Argumentative Essay about Abortion (Essay Sample)

Graham Kelly
English/ Eng 1101
Professor
Date
Annotated Bibliography
Abortion is an intentional termination of the development stages of a fetus. Debates about abortion have existed for years, with most states criminalizing it. However, some governments have, at one instance, legalized and funded abortion programs. Nevertheless, abortion can be declared unethical based on various factors. The exception of a fetus endangering a mother's life during pregnancy is appropriate when passing laws and policies regarding abortion.
Thesis: Abortion is immorality that violates human rights against future generations and should only be permitted in exceptional cases such as when a mother's life is in danger.
Hendricks, Perry. "Even if the fetus is not a person, abortion is Immoral: the impairment argument." Bioethics 33.2 (2019): 245-253.
Hendricks's article argues that abortion remains immoral, even if it is not a person. He uses the impairment argument that if giving alcohol to a fetus is unethical, terminating its life is not different. Hendricks perfectly relates the two views and considers abortion as killing a human, which is more immoral than fetal alcohol syndrome.
Blackshaw, Bruce P. "The impairment argument for the immorality of abortion: a reply." Bioethics 33.6 (2019): 723-724.
Blackshaw reviews the impairment argument of Hendricks's study to confirm its reliability. Although he disagrees with the claim, his sentiments are not prosperous in moralizing abortion. Blackshaw argues that Hendricks does not perceive the fetus as a person, but this is incorrect. He demonstrates a pro-choice account that most critiques use to defend abortion.
Jones, Rachel K., and Jenna Jerman. "Abortion incidence and service availability in the United States, 2011." Perspectives on sexual and reproductive health 46.1 (2014): 3-14.
Jones and Jerman wrote an article regarding the availability of abortion services in the United States in 2014. Furthermore, they present data of abortions that took place that year. This report shows the intensity of killing innocent lives in health facilities. The authors indicate that there were restrictions and exceptions for performing abortions.
Jatlaoui, Tara C., et al. "Abortion surveillance—United States, 2014." MMWR Surveillance Summaries 66.25 (2018): 1.
Jatlaoui and colleagues discuss the 2014 CDC abortion data from central health agencies. They present the data presented to the CDC and the ratio of live births and abortions, among other comparisons. The authors argue that most women engaging in abortion are between 20 and 40 years. This article is informative and timely.
Sumner, Leonard Wayne. Abortion and moral theory. Princeton University Press, 2014.
Sumner's book presents practical and theoretical purposes for debates regarding the morality of abortion. He discusses the two prominent positions of conservative view by pro-life groups and the liberal view held by feminists. The author intensively argues that the ideas are indefensible and fail; he adds how abortion policies can be made by strengthening new alternatives.
Khorfan, R., & Padela, A. I. (2010). The bioethical concept of life for life in Judaism, Catholicism, and Islam: Abortion when the mother's life is in danger. The Journal of IMA, 42(3), 99.
The journal article by Khorfan and Padela investigates the religious concept of life. This study is significant since it is based on Christian, Judaism, and Islam's value of life. They conclude that even though all religions prohibit abortion, it is less immoral to abort a fetus that puts a mother's life at risk. The article is well explained from a religious perspective with facts that can be applied in modern society.
Argumentative Essay
There are different opposing views regarding abortion, but the best argument is that it is immoral. However, a few cases can be excepted if performing the practice overrides the unethical news of abortion. One case with controversial ethical analysis includes a mother being raped. However, the most acceptable claim is that abortion is not wrong if the continuation of pregnancy endangers the life of the mother (Khorfan & Padela 2). Abortion is a violation of human rights against future generations and should only be permitted in unique cases, such as when a mother's life is in danger.
The main argument is that abortion is the killing of a fetus, a young human in the early development stages. Some critiques such as Blackshaw (22) argue that a fetus is not a human and should be killed. However, Hendricks uses the widely accepted recommendation against alcohol use in pregnancy. In February 2016, the CDC (Center for Disease Control) recommended that ladies expecting to have babies should refrain from using alcohol (Hendricks). The author quotes Aristotle saying that drunken women are foolish and hair-brained since they affect their children. His journal has a biblical argument based on Judges 13:7, which prohibits harming the fetus using alcohol. The recommendation by CDC follows the ministry of health's concerns regarding fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs). Blackshaw (7) argues that the use of alcohol pauses numerous health risks to the developing fetus. Therefore, one can consider killing the fetus as a more significant crime than impairing it.
The United States had already legalized abortions with laws, some of them being effected between 2008 and 2011, and most innocent children were killed (Jones & Jerman, 3). Through Obamacare, the federal government funded health centers to facilitate abortion exercises. According to Jones and Je