Roe versus Wade marked the beginning of one of the most controversial issues in the United States. It allows the mother of an unborn child to thoughtlessly end her unborn child’s life. The Supreme Court stated that, under the Constitution, a fetus is not a person within the first trimester of pregnancy. In addition to this, the state can mediate upon an abortion during the second trimester and make abortion totally illegal during the last trimester, considering that the mother’s life is not in danger. If I were able to change a specific event in history, I would choose the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize abortion.
First, contemplate the possibilities if the millions of babies killed by abortion had lived, if abortion had not been legalized. One of them may have found a cure for lung cancer; one of them may have been a political leader; one of them may have solved world hunger. Second, look at another consequence of the millions of deaths. The generations that would have been the offspring of this unborn population are also denied the right to live.
The risks of abortion also outweigh the benefits. Cervical, uterus, and internal organ damage may all accompany the abortion. Any injury to these critical body parts can seriously increase the risk of future complications in later pregnancies, breast cancer, and psychological sicknesses. Although immediate gratification seems to accompany abortion, the reality is that more problems are created. Regret, denial, and shame break down the mother’s mental health even more than cancer and complications in pregnancies thereafter harm her physical well being.
The hypocrisy of abortion also deters me from supporting the court’s decision. In the judicial system of the United States, it is explicitly stated that the murder of a human being capable of defense is unlawful and punishable by jail time or death. However, the murder of a defenseless child is commonly practiced among the primary caregivers and their health professionals.
The final rationale that supports my disdain for this historical court case and its outcome is that the unborn baby is in fact not considered a baby at all. The descriptor “fetus” is fundamentally used to depersonalize the connection that the baby has to the outside world. By the time the child is considered a fetus, it has a beating heart and recognizable human features. To reject the truth that the baby has the potential to live, through abortion, is to belittle the value of human life.
A society without abortion would redefine the prestige placed upon a new, innocent human life. Abortions conceal the impulsive actions of the parents, causing them to deny that they created a life that should be fulfilled. If expecting mothers would consider their child’s life to be worth more than a medical procedure, they would find more happiness in knowing that the baby has a chance to live and make a difference in the world.