FACTS ABOUT ABORTION
1. About half of all pregnancies are unplanned. About half of unplanned pregnancies in the U.S. are terminated by an abortion.
2. 52% of women choosing abortion are under 25. Teenagers account for
19%, and women 20-24 account for 33%.
3. 2/3rds of all abortions are by unmarried women, and most have already had a child.
4. Only 8% of abortions are by women who have never practiced contraception ie most women who abort also use contraception.
5. 52% of women having early abortion group and 67% of having late term abortion group suffer from psychological problems after abortion: anxiety, low self worth, guilt, depression, mood swings, sleep difficulties etc.
6. Nearly 40% of women in the survey said they wanted the baby and fewer than 14% said they received adequate pre-abortion counselling or information on alternatives or about the physical and emotional risks involved.

To understand the arguments for and against abortion
To know what the law says about abortion
To reflect on why some people choose to have an abortion

Can you be pro-choice, but also pro-life ?

Only A Woman’s Right:
Pregnancy involves a woman's body, her health and her future, so is a matter of personal choice and a reproductive right, whether or not to continue with it.
An embryo has no rights because it is not yet an actual person who can survive on its own. It cannot have rights that override those of the pregnant woman
A Practical Matter
- abortion is a necessary option in certain situations (rape, risk to health, failure of contraception, congenital disorder, or inability to raise a child.
- Legal Abortion is better than having back-street abortions without proper medical supervision because women are desperate to obtain illegal abortions.
Rate these arguments 1 -5 stars. Explain why.

• The human fetus / embryo is a person and therefore has a right to life. Any action which destroys an embryo or fetus kills a person
• Often linked to Sanctity of life – life is God given and must be protected from conception until natural death.
• Any deliberate destruction of human life is morally wrong and cannot be justified by any benefits to others, as they come at the expense of the life of a person.
• Abortion can cause long term psychological suffering
(Post traumatic syndrome)
Which of these arguments do you find the most convincing ?
Explain.

• “Abortion is always wrong”.
– Do you agree? Give 3 developed reasons for your opinion
– Give 3 developed reasons for why people might disagree with you.
Agree:
Philosophical: when a person ?
Religious:
Sanctity of Life
Bible & church teaching
Moral: always wrong harms woman in the long term
Disagree:
Philosophical: when a person ?
rights of mother > child
Religious:
Liberal protestants: “justice”
Moral: depends on the situation back street abortions risk

Abortion is only legal if two doctors agree upon one of the following:
1.
the child is very likely to be born severely handicapped
2.
the mother’s life is at risk
3.
the mother’s physical or mental health is at risk
4.
The birth of another child would have a serious negative effect on the other children in the family
Abortion should not be carried out after 24 weeks of pregnancy unless for conditions 1 and 2 which can be carried out at any time .
*** Brain Boost: Does the Law fit in with Pro-
Choice or Pro-life?

egal
A woman seeks an abortion at
3 weeks because she already has children and would not be able to look after them properly if she has another child
A woman discovers at 28 weeks that her unborn child is likely to be born with a serious handicap
A mother is in a critical condition and continuing with the pregnancy would put her life at risk She is weeks pregnant
27
llegal
A woman seeks an abortion at
16 weeks and her GP says she can have an abortion
A rape victim seeks an abortion at
26 weeks
A woman feels that she would have a breakdown if she continued with her pregnancy She is pregnant
26 weeks
A woman has just realised she is
14 weeks pregnant. She has split up with her boyfriend, just started a university course and does not have much money.