Question: The topic of abortion is very controversial, but nothing has ever been learned

by avoiding tough subjects. What are your views on abortion? Under what circumstances, if
any, would you consider it? If you were a lawmaker, what would be your stand on this issue?
(*In India, boys are valued more than girls and amniocentesis has become widespread. In one
province, only one in thousands of abortions following: amniocentesis was that of a male fetus,
the rest were females. How do you feel about abortion as a tool for gender selection? Suppose
that one of the female fetuses in the previous example was also identified as having suffered
severe mental and physical damage to the point that, after birth, the resulting child would
mentally and physically be unable to care for itself. Would this information influence (change)
your decision?
Answer: Under no circumstances would I ever consider abortion. To me, abortion
shouldnt even be an option available for mothers-to-be. I know many people, in fact, most
people will not be happy to hear this. People will say the mother has the right to choose, but I
would like us to take a look at this issue from the fetus point of view.
Lets start with the very basic question: What is considered life? Does life only begin
after a baby is born, or is there another true beginning of life? According to Kathleen Stassen
Berger, write of Invitation to The Life Span, every person starts life as a single cell, called a
zygote (Berger 48). Merriam Webster defines life as the ability to grow, change; the period of
time when a person is alive. If Im not mistaken, life starts at conception. There shouldnt be a
difference in the definition of life whether life is only a single-celled organism inside womans
womb or being delivered from the womb into the world as a baby.
Now that we have the defined life, lets look at what exactly is amniocentesis. The
definition and purpose of amniocentesis according to WebMD is a prenatal test in which a small
amount of amniotic fluid is removed from the sac surrounding the fetus for testing... (it) is
performed to look for certain types of birth defects, such as Down syndrome, a chromosomal
abnormality. It is basically used as a tool for families to decide and choose to have a healthy
normal baby rather than a baby born with birth defects. If we look at this from the families
point of view, then of course, theres nothing morally wrong with wanting a baby born without
birth defects, but I believe there is something morally wrong with not wanting and actually
deciding to abort a baby with birth defects. But from the fetus point of view, there is simply no
chance of life given, not even a chance to try to survive. Some families might say its cruel to
give birth to a child that would mentally and physically be unable to care for itself in the future,
but isnt it cruel to not value human life? Human life in whatever form it comes in is still life
nonetheless.
I remember watching a documentary called 180 by Living Waters Publications on
YouTube. The founder of Living Waters, Ray Comfort, goes to the streets to ask random people
questions regarding abortion. I remember one analogy he brings up very specifically. One lady
expresses her opinion that its not fair to give birth to a child if they cant have a good quality of

life. Ray goes on to ask the lady would she kill kids with Down syndrome if a gun is given to
her because they might not live a quality life, to which she answered No, who is to say that they
wont have a quality life?
Every human being that is born has the ability to change the world. We all value life
because life is important. Whether babies are born with or without birth defects, they affect
families and teach families the more important values in life is not of houses, cars, and status,
which this world has adopted as the sign to show quality living, but it is about the value of life
through the action of love.

References
Berger, Kathleen Stassen. "From Conception to Birth." Invitation to the Lifespan: With Dsm5
Update. S.l.: Worth Pub, 2014. 48-73. Print.
Comfort, Ray. ""180" Movie." YouTube. YouTube, 21 Sept. 2011. Web. 24 Jan. 2015.
"Life." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2015.
"Amniocentesis." WebMD. WebMD, 4 Apr. 2012. Web. 24 Jan. 2015.
<http://www.webmd.com/baby/amniocentesis-17766>.