Abortion :: essays research papers

As of right now, abortion is legal in all nine months of the pregnancy for any reason. This controversial issue is a question of how important the value of life is. The turning point came in 1973 when the Supreme Court's decision in Roe vs. Wade saying, that women have the right to murder an innocent child only up to 24 weeks . This false perception is fueled part by groups supporting abortion rights and it is then uncritically unaccepted by the media. The fact is that the current law allows a woman to get an abortion for any reason she deems necessary.It seems ironic that a people can get so emotional when it comes to animal rights, yet see no wrong in ripping a developed baby from the protection of the mother. It is not the child's fault that he or she was conceived. Some people argue that the developing is not technically a child yet because it cannot live on its own. Most of the procedures in murdering the growing child can be painful to the baby and be harmful to the mother. So how can we as a nation make sure criminals are executed painlessly and let children be murdered by extremely painful measures. At 18 days after conception, a baby's heart is already beating, and at 6 weeks, brain waves can be measured. At 8 weeks, the stomach, liver, and kidneys are functioning, and the fingerprints have formed. At 9 weeks, the baby can feel pain . Here are some methods of early abortion:Vacuum Curettage: powerful suction tube inserted through the cervix and into the womb. The unborn child is torn apart by the force of the suction; the fetal body parts and placenta are sucked into a jar. Possible complications include infection, cervical laceration and uterine perforation. Mifepristone: also known as RU-486, the chemical causes an abortion by interfering with the function of the placenta, starving the unborn child to death. Prostaglandins are then administered to expel the fetus. This method of abortion takes place over the span of several days; the average woman using it bleeds heavily for more than nine days, but some women have bled for over four weeks. Mifepristone is just beginning to be used in the US. Long-term health risks are not yet known. Methotrexate: though not approved by the FDA for this use, a methotrexate injection kills the unborn child by interfering with the growth process (cell division).