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Elizabeth Callahan

Mrs. Huff

AP English Language

December 14, 2007

Aborting Abortion

“A woman realizes too late into her pregnancy that she doesn’t want to go

through with it. The pregnancy is so far along that it cannot be terminated by traditional

means. So, in order to legally kill the fetus, a doctor must deliver all of the body but the

head, puncture it, suck out its brains, throw it in the waste bin, and call it a day”

(Douglas 1). A legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee made this

statement while debating the partial-birth abortion ban. His overall point is obvious –

the partial-birth procedure is wrong. I definitely agree. Partial-birth abortions, which

normally occur in the second or third trimester of a pregnancy, are cruel and should not

become legal.

Although all abortions are wrong, partial-birth abortions are completely

unnecessary and must stay illegal. As stated in the Declaration of Independence, every

human has the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Andrew Lewis, a

senior writer for the Ayn Rand Institute in Irvine California, says that, “a fetus’ rights

begin when the fetus could remain alive if removed from the womb” (1). This is not true.

The rights of a fetus begin at conception. At the exact time of conception, one cell

divides into two. The unborn child begins to grow and develop into a person starting

with the division of that one cell. This makes him a human just like a newborn baby or a

full-grown adult, except for the fact the he is still in the womb. When a woman gives
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into the partial birth abortion procedure, she is taking away the rights of her innocent,

unborn child. Doing this goes against what this country’s founding fathers set forth in

the Declaration.

Studies show that it is possible for a baby to live if born during the second or third

trimester of a pregnancy. Why would one want to kill an unborn baby who could

possibly live on his own? If the mother is usually far along in the pregnancy, why not go

ahead and give birth to the baby and put him up for adoption instead of killing him?

Women must consider options like this instead of turning only to abortion. Supporters of

partial-birth abortion say that it is the mother’s decision of whether or not to get an

abortion and at what point in time to do so. This decision should not be up to the mother

because her child is an individual person. Since he is unborn, however, he is not able

to stand up for himself.

During the procedure, an abortionist, guided by ultrasound, grabs the unborn

child’s legs with forceps. The abortionist delivers the baby’s entire body, except for the

head. He jams scissors into the baby’s skull then opens them to enlarge the hole. After

removing the scissors, he inserts a suction catheter into the skull. The abortionist sucks

out the child’s brains, causing the skull to collapse. At the end of the procedure, he

removes the dead baby from the mother’s body. (Haskell 1) This is a cruel and

gruesome procedure. In America torturing and killing another human is illegal, so why

should it be legal to torture and kill an unborn baby? The answer is simple – it should

not.

It is completely wrong to suck out a baby’s brain only because an irresponsible

mother does not want to keep her child. If a woman is not responsible enough to
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prevent the pregnancy in the first place, it is her own fault, not the unborn baby’s. We

must also take into consideration situations in which the mother’s life is in danger or the

baby has a serious illness. An article from Newsweek talks about a woman who

aborted one of her twin fetuses to save the other’s life. (Breslau 1) Some people would

say that in cases like this, abortion would be necessary because there is a life in

danger. Abortion is abortion no matter what and it is still wrong even when trying to save

one person’s life. In an interview for The New Republic, a National Right to Life

committee member said, “We don’t believe that sick babies –babies with disabilities-

should be pulled out by the legs and struck through the head. We believe they should

live out their life –whether it’s a few minutes or six hours” (Rovner 1). This is exactly

right. God put everyone on this earth for a reason. He decides when one is born and

when one dies, and it is not up to the mother of an unborn baby to alter the child’s

natural death.

Before abortion, many mothers request local anesthetics for pain during the

procedure. The abortionist administers the anesthetics to ensure that the mother will not

feel any pain. These mothers are not considering the fact that the baby will have to

suffer throughout the abortion. Studies done by British neuroscientists show that a fetus

may begin to feel pain during the eleventh week of the pregnancy. (White 1) If this is

true, it is likely that a fetus would feel immense pain throughout the partial-birth

procedure. These studies also show that an abortionist may administer local anesthetics

to a fetus before abortion. Doing so, could possibly minimize the pain that the fetus

would experience. If a woman thinks that it is necessary that she has an abortion, then

she should go through with the procedure as soon as possible before the baby is able to
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feel pain. The mother would still be wrong in having an abortion, but at least the fetus

would not have to suffer through the pain of the procedure.

What would happen to the number of babies aborted throughout the world if the

procedure becomes legal? If the procedure were to become legal, it is likely that there

would be a gradual increase in the number of abortions. All over the United States,

more teenage girls are becoming pregnant than in past years. More and more young

girls might turn to abortion as a solution to irresponsibility. Not even considering the life

of her unborn child, a mother might choose to abort the baby in order to feel better

about herself and avoid public embarrassment brought by the pregnancy. This should

not be legal. The number of teen pregnancies could decrease if the procedure were to

remain illegal. If it is legal for teens to terminate the lives of unborn babies, many might

pay more attention to preventing the pregnancies in the first place.

At this point in time partial-birth abortions are illegal, but Pro-Choice advocates

are working towards legalization. One of these advocates, Ron Fitzsimmons, executive

director for the National Coalition of Abortion Providers, claimed that “the procedure is

rare,” but later confessed that “the procedure is fairly common and performed on

healthy mothers who have healthy babies” (WorldNetDaily). These supporters have no

reason to legalize the partial-birth abortion. People must realize the cruel reality of this

procedure and work together to keep it from becoming legal. An unborn child has the

same rights as any other human being. He or she should have the opportunity to live

and possibly become a successful adult. Who knows, an aborted baby could have

been one to become president of the country or even invent a cure for cancer, but died

before he had the opportunity to be born. By legalizing partial-birth abortions, Congress

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is going against the Declaration of Independence and specific rights set forth by the

founders of the country.

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Works Cited

Breslau, Karen, et. al. “A Hard Line on the Plains.” Newsweek. Vol. 148 Issue 19: Page

43.EBSCOhost. December 2007.

<http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=9&hid=108&sid=94b7cc83-e0ac-4fb5-

9d19-492f2fb7f57e%40sessionmgr104>.

Haskell, Martin. “Partial-Birth Abortion.” National Right to Life. December 2007.

http://www.nrlc.org/abortion/pba/PBA_Images/PBA_Images_Heathers_Place.htm.

Johnson, Douglas. “Testimony of Douglas Johnson on Partial-Birth Abortion.” 11 March 1997.

December 2007. http://www.nrlc.org/abortion/pba/test.html.

Lewis, Andrew. “Abortion: When Do Rights Begin?” Capitalism Magazine. 14 Feb. 2000.

December 2007. <http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=273>.

Rovner, Julie. “Partial-Birth Abortion: Separating Fact From Spin.” National Public Radio. 21

February 2006. December 2007.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5168163.

“Sharp Rise Seen in Partial-Birth Abortion.” World Net Daily. 14 January, 2003. December

2007. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=30488.

White, R. Frank M.D., “Are We Overlooking Fetal Pain and Suffering in Abortion?” American

Society of Anesthesiologists. Volume 65. Number 10. October 2001. December 2007.

<http://www.asahq.org/Newsletters/2001/10_01/white.htm>
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