Great Britain Abortion Reform
December 7th 2007
Today I am going to be writing about a controversial subject that affects every woman. This is a very touchy subject and if I offend anyone I apologize in advance.
Each year there are millions of women in the world who choose to end their pregnancy with abortion. On November 29, 2007 Baroness Masham of Ilton, Great Britain introduced an amendment in Parliament making it illegal for women to have an abortion if the fetus is found to be disabled. Currently, it is legal for women to undergo an abortion if during testing it is discovered the fetus will be disabled. Baroness Marsham claims it is wrong to kill an unborn disabled fetus if they can endure medical treatments for their illness.
Many people believe it is immortal to have an abortion if you discover your child has a disability. Women are devastated when they loose their child, whether they experience an abortion or a miscarriage. When women have an abortion, it becomes very emotional for them because pregnancies are usually planned and often it is the only child a woman will conceive after many months or years of trying to conceive. It is difficult for a woman to move forward with her life after having to abort her unborn child because the woman felt the fetus move, visualized what the infant would look like through an ultrasound, and in some cases had selected a name for the baby based on sex.
Learning there is a possibility that the fetus could be disabled, women want to terminate the existence of their own child, not wanting to keep their baby because it is not considered “healthy or perfect”. When we discover that we have conceived, women plan their future knowing they will have a perfect baby girl or boy. Aborting a fetus is considered helping the child because they are “better off dead” than living in a world where they will be subject to stereotypes because of their disability.
Personally I do not believe in abortions unless it is medically necessary, such as the child will only have a short amount of time to live or if the woman was raped. I would rather give the baby the opportunity to live whatever time they have on this earth, than not know the child, watching them grow and learn. Children should be given the opportunity to live their lifespan, whether that is 5 months, 5 years, or 50+ years.
Would you rather live your life and know your own child for five years, or would you rather live your life, without knowing them? Knowing your baby is disabled should not affect your decision to keep the fetus. What are your thoughts? Do you think it is moral to terminate a pregnancy if you are told your child will be disabled?
Denise Naspinski
* The opinions expressed in the above entry are those of the individual and are not necessarily shared by the Home Access Program or its Sponsor.