Giving Life a Chance and Right to Live

Abortion is the intentional termination of a fetus to end a pregnancy. Arguing if abortion

is morally acceptable or not is one of the most controversial issues of modern times amongst
Filipinos as the Philippines remains to be predominantly Catholic nation. The two chief positions
on the morality of abortion can be called the “pro-life” position and the “pro-choice” position.
Pro-life individuals oppose induced abortion on both moral and religious grounds and support its
legal prohibition or restriction. While pro-choice people believe that everyone has the basic
human right to decide for themselves and that abortion is acceptable. In this paper, I will put an
emphasis on my stand as a pro-life who believes that abortion is the greatest injustice of our
time. Legalizing abortion means letting someone to take away a blessing, a life. And no other
issue of injustice happens or is accepted and celebrated the way abortion is.

As an individual who is raised in a religious family and country, my principles in life are
inclined to the words of God. As my faith strengthens, I have learned the Catholic Church's
position on abortion. It is clearly stated in the magisterial document Donum Vitae (The Gift of
Life) the Congregation for the Doctrine of the faith that, “The human being is to be respected
and treated as a person from the moment of conception; and therefore from that same moment
his rights as a person must be recognized, among which in the first place is the inviolable right of
every innocent human being to life,” (Sec I.1) Direct abortion, or the intentional killing of a
human being living in the womb, of an innocent one, is always seriously immoral because as
persons the right-to-life is the most basic and fundamental right we possess. Just like us, they
also have the right to live.

Unborn babies are not diseases and parasites or bullies that are trying to take away our
human rights. The infamous quote “My body, my choice” is not applicable to a person bearing a
developing infant because, after all, there are two sets of heartbeats inside the womb. Two
humans, both fully deserving of rights. Apart from this, abortion is not safe and isn’t healthcare.
It is an industry that benefits from taking lives. It not only takes the lives of innocents but also
poses risks to women. A recent study revealed that abortion contributes to increased rates of
mental health disorders including anxiety, depression, substance abuse, excessive risk-taking,
self-harm, and suicide.

One of the arguments of pro-choice believers is that a fetus inside a woman’s womb is
not when human life begins and not any kind of living thing — it’s just a clump of biological
molecules undergoing chemical reactions. However, from a scientific perspective: human life
begins the moment the sperm fertilizes the egg. Pro-life advocates don’t understand the simplest
biological fact about human development — that human life begins at fertilization. Moreover, in
moralistic reasoning: even if the baby is not yet developed, this is the beginning of a life that
God gave, it is not just a fetus, but this has the potential to grow up in the image and likeness of
God. Furthermore, the unborn child has the right to live, that life is a blessing from God, and that
abortion is the wicked annihilation of God’s holy creation.

The first step toward preventing abortions is to prevent unwanted pregnancy. The woman
is not the only one who can become pregnant, but the male involved should take some steps to
avoid an unwanted pregnancy. As a result, men and women should be aware of various methods,
such as contraception, to avoid unintentional pregnancies. A child, whether fully developed or
still developing, is still a child. The absence of preventative measures is not the fault of the child,
but of both parents. Moreover, the government should strengthen sexual education among
youths so that young teens would equip with learnings and they not commit mistakes that they
will regret in the long run. Additionally, to educate individuals, particularly women, on how to
defend oneself from sexual assault, a program advocating the prevention of violence and sexual
abuse should be taught in schools and other public spaces.Government should focus on
promoting prevention to reduce the need for abortion so that no unborn human being experience
the excruciating pain of abortion procedures.

The world has progressively become more open to different opinions, views, and
alternatives as the years go by. But it is crucial that we do not lose sight of the ultimate truth of
the Holy Bible. I am a firm believer that we are not in a position to take away life for only God
can. The unborn don’t have a voice, but we do, and we can use it to speak on their behalf. When
we learn to defend the pro-life position effectively, we can change hearts and minds on abortion.
Compassion and empathy are the powerful and world-changing tools that we can yield so that
every person would be given the same chances, opportunities, and privileges to experience a
wonderful life on Earth.

REFERENCES:

Pisacreta, E. (2022, August 6). Can you explain what pro-choice means and pro-life

means? Planned Parenthood. https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/ask-

experts/can-you-explain-what-pro-choice-means-and-pro-life-means-im-

supposed-to-do-it-for-a-class-thanks

Universidad de Navarra. (n.d.). Instrucción Donum Vitae sobre el respeto de la vida

humana naciente y la dignidad de la procreación. Material de Bioética. Unidad

De Humanidades Y Ética Médica. https://en.unav.edu/web/humanities-and-

medical-ethics-unit/bioethics-material/instruccion-donum-vitae-sobre-el-respeto-

de-la-vida-humana-naciente-y-la-dignidad-de-la-procreacion