“My uterus, My choice,” "Woman's body, woman's choice," and "Keep your laws off my body" Banners are raised in protests, printed on t-shirts and pillows and even iced on cakes. The Abortion-rights movement claims you are not free when you can’t make decisions about what to do with your own body, and that abortion is a Human Right. They fight for women to have the legal right to an elective abortion.
On the other side, the Anti-abortion or Pro-Life movement advocates for the protection of fetal life. The pro-life activists compare abortion to slavery saying that the human rights abuses throughout history have been seen when it was said that you don’t have to be only a human being to have equal rights, but you also have to be white. In the case of abortion, not only do they have to be human beings to have equal rights, but they have to be born now. Both slaves and babies don’t have choices whether they get to live or die. They both needed people beside themselves to fight for them. Aborters and slave owners think that their rights are above the people they are responsible for.
Students for Life of America (SFLA), an anti-abortion organization that has formed over 2000 groups of high schoolers and college students across the US, was very active spreading awareness by educating students about the issues of abortion, euthanasia, and infanticide.
Kristan Hawkins, President of SFLA, and her team nearly 100 staff members have trained more than 205,000 young pro-life activists (1). Hawkins refuses abortion overall, even in pregnancies due to rape saying that now it is “two people in need of help and love”.
But despite the active fight against abortion, a CDC abortion surveillance conducted in 2021 reported that from 2020 to 2021, the total number of abortions increased 5% (from 592,939 total abortions), and a total of 625,978 abortions for 2021 were reported to CDC from 48 reporting areas. Moreover, in 2021, abortion ratios were highest among adolescents (aged ≤19 years) and women in their 20s accounted for more than half of abortions (57.0%).
But why is abortion considered murder? Do Fetuses feel pain in the first trimester? What do experts say?
Most people don’t want to believe that abortion hurts babies, they have been misled that a fetus is merely a meaningless clump of tissues or cells. But many studies prove that fetal pain is real, in fact, research produced by two scientist and published on Journal of Medical Ethics proves that fetal pain is immediately mediated by the developing function of the nervous system from as early as 12 weeks. (2) Another research published on PUBMED website states that Current neuroscientific evidence indicates the possibility of fetal pain perception during the first trimester (<14 weeks gestation). (3)
Former Abortionists speak out about the reality of abortion and assert that it is in fact murder of human beings. Dr. Anthony Levatino, an ex-Abortion Doctor has spoken out about his experience with performing abortions and what struck him to stop. Dr. Levatino’s adopted daughter was struck and killed by a car. After this event, Levatino had difficulty performing abortions. He says “For the first time in my career after all those years and all those abortions, I looked… I really looked at that pile of body parts on the side of the table... And I didn't see her wonderful right to choose and I didn't see what a great doctor I was helping her with her problem, and I didn't even see the $800 cash I just made in 15 minutes. All I could see was somebody's son or daughter.” (4)
What do Religions say about Abortions?
In Christianity
Christianity's views on abortion vary among denominations, but traditionally, many Christian teachings oppose it, viewing life as sacred from conception. The Bible does not directly mention abortion, but verses like “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13) are often cited in opposition. The Catholic Church holds a strict anti-abortion stance, while some Protestant denominations allow for abortion in certain cases, such as to save the mother's life or in cases of rape.
In Judaism
In Judaism, abortion is generally permitted if the mother's life is at risk, as preserving her life takes precedence. In Talmud (Mishnah Ohalot 7:6) it is stated that the fetus is not considered a full person until birth, which allows for more leniency in certain cases. However, abortion is discouraged for non-medical reasons where Jewish law (Halacha) emphasizes the importance of each case being assessed individually by religious authorities.
In Islam
Islamic teachings regard abortion as wrong and haram, but All schools of Muslim law accept that abortion is permitted if continuing the pregnancy would put the mother's life in real danger, which is the only reason accepted for abortion after 120 days of the pregnancy.
In the Quran, abortion is not specifically mentioned but guidance is always offered related to matters. Scholars accept that this guidance can properly be applied to abortion. Allah says: “whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land – it is as if he had slain mankind entirely.” (Surah Al-Ma’idah: 32).
The issue continuously opposes societal values and religious beliefs and it should never be considered a legal right. Abortion is a crime, and it should be banned globally.
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(1) https://studentsforlife.org/
(2) https://jme.bmj.com/content/46/1/3
(3) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8935428/
(3) https://www.foxnews.com/video/6008330259001#sp=show-clips
