Persuasive Writing

Ever since I was a kid I remember people telling me that abortion is wrong. Some people would say that if your taught or told something your entire life you’re going to agree with it because that’s all you know. That may be partly true, but I like to think that I’m old enough and know enough to have my own opinions. I’ve read the facts and I believe that in almost every situation abortion is wrong. People who are religious normally disagree with abortion the most. Well there are a lot of people who don’t believe in god or any religion that think abortion is wrong too.

People say that it isn’t taking a life because a baby isn’t a person until it’s born. Studies show that eighteen days after conception the human fetus has a heart, and at twenty-one days that heart begins to beat. Many people’s response to that fact would be that there’s more to being a human that having a heart. It may be true that there is more to life than having a heart but there isn’t a person who can live without one either. The truth is there are many scientific facts people can look at to show that abortion is a terrible thing. So scientifically when does a life end? Today, the definitive and final measure of the end of human life is brain death. This happens when there is irreversible cessation of total brain function. The final scientific measurement of this is the permanent ending of brain waves. Brain function, as measured on the Electroencephalogram, "appears to be reliably present in the fetus at about eight weeks gestation," or six weeks after conception.

In my opinion abortion is only okay in two situations. If a woman is raped and gets pregnant, for nine months that woman is going to have a constant reminder of that horrible event. In that situation I think abortion can be understandable. The other reason is if a woman’s life is in danger due to the pregnancy. If you get an abortion to save your own life then that can be understood. Other than that I don’t believe it can be okay. Most people who have an abortion do it because they got pregnant by accident and don’t want a baby. Well if you engage in sex you are taking that risks that you or that other person may get pregnant. If you are willing to take that risk then you need to be ready to take that responsibility.

Now saying everything that I’ve said I’ve never been in a situation where I had to make that choice. I’m sure that getting an abortion is a hard choice to make. I know that every year thousands of women have to make that difficult choice and I have nothing against the women that choose abortion. I’m sure that’s one of the hardest decisions a person can make and I feel for everyone who has to make it. At the end of the day though I guess I just see it like this, no matter what scientist or doctors say there’s no way I can be sure of when life begins. What I do know though is when it ends, and a human life is the most valuable thing there is, and its never okay to take that away from someone.