Why Abortion Cannot Be Justified
Approximately 42 million women choose
The opening sentence attracts the
reader's attention.
to abort their unborn child each day (The Center
for Bio-Ethical Reform, 2009). They have many
The related background information
moves from the general to the
specific.
The thesis sentence is specific and
indicates the writer's purpose.
reasons – such as fear of having or raising a child,
rape or insufficient money – to abort. Regardless
of the situation, the government should ban
abortions for three reasons.
Some pro-choice advocates argue that, if abortion is made illegal, many women will
still try to obtain abortions illegally and many will likely end up at back-alley butchers or will
attempt to perform abortions on themselves and suffer serious injury. In response, one could
debate this point statistically.
Each body paragraph begins with the
opposing views argument. In this paragraph,
it is stated in Sentence 1.
Prior to legalization in
America, most illegal
A transitional sentence or sentences is used
to move from the opposing opinion to the
refutation. Here, the transition is made in
Sentences 2 and 3.
abortions were secretly
performed by licensed
doctors. Relatively few
The refutation begins in Sentence 4. It is an
attempt to persuade the reader that
legalization of abortion cannot be justified.
women were really injured
or killed. For example, in
1972, the last year before abortion was legalized, 39 women died from illegal abortions
(Johansen, 2000). That is 39 tragedies, of course. However, with legal abortion today, many
women are still injured and some die in botched abortions. If abortion were illegal, fewer
women would have abortions, so the total number of injuries and deaths might well go down.
However, citing statistics is really beside the point. It does not follow that an act should be
made legal because some people might suffer harm while breaking the law. No doubt some
bank robbers are injured or killed in automobile accidents while fleeing the scene of the
crime. Does this mean that bank robbery should be made legal? The answer is no, for a
rational society does not make laws for the convenience of lawbreakers.
Still other pro-choice advocates contend that opposition to abortion is based on
religious beliefs. However, by this reasoning, almost all of society’s laws would have to be
thrown out. For example, all major religions
The transition "still other" links the
ideas in the preceding paragraph
to the ideas in the current
paragraph.
The topic sentence states the specific
idea that will be explained in this
paragraph.
The supporting sentences develop
the opposiving view and the
refutation.
clearly prohibit stealing. Does this mean that all
laws against theft are attempts to impose a
religious view on others and, thus, should not be
permitted? The Native American Church is said
to include great respect for the natural
environment. Does this make all anti-pollution
laws an attempt to impose Native American
religious beliefs on others? Almost every law embodies principles that are consistent with
some religious or ethical teaching. If laws against abortion are imposing someone's religious
beliefs on others, should laws against murder, rape, and robbery be repealed?
Finally, most pro-choice advocates claim that a woman should have the choice
whether or not to have an abortion. A first glance, this argument appears valid. Upon closer
examination, however, one sees that it is based on faulty logic. The following example may
prove this point: "The question is not whether rape is right or wrong but rather who decides:
the individual man or the government? If people are opposed to rape, they should not rape
anybody. However, they should not try to impose your morality on others. Rape is a personal
choice between a man and his sex therapist."
There is an additional problem with the logic of the critics’ argument about a woman
has the individual freedom to choose whether or not to abort her unborn child. Although
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Americans have a great tradition of individual freedom, they also have an old saying: "You
have the freedom to swing your arm back and forth all you like, but your freedom ends where
my nose begins." In other words, freedom does not include the right to deliberately harm
innocent people. The law does not allow a man to decide for himself whether he thinks rape
is acceptable because the woman he might choose to rape also has rights. Likewise, society
should not allow each woman to decide for herself whether abortion is acceptable because the
child she might choose to abort also has rights.
As can be seen, legalization of abortion
The transition "as can be seen"
indicates this is the concluding
paragraph.
can only be justified if facts and logic are
ignored. The 1972 Supreme Court decision that
The topic sentence draws a
conclusion based on the main points.
The other sentences back up the
analysis, and the final sentence is a
call for action.
struck down the ban on abortion was the same as
creating a law for the convenience of a few
individuals who wish to break the law.
Furthermore, prohibiting abortion does not
impose someone else’s religious values on a pregnant woman seeking to abort her unborn
child, and most importantly, moral values dictate that a baby should not be held responsible
for an unwanted situation a woman may find herself in. The truth is that facts and logic
mandate that Congress vote to ban abortion.
Adapted from Why women should not have an abortion and A summary of pro-choice arguments.
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Resources
Johansen J. (2000). A summary of pro-choice arguments. Pregnant Pause. Retrieved from
www.pregnantpause.org/abort/choicarg.htm
Essay Start. (2004). Why women should not have an abortion. Retrieved from
www.essaystart.com/Kinds_of_Essays/Essay_Samples/persuasiv_Essay_Sample.htm
The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform. (2009). Abortion facts. Retrieved from
www.abortionno.org/Resources/fastfacts.html
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