One of the major reasons that people oppose abortions is they say that abortions are violent, and hurt the fetus. This is a myth. The fetus cannot feel pain until the third trimester, and the only time abortions are given in the third trimester is when it will endanger the mother’s life is in danger. The other reason people oppose abortions is that they say it is murder, as a fetus is a human being. This is not true, as an, “embryo or fetus, does not have all the attributes of a human being and thus cannot properly be considered one.” (Morgentaler, Ethics of Abortion, 15) It cannot be considered a human being until it has the attributes of a human being, such as a heart, brain, lungs and other internal organs, and these organs should be fully formed before it can be considered a human being. This usually occurs in the third trimester, which would
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Mean that little to no “babies” are killed, unless the mother’s life is in danger, and even then, they will usually try to save the baby as well. That is why abortion cannot be considered murder, and so there should be an abortion law, legalizing abortion in the first and second trimester.
There are many benefits to abortion, and these will be highlighted if we have an abortion law. Some of the benefits include the fact that there will be less children born into homes where they are not loved or cared for, and also there has been a decrease in both mortality rates for women who die while having/complications from an abortion; which are already extremely low, (1 in 200 000) and they compare to other surgical procedures, and also a decrease in violent crimes in society. The other benefit of abortion is embryo stem cell research. When an embryo is less than 64 cells it can be manipulated in many ways. “If injected into a diseased kidney, they take on many of the properties of ordinary kidney cells, and may help the kidney to perform its normal function. This seems to hold for any organ, even any kind of cell” (Peter Singer, Ethics of Abortion, 75) Embryo stem cell research is very exciting as it could help to cure Alzheimer’s disease, and even to help repair nerve systems. This is an amazing medical breakthrough, and abortion allows this research to happen. The most shocking abortion benefit would be that there has been a decrease in violent crimes, such as rape, murder and aggravated assault. The decrease in violent crime is about 8% per year, over the last 4 years in Canada. Studies by the Federal Bureau of Investigators prove these statistics as well as police forces. They say it is due to the fact that many criminal offenders were born into homes where they were not loved or cared for. Hitler was born into a family where his father beat him, and this may have been the reason that he was
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able to kill thousands of people with no remorse. By legalizing abortion, many of these unwanted, unloved children will not be a threat to society. Also, the mortality rates of women will continue to go down. Already they are low, but with an abortion law, Canada can get the numbers even lower. Those are the many benefits of abortion.
The one problem with abortion laws is that they are so clear cut. The biggest problem with legalizing abortion laws would have to be the number of handicapped fetus’ that are being aborted. With the help of an amniocentesis parents can find out if the child that the mother is carrying is handicapped or not. This creates a problem with the abortion laws as many people say that as soon as abortion is legalized, then the number of handicapped children will drop dramatically. This is called perfect baby syndrome. Parents try to get their child to be just what they want it to be. The harsh reality to this is that the number of handicapped children in Canada has already dropped drastically. There is nothing Canada can do about this, as by imposing a law banning the abortion of handicapped children, but not of “normal” children is wrong. Some parents are just not ready for a handicapped child, and some parents just could not afford it. That is why aborting a handicapped fetus should not be considered illegal or wrong, as some parents just could not handle it. Children need all the love and attention that they can get, and it their parents resent them, because they were forced to have a baby, then what kind of life would that child have? That is why I don’t think that it should be illegal to abort a handicapped fetus.
There are many ways in which Canada could help to lower abortion rates.
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Women should be allowed to choose their own fate, over whether or not they have a child or not, but maybe Canada could help them to make that choice. Many women have abortions because they are afraid, or feel isolated or abandoned. By having abortion help clinics maybe, these mothers could go and talk to someone, and maybe have some help in deciding whether to have an abortion or not. Women should not be having an abortions just because they continually fail to use birth control, and maybe an abortion clinic could help with that too. By giving them advice on birth control, and talking to them, to listen to why they are having an abortion, would help the women in many ways. A lot of the women who have abortions are not even middle class. Some of them may feel that they want to have the baby, they just cannot afford it. By helping women to deal with these problems, may lower abortion rates. Abortion should be legalized, but it should in no way be abused. Canada could help abortion to not be abused by using the above suggestions to help make Canada a safer, nicer place.
The law that I propose we instate, would go along with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and protect the women’s individual right to have an abortion. The first section to overcome was Section 287 of the Criminal Code. This code stated that anyone who tried to procure a miscarriage was guilty of an indictable offense, and liable to go to prison for life. This Section should not be in the criminal code, as it goes against the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which state that everyone is entitled to life, liberty and most importantly security of person. Section 287 in the Criminal Code can be overthrown by Section 7, as it is against the security of a person to force them to carry a fetus to term. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms should overrule the Criminal Code,
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therefore clearing the way for an abortion law. The law I propose that Canada instates, would allow women to have an abortion in the first of second trimester, and in the third trimester only if her (the women’s) life is in danger. Also, in terms of aborting handicapped fetus’ then I would say that unless the parents have sufficient cause to abort this baby, then it should be illegal. Just because the fetus is handicapped, does not mean that the parents can keep trying for a normal child. If they don’t want a child at all, then it would be fine to abort the fetus. This law would satisfy everyone as it would not be murder, as the fetus would not yet then be a human being, and also it would allow women the freedom to choose their own destiny.
To legalize abortion in Canada would help Canada in so many ways. Crimes would continue to decrease, which does not just help the victims of these crimes, but society as a whole. Also, an abortion law will save many lives in terms of research; the stem cell embryos and the advances in medical breakthroughs that are happening because of them. And also in the way that fewer women would feel the need to go to a back alley clinic, as they feel that with no abortion law, they have to hide their abortion. The biggest way that legalizing abortion would assist Canada in becoming a better place to live is the fact that more children will be born into loving, and caring homes, thus decreasing the amount of criminals, and allowing the number of unwanted children to drop. Having an abortion law, would help to create happier lives for children, a safer society for Canada, while allowing women control over their own destinies. It is a woman’s right to choose whether or not to have an abortion, and that right would be upheld if Canada took the huge step, and legalized abortion in Canada.
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