Right To Life
Far back in the time of the Roman Empire, abortion and the complete destruction of unwanted children was allowed, and done with alarming frequency. As civilization aged and progressed, it seemed that such acts were no longer acceptable by rational human beings. In 1948, Canada along with most other nations in the world, signed a right to life declaration. At the same time, the World Medical Association met in Geneve and stated that the utmost respect for human life should be from the moment of conception. They met again in 1970 in Oslo, re-affirming their previous declaration. In 1973, Harry A. Blackmun wrote the majority opinion that it is a women's right to have an abortion. The United States Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade legalized abortion. However, the case is far from closed. Pro-life activists carry a strong argument, and continue to push their beliefs. Some of these activists feel so strongly that they have broken out in violence. On the other side of the spectrum, pro-choice activists carry some strong points too. They believe that the child inside them is their own property and that it is not a life until birth. Due to the decision of the Supreme Court, almost every third
With recent advances in the medical world, science has given us many insights to the development of a fetus. It has been discovered that after eighteen days in the womb, the baby's heart begins to beat and after just forty days brain waves are being recorded. Science has also shown that organs start to form in the pre-born around four weeks after fertilization and by eight weeks all body systems are present. There is no question that the fetus is a living, growing being. A fairly common belief exists in which it is thought that the fetus fails to be human until it shows viability. Viability is the state of development where the fetus is able to survive outside of the womb. It relates more to the location and dependency of the unborn that to any actual change in a state of being. With new advances and breakthroughs in the medical field, infants have been known to survive after just twenty weeks in the womb. Fifty years ago, the fetal viability status rested at two and a half months later in the pregnancy term (thirty weeks). Infants today are no more human than infants from the past just because of scientific advances since the fifties. Abortion should be banned because life begins at conception. The individual sex cell consists of twenty-three chromosomes. It is only through combination, however, that the sex cells contain the full complement of heredity units that defines a human being. After the merger of the two sex cells, forty-six chromosomes are present. This is what makes a human being. The merger is complete within twelve hours, at which time the egg is fertilized and becomes known technically as the "zygote". At this point, the unique characteristics of a human being have been established, and in no circumstances will they change. The definition of alive is that a being is growing, developing, maturing, and replacing its own dying cells. The initial single-celled fertilized ovum cannot by any stretch of the imagination be considered part of a woman's body. The new living being has a genetic set up unlike anyone else's, and totally different from the cells of the mother's body. It makes no difference to assume that human life is more human post-born than pre-born. At just eighteen days the heart is pumping blood through a closed circulatory system, with blood whose type is different from the mothers. No, a fetus is no
Some common words found in the essay are:
Ireland Zealand, United Constitution, Roe Wade, Roman Empire, Medical Association, Supreme Court, Canada England, Harry Blackmun, begins conception, human life, abortion banned, life begins conception, life begins, rights unborn, abortion banned immoral, due decision, women abortion, carry strong, forty days brain, abortion issue, activists carry, activists carry strong, banned immoral life,
Approximate Word count = 1597
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
