/abortion.htm

Fine-Davis, M. (2007). Psychological effects of abortion on women: A review of the literature. Crisis Pregnancy Agency Report, 20, 2-10.

Jatlaoui, T., Ewing, A., Mandel, M., Simmons, K., Suchdev, D., Jamieson, D., and Pazol, K. (2016). Abortion surveillance- United States, 2013. MMWR Surveillance Summary, 65(12), 144. http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.ss6512a1.

Pourreza, A., & Batebi, A. (2011). Psychological consequences of abortion among the post abortion care seeking women in Tehran. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry, 6(1), 3136.