Abortion is a tremendous issue in our society today. As well as the article "Abortion" by Selzer, I have also read Mortal Lessons, a book he had also written. Selzer is an author who wrote in order to describe "unsparingly the surgeon's art, opening up the body to view one part at a time." The article "Abortion" classifies him as a doctor, but the way in which he writes makes him a philosopher as well. Selzer not only writes about the physical aspects of surgery, but also the emotional and psychological sides that agree with it.

In the essay "Abortion", Selzer took presence during an abortion procedure: "I am present because I asked to be present. I wanted to see what I have never seen (p. 280)." What he had never seen before was something that shocked and amazed him. He though he saw the fetus "struggling against the needle (281)" trying to get away from it. He observed that the needle inside the woman's stomach was moving and believed that to be the fetus fighting against what it instinctively knew as death. These observations, in my eyes, make him a philosopher. He not only thinks about the woman having the abortion but also the fetus that is being aborted. He l

inks the physical act with emotions and psychological aspects, which make him think differently than other surgeons.

Maybe it was the way my family raised me when I was a child that causes this to be such a sensitive subject to me. My mother always told, " If you play with fire, you are going to get burned," whenever the subject of sex came up in our conversation. We, however, have discussed that if I were ever to become pregnant because I was not responsible enough to use a condom or take birth control, she would not want me to have an abortion. If I were, she would not forgive me. Even if it meant having the baby and giving it up for adoption, she would still want me to have the baby. I cannot picture myself with a baby at this time, but she is right. By me having the baby would teach me to be more responsible in the future. I feel everyone must pay for his or her mistakes. Having an abortion is an easy way out that people use when they are not responsible enough to handle a situation such as this.

In conclusion, I feel Selzer is also against abortion. "I saw it. I saw.... I felt-- in that room, a pace away, life prodded, life fending off. I saw life avulsed-- swept by flood, blackened-then out (p. 283)." It seemed like he knew it was wrong but it was for a good cause. He knew the reason the woman was going through with this was because the woman wanted to decline the pain of childbirth and because it was not goin

Some common words found in the essay are:
Abortion Selzer, Mortal Lessons, Doctor Abortion, birth control, life baby, abortion selzer, article abortion,
Approximate Word count = 974
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)