Introduction
Abortion is an act that entails termination of a pregnancy through the removal of a fetus from the uterus. The question about whether abortion is right or wrong action is a very controversial aspect and requires a personal decision. Abortion could be induced if a person carrying the pregnancy deliberately decides on terminating it. It can also be spontaneous when it results from pregnancy complications where the mother could not carry the pregnancy to full term for instance. Abortion has attracted a number of debates in the world as some people tend to defend the idea of abortion basing their arguments that a mother has the right to decide whether she will carry on with the pregnancy or not, and other people find abortion as a wrong choice regarding it as an evil and immoral act since it denies the child the right to live (Knox & Schacht, 2009).
Abortion is an act that is characterized by various outcomes and effects on human lives, and it is necessary to consider different aspects of this issue in order to comprehend whether it should be supported by society or, vice versa, proved as an evil. A number of emotional, social and psychological problems, health related issues, physical and spiritual effects on people have to be taken into consideration to define the role of abortion in human lives; by means of current investigations and survey research as well as the opinions of different people and the results of Internet interviews, the theme of abortion will be evaluated.
Social or Psychological Problems
Women have different attitudes to abortion due to certain opinions and social conditions. And it is necessary to consider what other people may think about abortion, but still, personal opinion should perform the leading role in decision-making process.
On the one hand, if there are many people who admit that abortion is nothing else but an evil act, many women believe in such characteristic of abortion and do not find it necessary to do it even being unprepared to it. This is why one of the significant aspects of abortion is public opinion and female attitude to public opinion. Women may be bothered with the nightmares where they are reminded of what they chose and how wrong their actions were: they could hear a child crying or see some blood and body parts in their dreams.
The mention of abortion issue also rejuvenates the physical pain experienced and is now felt psychologically. Those who argue the idea of abortion admit that women who killed their children by means of abortion have a low self esteem which may even lead to suicide attempts, substance and alcohol abuse, problems in personal relationships, anger, depression, flashbacks, long term grief, memory repression, repeated abortions, and sexual dysfunction among other effects (Newman & Newman, 2008).
On the other hand, there are the situations when women cannot allow themselves having babies: families with poor financial status, unmarried women, or families which have a lot of children. Abortion should be treated as the act that allows providing people with appropriate living conditions. For example, an unmarried young girl has just entered the college and become pregnant as a result of one more party in the hostel with her friends. Having a baby means leaving college, creating a family, and neglecting the chance to enjoy college life as it is. It is not her time to have a baby. She is not ready, and she can do nothing to provide her child with proper life. In her eyes, it seems to be justified to do abortion and be more attentive next time. This is why abortion should be also regarded as a good opportunity to distinguish personal, professional, and public values as it proved in academic investigations (Ananat, et al., 2009).
Physical and Spiritual Effects
Many opponents of abortions use the fact that such procedure is characterized by blood loss or other body complications caused by unpleasant surgery interventions. The blood loss is deemed to cause some diversion in the blood flow to other organs. There could also be exposure of the involved body parts for instance the fallopian tubes, the cervix and the uterus to infections like bacteria. Some instruments used in the abortion process could also cause perforations in the uterus which may lead to internal bleeding and infections that may lead to future complications. Severe hemorrhage could as well lead to death if intervention is not made in time. However, it is also necessary to admit that there are so-called therapeutic abortions that may prevent a serious illness (Knox & Schacht, 2009). In other words, there are the situations when the question is all about saving mother’s life or an unborn child’s live.
From a pure spiritual point of view, abortion will be always regarded as a wrong action that supports the idea of human murder and ending human lives without considering human rights. It is therefore an act of breaking one of God’s commandments that states that one should not kill and the fact that life starts at conception and any abortion irrespective of the time it was undertaken entails killing (Endres, n.d). Still, the examples from real life show that some religious people do not find abortion as a spiritually wrong decision but as a kind of test that has to be passed by a person.
Health Related Issues
Opponents of the idea of abortion make also use of physiological problems which may be observed in women and men. This is because abortion entails a disruption of the normal processes of the body affecting the hormonal balance. Some of the health risks include the occurrence of breast cancer and subsequent losses of pregnancies and worst still inability to conceive. The chances of breast cancer are increased by abortion procedures as abortion especially of the first pregnancy is deemed to interfere with the natural growth process of the individual’s breasts and makes numerous cells to be at risk.
Still, it is necessary to evaluate another aspect and reasons of why a woman agrees for abortion. For example, in one survey research, the following situation was discussed. A woman becomes pregnant as a result of rapping or other type of violent act (Binding, 2009). It is hard for her to accept a child from a person who used violence against her. This is why even from a pure psychological point, abortion may be supported and used as the only method to avoid harmful outcomes.
Effects of Abortion on Men
Although the aspect of abortion is considered to be usually women related due to the effects suffered, men are also affected by pregnancy termination in a variety of ways. They usually face emotional and psychological problems which define their relationships with females. The main problem comes from the fact that men cannot say a word in the aspect and decision made by women. In some cases, men are not even aware that their partners had babies but terminated their pregnancies and when the truth became disclosed, it is too late to do something. As a rule, much psychological pain is observed in such cases.
Another instance is when pregnancy is unexpected and men feel that an abortion is the only solution to be done to save a family and improve the relations with the partner. Still, it is necessary to admit that even in such situations, the role of men is not that important as the role of women who make the final decision. Even in cases when both partners agree for abortion, men usually suffer from loss of fatherhood or even have a feeling of guilt because of supporting such idea. They generally feel helpless and may not be willing to father more children even in future. The relationships also do not work out well and the men suffer loss of their child and their partner. They feel guilty for not protecting their child and also they suffer for the blames they get from their partners for not having the efforts to father a child with them and protect it (Rue & Tellefsen, 2010).
Conclusion
Abortion is a social phenomenon that has drawn a lot of debate to an extent that it has necessitated enactment of laws to govern it. As many people are ready to express their ideas, as many opinions of and attitudes to abortion may be defined. It is hard to define clearly whether abortion is of pure or negative effects on people. There are a number of situations when abortion is the only way to save personal life and to continue living under appropriate conditions. Still, there are the situations when abortion should be the last option to be considered, and women should think a lot to make the decision. Men’s role in the process of abortion is huge indeed, and it is necessary to provide wide discussions in order to define the place of a man in abortion. This is why it is wrong to have only positive or only negative attitude to abortion but try to consider all options and aspects of each case separately to decide whether abortion may be supported or argued.
Reference List
Ananat, E.O., Gruber, J., Levine, P.B, & Staiger, D. (2009). “Abortion and selection.” Review of Economics & Statistics, 91(1), 124-136.
Binding, T.S. (2009). “Abortion and sexual assault.” Human Life Review, 35(3), 64-74.
Endres, A. (n.d). The physical and spiritual effects of abortion: Central Illinois right to life. Web.
Knox, D. and Schacht, C. (2009). Choices in Relationships: An Introduction to Marriage and the family. 10th Ed. Belmont: Cengage Learning.
Newman, M.B & Newman R.P. (2008). Development through life: A psychosocial approach. USA: Cengage Learning.
Rue, M.V. & Tellefsen, C. (2010). The effects of abortion on men: Its emotional, psychological and relational Impact. Web.