Boys' Work ABORTION:THE MAKINGAND TAKING OFA LIFE One plus one equals one. That is a marvellous piece of mathematics which most of you would probably dispute. That one then becomes two which becomes four which hecomes eight, and continues dividing until years later that one has become sixty trillion or more.That's marvel lous mathematics. I'm talking about us. A process each one of us had to go through to become what we are today. A process where one male sperm cell metone femaleovum in the Fallopian tubes ofour mothers to become a fertilized egg cell. Nine months and countless millions of cells later we entered the world as a newborn baby. As we grew our cells numbered into scores of trillions and it all began when one plus one equalled one. Abortion is the termination ofthis pregnancy before birth. An abortion is what results in the death of an embryo or foetus and may be either spontaneous or induced. A spontaneous abortion, also called a miscarriage,occurs when the foetus passes out ofthe woman's body before it can survive outside that body and is generally due to natural causes. Studies indicate that 15-20% of all diag nosed pregnancies end in miscarriage, however, includ ing pregnancies which have not been diagnosed, it is thought that this number may be as high as 50%. The most prevalent reason for miscarriage occurring in women is a defect which exists in the baby's chromosomes,how ever, there are other reasons which contribute to this phenomena. For example,women with diseases such as diabetes are also liable to miscarry. In an induced abortion, however, the foetus is expelled from the body by artificial, usually medical, means. Fifty to sixty million abortions are performed each year which is the equivalentofwiping outthe Hawaiian popu lation each week ofthe year. In America it is the second most performed surgical procedure, second only to tonsillectomy. Ironically abortion may terminate the preg nancy,but it also increases infertility, miscarriage,prema ture and birth defects. How can we speak of the "termination of a pregnancy" when what we really mean is the destruction of a human life? How can we talk of therapeutic abortion when hu man life is not a disease and when abortion is not a cure but a killing. Opinion on abortion can be divided into two groups of people: (a) Those whoare totally againstabortions(anti-abortion), and (b) Those who defend the right to abortion.These can he urther divided into two groups. One group actively encourages abortion and can be la belled pro-abortion. This group includes population con trol advocates and obviously the abortion doctors them selves who make money from encouraging abortions. The second group are those people who see nothing to he gained by encouraging abortion and are labelled pro-choice. They do not discourage abortions but see it as a choice. These people argue that it is their body. But is it? ARGUMENTS AGAINST ABORTION: are based pri marily on the beliefthat abortion is the unjustified killing of an unborn child. Most people who are opposed to abortion believe that life starts when the sperm cell ferti lizes an egg. Another argument is that when abortion is allowed on demand it will lead to a disrespectfor human life and an increase in irresponsible pregnancies. ARGUMENTS SUPPORTING ABORTION: Statistics show that the average American loses his virginity at 16,and 1 out of 5 lose it before the age of 13. It is also documented that a third of married people are,or have been involved in extra-marital affairs, all of which cre ate unwanted pregnancies and thus a market for this serv ice. Many people approve of abortion under certain cir cumstances: when the mother's life is threatened by the pregnancy, or the child may be bom with irrepressible mental and physical handicaps(1% in the U.S.A) or if the pregnancy wasthe resultof rape(22\86000in Czecho slovakia,0\3500 consecutive rapes in U.S.A),then abor tion is viewed as okay. Many people who are pro-abor tion like to distinguish between human life and personhood,however I will deal with this later. Another argument is that by legalizing abortions illegal proce dures carried out in unsanitary conditions have been thwarted which has reduced the deaths and injuries sustained.This may also become a factor in maintaining the growth rate ofa country,for example in China where thousands of abortions are performed each day. ABORTION LAWSIN SOUTHAFRICA:Abortion laws are slowly being liberalised in South Africa,and it is cer tainly much easier to abort your child today than it was previously. During my visit to Addington Hospital I learned that it is no longer necessary to apply to the Minister ofHealth for an abortion.The application must, however, fall under one of the following categories because abortion is not available on demand in South Africa. a. The woman's physical health is threatened. b. The woman's psychiatric health is threatened. c. The woman has suffered rape or incest.A magistrate's report is required in this instance. d. Woman who are HIV positive are also given the op tion of an abortion. It is then submitted to the hospital superintendent who will consider the application. The pregnant woman is re quired • to appear before a panel. This is, however, a mere formality. Finally, the abortion must be carried out in a state hospital. Abortion laws vary from country to country, however, most countries are liberalizing their abortion laws be cause they see it as a control on population explosions and a way to combat poverty, this is certainly the case in South Africa. Abortion is, however, wrong. It takes away an innocent infant's right to life. Albeit a developing life, the foetus is the product ofconception by a human couple, both of whom have human genetic structures - and thus is a hu man life. The unborn infant has the right to life. If we judge that the taking of this infant's life is deemed to he for the good of others, even for the good of the infant 49
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