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Huy Tran
Date
Class
Instructor
Topic
What is the definition of murder? How is this any different than abortion? According to
Life League About 4,000 babies are killed everyday. No, this is not due to disease, SIDS, or even
mal-nutrition. 4,000 living beings are killed everyday due to abortion. Abortion is defined as the
termination of pregnancy and expulsion of an embryo or of a fetus. Many females feel that their
only way out of the pregnancy is through abortion; yet they do not recognize how important their
choice is when deciding on having an abortion and they do not take into thought what the
possible outcomes of this particular method can have. Since Roe vs. Wade in 1973, a trial that
took place about the legalization of abortion, abortion has become one of the most controversial
subjects .Abortions are most commonly performed between the sixth and twelfth week of
pregnancy, where conception occurs at week two and birth occurs at week forty. Abortions are
also performed routinely up to sixteen weeks and then less often into the later months of
pregnancy. Even though abortion is now legal, it is immorally against the religious and is
considered murder; abortions put the health of women at risk and abortions cause negative
psychological and emotional damage.
Life begins at conception, therefore abortion is considered as murder.
Commenting on this situation ,Dr. Micheline Matthews-Roth , the professor at

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Harvard University Medical School comments in his article MEDICAL

TESTIMONY , it is scientifically correct to say that an individual human life
begins at conception.( ) .Also According to New Yorks Times , Gary Gutting,
the author of the article On Abortion and Defining a Person insists, the
definition of human life is any living entity that has DNA from the species
Homo sapiens. This includes an ovum, spermatozoon, zygote, embryo, fetus,
and newborn. It also includes an infant, child, adult, elder.( ) Some forms of
human life have little or no value; others are the most valuable and precious
form of life in the known universe. This definition includes the fetus and the
embryo as human life, and therefore, going along with the definition of
murder, would be considered murder if an abortion was performed.
Abortion should be banned because it is not only considered as murder, it also against the
religious . The individual sex cell consists of 23 chromosomes. It is only through combination,
however that the sex cells contain the full complement of heredity units that defines a human
being. This procedure of combination defines conception. After the merger of the 2 sex cells 46
chromosomes are present. This is what makes a human being. The merger is complete within 12
hours, at which time the egg is fertilized and becomes known technically as the zygote. The
inherited characteristics of a unique human being had been established, and in no circumstances
will it change. Nothing from this time on, until death, will anything be added. The definition of
alive is that a being is growing, developing, maturing, and replacing its own dying cells. It means
not being dead. At the very time conception begins the zygote is growing, developing, maturing,
and replacing its own dying cell. Its alive. The single-cell-fertilized ovum cannot by any stretch
of the imagination be considered part of a womans body. This new living being has a genetic

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set-up unlike anyone else, totally different from the cells of the mothers body. It makes no
differences to assume that human life is more human post-born than pre-born. What is critical to
figure out is if it is or isnt human life, and of course it is human life. At 18 days the heart is
pumping through a closed circulatory system, with blood whose type is different from that of the
mother. At 40 days the brain begins to function. In the 16th week motion has been detected. At
16 and1/2 weeks twenty milk-teeth buds are present. During the 18th week the baby stomach
secretes gastric juice, and all its body system is present. The baby dreams, thinks, and feels pain.
This is definitely a child and no one has a right to kill or abort this child because it will against
the religious which is according to the Ten Commandments of the Catholic Church , it clearly
indicates that , You shall not kill ( 6th commandments ).
Admittedly, abortion is legal; on the contrary, many legal abortions put women at risk. As
reported in the New York Times by Gina Kolata, a Florida woman died four days after her
abortion. During the vacuum-aspiration abortion, gynecologic anomalies were discovered,
Windle said. () The procedure was completed and recovery was uneventful. Had this woman
not had an abortion she would still be alive. Also According to Neinstein , the author of the
book Adolescent Health Care: A Practical Guide insists , another incident of death from an
abortion happened to an 18 year old California girl. On September 23, 2003 she went into her
physicians office and obtained the pill Mifepristone. This pill contains progesterone antagonist
that is an effective abortifacient . Bleeding and cramping are common with the method and the
complications include incomplete abortion and heavy bleeding that can result in fatality.
Although this pill is FDA approved, over 64 people encountered problems while the makers
experimented and tested with this pill. The pill is one of the most popular ways now to have an
abortion because it is completely confidential and can be done given through a primary doctor.

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Also, abortion has the risks of infection and intrauterine blood clots. For women younger than 17
years of age have an increased rise of cervical injury (Neinstein, 823). All in all, the life of a
pregnant woman should not be disturbed because having an abortion would create serious havoc
on the entire body and cause some life threatening changes.
Abortions put a heavy negative psychological and emotional effect on a person after they
complete an abortion. In a study of post-abortion patients only 8 weeks after their abortion,
researchers found that 44% complained of nervous disorders, 36% had experienced sleep
disturbances, 31% had regrets about their decision, and 11% had been prescribed psychotropic
medicine by their family doctor (Ashton,). A study found that minimum of 19% of post-abortion
women suffer from diagnosable post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Approximately half had
many, but not all, symptoms of PTSD, and 20 to 40 percent showed moderate to high levels of
stress and avoidance behavior relative to their abortion experiences (Bernard, 1990). Also, a
stunning study established that thirty to fifty percent of women that have had abortions reported
they were experiencing sexual dysfunction, of both short and long duration, beginning
immediately, after their abortions. These problems may include one or more of the following:
loss of pleasure from intercourse, increased pain, an aversion to sex and/or males in general, or
the development of a promiscuous life-style(Speckhard, 1987). Approximately 60 percent of
women who experienced post-abortion reported suicidal ideation, with 28 percent actually
attempting suicide, of which half attempted suicide two or more times. Suicide attempts appear
to be especially prevalent among post-abortion teenagers ( book Speckhard, Psycho-social Stress
Following Abortion, 813-823). Therefore, with abortion come a lot of psychological and
emotional problems that people cannot handle, and make poor decisions on how they should deal
with the loss of their fetus.

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As good moral people, what are we to do about this evil of abortion? Is

there really anything that we can do to end it? Yes there is. We should vote
only for pro-life candidates. By our apathy, we have allowed the other side to
capture our federal government, our news media and our educational
institutions. We need to help change the hearts and minds of those who
support abortion rights. We need to teach our children the truth so that they
will not fall for the lies. We need to teach our young grills that abortion is not
an option. This will protect them against the siren song of those who promise
that abortion is an easy way out of a problem. It is not too late to end
abortion. We can turn it around.