Why Abortion is Wrong - Blog 2: New Research

Hello to my new readers, and welcome back to my previous ones!  If you missed my last blog, you can see it here.

I have done quite a bit of new research since my last post.  It is surprising how much news there is related to the subject of abortion.  I was able to read several articles on the subject.

The New York Times published an article about how pregnancy centers are greatly influencing the pro-life movement on January 4th.  These centers, which are mostly operated by Christian organizations, especially Care Net, offer free ultrasounds and pregnancy tests, and a friendly environment, in an attempt to discourage women from abortion.  They have been largely successful, partly because they tend to be located near Planned Parenthood clinics.  In fact, the Waco, TX pregnancy center said that 94% of women, when they see an ultrasound, decide against abortion.  This article was, however, heavily biased, though not an editorial, highlighting more of the faults of pregnancy centers than the strengths.  You can read that article here.

The Putnam County, Indiana Care Net Pregnancy Center

The second article is from World Magazine, a Christian news magazine.  It is from a special issue on abortion about the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the case which gave women the right of abortion.  It was about how many abortion clinics are still aborting babies even after the legal limit (from 20-26 weeks).  These limits have been changing lately because of a study that found out that a fetus can actually feel pain after 20-22 weeks, and can feel the pain of an abortion.  These people, such as James Scott Pendergraft, an abortionist, whom this article focused on, still abort babies after the limit.  The price for a late abortion is actually much more than an early one, making more profit for Mr. Pendergraft; a first-trimester abortion is around $400 while a late-term abortion can be as much as $1,000.  These babies can feel the pain of a blade cutting them apart, but it is still legal to do so in some states.  Fortunately, as I said earlier, the limits are being lowered in light of this new information.  You can see that article here.   

A map and key of states’ restrictions on abortion based on the period of pregnancy.

After I wrote my first blog, I thought to myself, “What makes a person think abortion is right?”  I thought that maybe the public was not aware of how early a fetus has human characteristics (such as heartbeat, intelligence, etc.).  So I conducted a survey.  I asked eight questions (you can see the actual survey here).  I not only wanted to collect information, but I also wanted to provoke thought in those who took the survey.  The questions were:  “What makes a human being a human being?”  “When does a fetus have a heartbeat?”  

A fetus at 4 weeks, when its heart begins to beat.

You may have noticed that the survey seemed like a test.  Yes, it, in a way, was.  I was trying to understand what people knew to find out why some people are for abortion.  

The complete results of my survey are here (please read this as I will be referring to it throughout the blog).  Before discussing the results, let us first assume that the killing of anything considered a human being is murder.   

I first asked “What makes a human being a human being?”  The majority of survey takers said human DNA.  If everything with human DNA is human, then all abortion is murder!  Yet most said that they were pro-choice.  Most people got the “test” questions right (though there was a fair amount who didn’t).  I then asked “When does a fetus become a human being?”  The most popular answer was at conception.  So, from those two questions, it can be said that most people believe that a fetus is always a human being, and therefore all abortion is murder.  Yet 47% said they were pro-choice on the next question!  

My only conclusion is this: most people who are pro-choice value a woman’s right to choose over a baby’s right to life.  I leave you, my readers, with one question:  Which is worth more: a person’s convenience or the life of a budding human being?

Watch for my next blog, in which I will create a piece of original media, possibly a video!