The Abortion Debate
After Nuevo León reformed the Constitution to protect life from the moment of conception, we sought the opinion of both supporters and opponents of abortion.
Ethical
Pro-Life - Nowadays young girls who are ignorant or indifferent to consequences that arise from abortion, wish to avoid being criticized. The American Pregnancy Association states that there are risks after an abortion. Women may develop psychological disorders ranging from guilt to suicidal thoughts, cancer, and infertility, proving that no woman is 100 percent sure of such a decision. Ultimately, you are the one living with your choice. Decisions come down to conscience. I can only state that I‘m eternally grateful to my paternal biological grandmother for choosing to give my father up for adoption instead of opting for abortion. You wouldn’t be reading my words otherwise. So, draw your own conclusions.
Pro-Choice - Pro-lifers build their arguments against abortion from a religious and moral standpoint, but morality shouldn’t be a factor. Conceiving a child is a risk every woman should have the right to reject. The moral debate that surrounds abortions often neglects the safety of pregnant women by giving more importance to the life of an embryo. I think it’s hypocritical that forced-birthers protect fetuses at the developing stage by criminalizing women who consider themselves people instead of “human vessels.” I have always considered myself pro-choice not because I disregard the supposed moral implications of killing what will become a baby, but because I ethically believe that every person has the right to make decisions for themselves. Pro-lifers argue we should respect the lives of unborn children because our own lives were respected. This is close-minded. I don’t find it morally correct to pressure anyone to conceive a child, much less, victims of rape and women in fragile conditions.
Scientific
Pro-Life - Let’s begin with the facts, setting aside philosophical or religious perspectives which many might say lack evidence to support why a “blob of cells” deserves to be considered a human life. Recalling ninth-grade biology: new life begins when the sperm and ovum unify. This so-called “blob of cells” contains a new DNA set, different from that of the parents, making it a unique person. Nature is smart; when these cells fail to unify, they cease to exist. From hair and eye color to the personality traits it contains, the life in question is one of a kind.
Pro-Choice - A consensus hasn’t been reached regarding when a fetus is considered human; the line between a baby and a fetus is an arbitrary one. That being said, in most places where abortions are legal, the operation can be performed up to the 24th week of pregnancy. After that, the average legal abortion clinic won’t permit women to abort. Although most states in Mexico severely restrict abortions, they are offered to women up to twelve weeks into their pregnancy in Mexico City. I don’t see why the government should have a say in a woman’s decisions to terminate a pregnancy if the embryo can’t physically live outside the womb when the abortion is taking place.
Legal
Pro-Life - There are girls who choose to travel to places where abortion is legal, and these women are exposed to many risks. Because such atrocities cannot be eradicated, it doesn’t mean it should be legal, after all, health issues make up only 7 percent of all abortions and less than 1.5 percent are related to rape. According to our Constitution, every human being’s rights must be respected, and universally speaking, bioethics means nothing must be above human dignity and life. This also supports the UN’s Human Rights, specifically the part that states “We all have the right to life, and to live in freedom and safety”. Regardless of its legality in a state or country, I’m not a judge, it isn’t up to me nor any of us, we can’t interrupt the course of life.
Pro-Choice - The only thing that pro-life supporters gain when making abortions illegal is the death of more women. I find it gruesome that women have to go to the lengths of shoving a clothes hanger up their cervix to try and induce a miscarriage. Why should girls have to die from perforated uteruses because their conservative Catholic government refuses to allow abortion clinics to perform a simple procedure? Research conducted over the years has proven that making abortion illegal does not decrease the number of abortions performed. If women are willing to risk their lives to end a pregnancy, governments might as well give them the needed facilities.