Haithcock 1

Molly Haithcock

Lyndsay Knowles

English 111

Date: May 1, 2018

My Body vs. The World

A common phrase we hear women from around the world saying, “My body, my

choice.” but what does it truly mean? For years women have not only been fighting for their

place in the work world but as well as to be able to choose what happens to them when they are

faced with an unwanted pregnancy. For years the big discussion has been circulating around the

world, are you Pro-Choice, the advocation of legalized abortion or Pro-Life, opposing legal

abortion. These two opposing sides have been feuding for quite some time. Each person who has

undergone an abortion procedure has their own reasons to why they chose to terminate their

pregnancy. One might be too young, and the family will not help support, or the father of the

unborn child leaves. Rape or indefinite harm to fetus and/or the mother with child.

The world has always been quick to judge those who have gone through with the

abortion. Along with Foster care, and Adoption agencies Christians (as well as some other

denominations) are amongst many of those who do oppose. Apart from believing having an

abortion no matter the situation is morally wrong; The Bible has been the number one influence

behind their decision of Pro-Life. However, there are no specific answers within The Bible that

addresses abortion. Jeremiah 1:5 shows us that God knows us before He forms us within the

womb. Genesis 2:7 tells us “He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and it was then that

the man became a human being.” Showing us that life does not in fact begin at conception but

rather at first breath. (The historic Bible of The Episcopal Church, Jeremiah 1.5 Genesis 2.7)
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Now, let’s talk about Adoption and Foster care. Many people say, “Why don’t they just

put the child up for adoption?”; or “There are so many people who want to have children, but

they can’t.” Let me elaborate a bit. There are agency adoptions as well as private. Each way of

adoption has a cost, a lawyer and it takes quite a bit of time. Let’s not forget the picky parents,

the ones who have their ideal child in mind. Blonde hair, female. Brown hair, brown eyes, and

male. That isn’t including the background check on the health records of the birth family. Even

then, permanent adoptions aren’t always a guarantee. There have been cases where the

mother/father adopt the child, but the mother has 6 months to change her mind about the

adoption and you must abide by her wishes.

Foster care on the other hand is a whole different ball game. During 2003-2007 in Texas

14 children were found dead due to abuse in their foster homes, when children were removed

from their homes, there were no foster families available to take them in, and the state only had

the resources to inspect one-third of foster homes every year (George). Unfortunately, not all

children are lucky enough to be placed in a new happy and loving home and are forced to live

within the system for the remainder of their childhood.

When did all this pro-choice and pro-life become such an issue? Let’s move back in time

to January 22nd, 1973 during the case of Roe vs. Wade. Jane Roe an unmarried woman wished to

safely and legally terminate her pregnancy. The U.S Supreme Court decided to recognize the

constitutional right to privacy extends to a woman’s right to make her own personal medical

decisions — including the decision to have an abortion without interference (Planned

Parenthood Action). In 1965 17% of all deaths were caused my illegal and unsafe abortions.

Today, less than 0.3 percent of women undergoing legal abortions at all gestational ages sustain

a serious complication requiring hospitalization (Boonstra et al., 2006; Henshaw, 1999). The
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question remains, how do TOPs (termination of pregnancy) work? Less than 7 weeks from your

missed menstruation they give it to you in the form of a pill. 7-13 weeks it requires a “Vacuum

Curettage.” Later than that you are required to seek a highly trained professional to perform the

procedure. Mifepristone or the “abortion pill” is taken by mouth. This pill blocks the hormones

needed to continue a pregnancy. The Vacuum curettage is administered typically in an operating

room. The cervix is dilated and opened to allow a small tube to enter the womb. Attached to the

tube is the vacuum pump and will suction the pregnancy tissue out. Second trimester

terminations can be pill administered, this pill causes contractions that force labor and delivery.

(Relay health).

I set up a poll online for a few hours to see how many people on my friends list were Pro-

Choice or Pro-Life during those hours I received 84 votes. 52% of those were Pro-Choice and

48% were Pro-Life. For me it was interesting to see that a lot of the pro-choice were mothers and

fathers. It was my assumption that many of the parent votes would have chosen Pro-Life but to

my surprise all but 4 voted Pro-Life. Along with the poll I reached out to a few of my friends

(all coming from different backgrounds) to see what they thought and why. Pro-Choice was a

unanimous call and each response can be boiled down to this, “Why would we allow others to

choose what we do (or don’t) to our own bodies. It is OUR lives and OUR choices that

determine our fate.” Many times while scrolling through Facebook I run across (mostly) men

who are looking down on the women who choose to abort. Though they are easily unphased by

their actions getting someone pregnant and have no need to take responsibility for their actions.

We don’t know if the girl is too young or raped or has a terminal illness that wouldn’t

allow her to carry full term. Maybe they have found reason to see the child will be born with a

serious birth defect with no way of living life without constant support or medications the
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expectant mother is on which will cause harm to the fetus. It is prudent that we see each other as

equals and look at the bigger picture of the situation at hand.

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Works Cited

Armour, Leslie. "The Ethics of Abortion: Pro-Life Vs. Pro-Choice." Library Journal, vol. 114, no. 12,

7/1/1989, p. 82. EBSCOhost,

login.proxy168.nclive.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hc

h&AN=14944982&site=ehost-live.

Ballaro, Beverly and Geraldine Wagner. "Late-Term Abortion: An Overview." Points of View: Late-

Term Abortion, Jan. 2017, p. 1. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pwh&AN=23411791&site=pov-live.

Developed by, RelayHealth. "Termination of Pregnancy (Induced Abortion)." CRS - Adult Health

Advisor, Jan. 2013, p. 1. EBSCOhost,

login.proxy168.nclive.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hx

h&AN=36256945&site=ehost-live.

George, Patricia and Katherine Walker. "Point: The Foster Care System Is Flawed and Should Be

Eliminated." Points of View: Foster Children Programs, 3/1/2016, p. 2. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pwh&AN=23462203&site=pov-live.

https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/issues/abortion/roe-v-wade

https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/uploads/filer_public/c6/59/c65961ce-447c-48e1-b315-

79bfac151e42/abortion_roe_history.pdf

Lohr, P. A., Fjerstad, M., DeSilva, U., & Lyus, R. (2014). Abortion. BMJ : British Medical Journal

(Online), 348http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.f7553 Retrieved from http://nclive.org/cgi-

bin/nclsm?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1930617378?accountid=14197
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Rich, Alex K. and Geraldine Wagner. "Abortion: An Overview." Points of View: Abortion, 30 Sept.

2016, p. 1. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pwh&AN=22826417&site=pov-live.

The historical Bible of the Episcopal Church. King James version (1881)