Few issues have fostered such controversy as the topic of abortion. The participants in the abortion debate not only have firmly-fixed beliefs, but each group has a self-designated appellation that clearly reflects what they believe to be the essential issues. On one side, the pro-choice supporters see individual choice as central to the debate: If a woman cannot choose to terminate an unwanted pregnancy, a condition which affects her body and possibly her entire life, then she has lost one of her most basic human rights. These proponents of abortion believe that while a fetus is a potential life, its life cannot be placed on the same level with that of a woman. On the other side, the pro-life opponents of abortion argue that the fetus is human and therefore given the same human rights as the mother. Stated simply, they believe that when a society legalizes abortion, it is

l our own. "They (abortion opponents) talk like we make this decision so cavalierly. Yeah, right. Like they need to make us feel guilt. Like there isn't plenty of that already."

Pro-life activists would argue that the taking of a human life is wrong no matter what the circumstances or in which trimester it is done. The controversy over abortion has avoided the real issue facing today's woman-her need to grow beyond stereotypes. Much emphasis is placed on pregnancy as a result of rape, even thought the statistics show only about 0.1% of all rapes actually result in conception. That means that a large majority of pregnancies that resulted in abortion were the result of free choice. The assumption is that a woman does not have control over her own body until after a male partner is finished with it. Only then does she here talk of "rights." The term "pro-choice" evokes their sense of fairness, but what is really being considered is the killing of an innocent human life. Women are abandoning the abortion mentality because it weakens their greatest strength-creation. They are looking at responsibilities as well as rights, choosing instead of reacting.

"When Men Support Choice" by Kathleen Howley addresses many important aspects of the role of the male on the topic of abortion. She portrays men to be very caring, understanding and supportive individuals who are "sensitive to the needs of women", however in recent studies, it was the women who were more adamant and pro-life than their significant others. Speaking from personal experience, when a woman becomes pregnant, maternal instincts kick in and we tend to realize the value of human life. Everything in the media, in newspapers and even in general conversation, we understand the hardships that may occur as a result of carry the unborn child to term as well as what an abortion would do to us mentally, emotion

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Approximate Word count = 1271
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)