Abortion should continue to be a legalised surgical procedure.

After much discussion abortion has finally become legalised in most countries, but was it the right choice to make? Abortion is the greatest cause of death in NSW and many women regret ever having an abortion. Many women suffer from pain and discomfort from the result of an abortion, when they could easily save their babies life and continue on with theirs, by putting it up for adoption. There are many women out there who continue to have abortions. It is the safest surgical procedure and if abortion became illegal it would result in even more deaths. Unwanted babies can ruin not only teenagers but many other womens careers, sometimes resulting in an unsuccessful life. Abortion has and continues to be a major issue in society that clearly needs to be resolved. Each year there are sixty to seventy million abortions which occur worldwide, eighty thousand of those occur in Australia and forty thousand occur in New South Wales alone. Forty-one percent of deaths that occur in Australia are caused from having abortions, this makes it the greatest cause of death in Australia. The first place that a baby lives is in the womb. Although it may seem very safe and secure for the baby, it is actually the most dangerous place for an Australian to live. Eight-hundred abortions are performed each week in New South Wales and ninety-eight percent of those are done for convenience. Sometimes teenagers may not want their parents to find out that they ever got pregnant or maybe the family is just not ready for the baby. There are other alternatives to having an abortion which are not only safer but are better for everyone. The main choice being, putting your child up for adoption. This allows you to live your life without worrying about the innocent baby that youve killed. It also gives the baby a chance to have a good life as well, with a pair of loving parents who have waited so long for their dream to come true, having their own child. For each abortion that is performed, there are at least ten families that have waited so long to have their very own child. Unfortunately for all those couples, many adoption lists in Australia have either been limited or completely closed for years. There just arent enough children available in the world for childless couples. Abortion is not simply a quick easy procedure that is over and done with no problems. There are a number of effects that you can receive from having an abortion. Ten percent of women undergoing induced abortion suffer from immediate complications, two percent which are major. Minor complications include minor infections, bleeding, fevers, chronic abdominal pain, gastro-intestinal disturbances, vomiting, and Rh sensitisation. The most common major effects include infection, excessive bleeding, embolism, ripping or perforation of the uterus, anaesthesia complications, convulsions, haemorrhage, cervical injury, and endotoxic shock. Abortion of a first pregnancy interrupts the growth and hormonal changes which enable the breast to produce milk, this leaves the breast at a high risk of cancer. The millions of induced abortions occurring around the world has accounted for the mysterious jump in the breast cancer rate. As well as the Physical effects of abortion, there are also the emotional effects. Many women suffer from Post Abortion Syndrome which at its worst can lead to suicide. It is understood to be a type of post- traumatic stress disorder and often involves postnatal depression, suicidal behaviour, drug and alcohol abuse, eating disorders, family breakdown and child neglect or abuse. The biggest effect from abortion for most women would have to be regret.

According to a survey of women effected by abortions, ninety- five percent of women today dont believe they made the right decision. This will impact on them greatly as they will continue living their lives thinking about what it would be like if they had kept that baby. They also feel guilt as they have killed an innocents life. Abortion was once a very dangerous procedure but now it is extremely safe. In 1973 the death risk from abortion was 3.4 deaths per 100,000 women. Before 1973 there were even more deaths as it was an illegal procedure, many unqualified people who didnt know what they are doing, undertook the procedure and often used hangers and other sharp objects. By 1985 the death risk had dropped to .4 deaths per 100,000 women, and today it is very rare for a woman to die from the result of an abortion. It is now said to be among the safest surgical procedures available. Because abortions have been made legal in most countries, there has been notice of a fifteen percent more decrease in the crime rate in those countries that conduct abortions frequently. This is due to the fact that there arent any unqualified people undertaking the procedure anymore, it is now very professional. Many women and teenagers are unable to cope with having a baby who is mentally or physically disabled or who is the result of rape. This is quite understandable especially for teenagers and elderly women. It is hard enough for teenagers to look after a baby, let alone a baby that requires full attention and has special needs. One case that has occurred was that a teenage girl who had down syndrome got pregnant with a baby who also had the syndrome. The teenage girl was unable to care for the baby and her parents were far to old to cope with another child. The only choice they had was to have an abortion. Women or teenagers who are raped are very traumatised as it is, but to become pregnant from the incident is even worse. To think that you are carrying a child as a result of being raped is an absolutely horrifying feeling. Usually you want to try and forget about what happened but having the baby would just bring back far too many terrible memories. Without being able to have an abortion as a result of rape, would mean that many women might have to bring up a baby who was conceived by a very destructive act. When women fall pregnant, it is not always planned. Some women will have the baby because they were planning to have one eventually anyway and they dont have any other major worries at the time. For other women and teenagers, it could be the worst thing they could do at the time. A child is not easy to look after and they require a big responsibility. Some teenagers are not ready to take on that responsibility when they find out theyre pregnant, so they have an abortion, which is perfectly safe for them to do. This enables them to live their life a bit longer and think about their career before they start thinking about any commitments. For older women who fall pregnant it is often very dangerous to go through childbirth and there is more of a chance that the baby will have defects or deformities. Abortion is really the best solution in this situation. It saves having to worry about looking after a baby that needs full attention, while at the same time you are trying to look after yourself as you get older. Abortion is a very strong issue in our society today and has been dealt with in most areas of the

world. Some people believe that abortion should definitely be an illegal procedure as you are taking the life of an innocent. Others think that it needs to stay legal, otherwise there may be more deaths than expected. I believe that having an abortion is a very destructive act as you are killing a baby who hasnt even seen the outside world. The only women who should be legally able to have an abortion are those whos lives are in danger, have been raped, or whos babys life is in danger. Too many babies out there are being killed just because it is convenient for their mother to have an abortion. There are also too many people who are dying to have a child of their own but there just arent enough on the adoption lists. If your going to go and get yourself pregnant in the first place then I think you should accept the consequences and look after the child, or at least give it to someone else to look after. Im sure a baby would prefer to come into the world, grow up with a family who loves them and find out they were adopted, than be killed at the age of eight weeks.