LSA0134

INTRODUCTION TO LEGAL SKILLS

TITLE:
ABORTION SHOULD NOT BE LEGALISED

NAME : NUR EMILYA SHAZWANI BINTI JAAFFAR

MATRIC NO : 162117
SECTION : 305
LECTURER : MISS SITI FARHANA BINTI ABU HASAN
 What is abortion? Abortion is when a pregnancy is ended so that it does not result in
the birth of a child. Sometimes it is called 'termination of pregnancy'. Historically, women
around the world have tried to end their unintended pregnancies whether abortion is legal or
not, they often jeopardizing their safety and health by self-inducing or seeking a dangerous
illegal procedure. Estimated number of illegal abortions in the United States during the 1950s
and 1960s range from 200,000 to 1.2 million per year. Prior to Roe v. Wade, as many as
5,000 American women died annually as a direct result of unsafe abortions. Nearly half of all
abortions worldwide are unsafe, and nearly all unsafe abortions occur in developing
countries. In countries where abortion remains unsafe, it is a leading cause of maternal
mortality.

The word of abortion is scary enough to be heard by the people especially a woman.
Many people do not see the effect that abortion cause. It is a very dangerous offence that
affects the mother, father, the community, and most importantly, the fetus or unborn baby.
That is why abortion should be illegal especially in Malaysia. Nowadays, there are many
controversial topics in this world and abortion is one of them. It was not a big problem before
but recently the number of abortions increases rapidly. In some countries, abortion is
legalised like United States. Nevertheless, I strongly disagree with the idea of legalising
abortion as I believe that abortion should be illegal. This is because abortion can result in
medical complications and physical trauma for the women.

First and foremost, abortion can result in medical complications to the women. It is
possible that a woman cannot have a baby anymore because it hurts the woman's body.
Besides, it is possible that women die because of it. Unfortunately, many people do not know
the reality. In my opinion, it is because of the lack of education about abortion which resulted
the women do not know what abortion does to their body. For an example, in 1996, a
research conducted by Dr. Joel Brind, Professor of Endocrinology at City University of New
York, combined the statistics from 23 different worldwide studies and found a 30% increase
of breast cancer risk among women who chose abortion after already giving birth and a 50%
increase of breast cancer risk among women who chose abortion before giving birth. During
pregnancy, many changes occur in a woman’s body, including her breasts. An abortion does
not just interrupt the pregnancy, it also interrupts other changes. One of the results of the
interruption is that it leaves her with half-transformed breast tissue that is unstable and
vulnerable to cancer. Hence, we should not legalise abortion in our country because abortion
can lead to medical complications to women.
 Furthermore, abortion can also contribute to psychological trauma for the woman.
Abortion can develop Post Abortion Stress Syndrome (PASS) to the woman who had already
gone through the abortion process. Post Abortion Stress Syndrome is the name that has been
given to the psychological effects of abortion based on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD). The symptoms of PASS may include postnatal depression, suicidal behaviour, drug
and alcohol abuse, eating disorders, marriage and family breakdown, domestic violence,
depression, anxiety attacks, compulsive disorders and other mental health problems which are
increasing in our communities today. In addition, a meta-analysis published in the prestigious
British Journal of Psychiatry showed an overall 81% of greater risk of mental health
problems for women who had an abortion compared with those who did not. Besides, a study
published in the Southern Medical Journal also indicated that women who have abortions are
at significantly higher risk of death than women who give birth. That is why abortion should
not be legal so that the women will not facing mental health problems because of abortion.

However, some people agree that abortion should be legalised because some of
women have some difficulties with their health which will affect the unborn baby inside their
womb. For an instance, an unborn baby which is contacting with HIV while in the womb of
the mother should be aborted to prevent the child to suffer terribly later. According to Centre
for Disease Control, USA, the risk of an unborn child contacting HIV virus from a positive
mother is 25%. Preventing HIV in unborn babies is important because their immune systems
are very immature when they are born. HIV makes them sicker than adults at a fast rate. This
is why it is important for women to be tested for HIV early in pregnancy or before marriage. I
agree with this argument because it can risk the life of the mother and the unborn baby but
that does not mean abortion should be legal because there are more cons than the pros
regarding abortion, not only for the mother but the community as a whole. Abortion should
be illegal but it can only be done under certain condition which the mother can have abortion
if a normal pregnancy can risk the life of the mother or in other words, it can lead to death.

In conclusion, abortion should not be legal because it can result in medical

complications and physical trauma for the women. Everyone should be responsible for what
they had done before because it will affect the future of the woman, the father of unborn baby
and the unborn baby itself. Many things can happen in the blink of eyes. The authors of
Complications, a book about the effects of abortion, said that if a woman is considering
abortion because she has a plan in the future to marry and have a family, having an abortion
can increase the likelihood that she will never marry or the marriage that had been planned
will fail. Some people think that abortion is an easy way to avoid having a baby after they
mate whenever they want and if they notice a pregnancy, they will go to the hospital to abort
the unborn baby. It sounds very easy but in reality, it is not. Abortion can lead to various
problems that we as a human being could not imagine. It is all about humanity when living in
this world and having a responsibility for our own behaviour so that we can take care of
ourselves especially the women without harming our physical and mental health.