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Essay: Abortion Abortion is an issue that has been most controversial since the 1970’s. The main question surrounding abortion is when human “personhood” begins. There are the pro-life persons who believe it begins at conception, and the pro-choice people who believe it begins later in pregnancy. Then there are the people who are in between; those who feel abortion is wrong, unless there is a case of rape or incest, or to prevent illness or injury to the mother. In the United States, women choose to end about 25% of their pregnancies through abortion. This number has been gradually declining since 1979. This is similar to the Canadian figure of 21%, but is much lower than that of the former Soviet Union (60%) and Romania (78%) where contraceptives are in short supply. Pro-life persons do not agree with abortion. Many of them feel that because an embryo has DNA, which is the “recipe for life”, it is considered human. It will form hair and feet and all other parts that humans have. They believe that human “personhood” begins at this point (conception) and terminating life after conception is a form of murder. In contrast, pro-choice persons believe it is a woman’s choice whether or not to terminate a pregnancy. They believe human “personhood” begins later in pregnancy (2nd trimester or later). To them, an embryo has no limbs, no organs, and no brain, and is therefore not really a human yet. Many feel that an abortion during the 1st trimester is not murderous, but many do agree it is regrettable option. The pros to having an abortion depend on the person having one performed. Women have many reasons for not wanting to be pregnant, and thus to seek an abortion. Many are related to their age (most are under 25), their marital status (most are unmarried) or their economic status (many are poor).
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