Value Human Life

Out of all the arguments made in regards to the feminist movement, one of the most controversial is the topic of abortion. Both sides of the argument bring forth valid points in addressing concerns of both sides of the issue. My personal opinion is that abortion is morally wrong and while that may be considered an insensitive and naive stance to hold on a topic with such depth, I will explain why and hopefully defend myself against inevitable accusations of intolerance.

In 2012, almost 700,000 lives were taken in the form of abortion (cdc.gov). The ratio stands that per every 1,000 live births, there were 210 abortions (cdc.gov). After the freedom of slaves, the 14th Amendment was ratified forbidding states from denying anyone the inalienable rights of “life, liberty or property without due practice of law.” It took until 1868 to make the final decision that all people have a right to freedom and life. Previous to ratification, people truly and thoroughly believed that they should have the right to own slaves due to their own convenience, similar to abortion now. In one of the GOP debates, Marco Rubio stated that in years to come, our children would look back on the legal stance of abortion similarly to the way that we look at slavery’s stance in our ancestor's society. I would like to think that may be true and that we will take initiative to address the fact that 700,000 lives are denied every year in a country that promotes freedom, equality, and life for all.

With that being said, you cannot legally instill morality in a society. This is shown time after time in history in times of slavery, prohibition, drug restriction, and same-sex marriage. It is a lesson that we have yet to learn. So while morally, I am against abortion, I am not sure that I agree with what Marco Rubio had said as much as I would like to. I am not sure that as a society we will look back to see abortion as a flaw in our country’s character as much as a landmark of further freedom. As stated in a previous entry, “The measure of a society is found in how they treat their weakest and most helpless citizens” (Jimmy Carter Jr.). Who would be more helpless than the lives of unborn children who cannot vouch for themselves? Women should not be able to take the life of someone else away and the fact that it is so easy to do so just instills in society how invaluable human life is becoming in this country.