Women Should Have the Right to Abortion Despite Religion - Argumentative Essay

Introduction

Most women in the country are religious, and many of the major religious doctrines disapprove of abortion. However, a good number of women in society will procure an abortion from time to time despite the abortion stigma that manifests upon aborting. Essentially, a large number of women who get pregnant each year across the world will say that the pregnancy was unplanned. Therefore, the fact that the implication was not expected; different women are affected differently and will decide on whether to keep the baby or not. Abortion remains to be the most controversial political, social, and concerning religious issues of the time. In most cases, religion has proved to recognize the different factors that could influence the decision on how to continue with the pregnancy (Nye, 2017). Therefore, women should be allowed, and they have the right to answer the question of what to do when they have an unplanned or medically compromised pregnancy in relation to abortion without considering their religious affliction.

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The women's right to abortion is a controversial issue to their right to religious freedom and elevated protection of this freedom. The religion acknowledges the difficult times or experiences that could be allowed for abortion as a last resort, but this should be a serious decision that should never be taken lightly. However, despite the limitations by religion, accessing safe abortion for women becomes a fundamental human right that is central to women's health in the country. Besides, legal and safe abortion has been identified to cause several health benefits, including emotional, physical, and social benefits. Therefore, the societal well-being is harnessed, and women empowered to reaching the socioeconomic status and power they so much intend like the male counterparts.

Position of Religion on Abortion

Abortion remains a challenging, unresolved, and contentious concern for most religions. Different religious groups have taken different stands on what the society believes safe and legal abortion should be, some taking no positions at all about the issue. Therefore, religion, in many ways, contradicts and limits the moral rights of women to exercise abortions right as their human rights. Essentially, most beliefs define and find human life to be sacred, and to them, life begins at the time conception takes place. Thus, any attempts to abort is always wrong under any circumstance and should never be procured by through who attest to following that religious group. Abortion in this setting is immoral practices and, consequently, improper in society, and it should be rebuked (Frohwirth, Coleman, & Moore, 2018). In most cases, therefore, women who procure abortions will never talk about it to avoid the condemnation that comes with the act.

However, under certain situations, when both the life of the mother and the unborn child are at risk, most religious groups will find it essential that the life of the woman's life. The decision helps avoid the death of a life that could be saved through abortion. Therefore, the church has developed four positions that bring out an existing controversy in the position on abortion. The religions have taken profound views on matter abortion because they believe in the issues of life and death, human relationships, right and wrong, and the general nature of the society. Christians believe in pro-life as a morally wrong pursuit because life begins at conception (Smolin, 2018). However, they have placed an exception that necessitates abortion in order to save the life of the mother.

Religion and Lives Protection

Religion is taught to the individuals in the society to give them hope and compassion because this is what the leaders and believers are called to do. Therefore, it has a critical role in educating the people on what is right, wrong, or moral and ensure that people co-exist without significant conflicts between them. To this effect, religion has, in the recent past, acknowledged the use of family planning as a method to control childbirth in the country, and most importantly, it is a human right for everybody. Education about controlling one's fertility is critical at ensuring reduced cases of unsafe or safe abortions. Therefore, individuals must access to these contraceptives for them to exercise their human rights. However, in many cases, religion has fought against the events of sexuality education in schools, specific family planning methods, and the provision of safe abortion and care for those experiencing complicated abortions. Some of these factors, including sexuality education, could be effective in reducing the number of unplanned pregnancies in the country as a result of enhanced awareness about their reproductive system (Rebouche, 2017).

Unfortunately, the reaction contradicts the need by the public health agency that believes that access to safe abortion is an appropriate public health policy that will protect women's human rights. Besides, the issues contradict the fact that religion is built on the firm foundation of reproductive justice that ensures that women's sophisticated reproductive lives is recognized (Rebouche, 2017). Therefore, the context in which a woman's life that used to judge the moral consequences of having a baby should be equal to that used on the moral implications of procuring an abortion (Frohwirth, Coleman, & Moore, 2018). Mainly, abortion can be a morally right decision based on the circumstances.

Women Human Rights on their Body

Religion has made it difficult for women to access safe abortions, and this continues to put the lives of many women at risk. The women decided to procure abortion despite the conditions because they are compelled to and thus, end up using unsafe abortion procedures that eventually leads to experiences of significant health complications. According to human rights, a woman has absolute rights over her body, a fact that overrides the rights of the unborn foetus. Therefore, the legal and social restrictions put on abortions do not help reduce the number of procured abortions in the country but instead continues to put more women at risk of death by seeking help from unsafe abortion care. As the church, for instance, continue to fight for human morality, there is an increased pursuit for immorality in society (Frohwirth, Coleman, & Moore, 2018). According to the World Health Organization, a total of 23,000 deaths are experienced by women who procure unsafe abortion every year. Thus, it would serve the interest of many if the church shows compassion and love to women who fill that abortion is an option whenever it is necessary to avoid increased woman death during unsafe abortions.

Society views the right to control one's body as a critical aspect that defines one's moral goodness. Therefore, disregarding the women's right to abort of an unplanned pregnancy would be an act that deprives them of their personal and moral rights. Women have power over all other factors to do what they want with their bodies and decide whether the fetus should remain inside her body. Hence, a woman has the right to abort the fetus they are carrying despite the period. Besides, this is a legal abortion, which on request helps improve the lives of many women in the country. On the contrary, religion and, most notably, Christianity believes that abortion affects the woman deeply in the spirit. The body is sacred and should be controlled by the supremacy being they believe in a fact that rules out the women's ability to control their bodies.

Gender Equality Rights for Women

Abortion, on the other hand, has specific human rights that require women to have access to equitable access to the services of safe abortion. In cases where a woman is denied the chance to procure a legal and safe abortion, they end up carrying unwanted pregnancies. Then the gender equality need is denied to woman in this situation when the law calls for equality at all levels. Women have the right to abortion based on gender equality, and these are some of the vital liberation rights for women. The society has profoundly expected the women to take care of their born children for many years before they are in a position to take care of themselves (Smolin, 2018). Therefore, when religion refuses a woman to have an abortion, they force them to continue with an unwanted pregnancy. However, when they allowed having a right to choose to have or not having a child, they will achieve gender equality with their male counterparts. By nature, men cannot get pregnant; thus, they are never restricted by childbearing in the same way as women. The religion sees the man as a superior being to women, and therefore the call for gender equality sometimes does not allow women any chance for better treatment like men.

Conclusion

In conclusion, women as human beings have the right to procure an abortion despite the religion they believe and follow for their spiritual satisfaction. Human rights indicate that women have the reproductive power, body right, and moral right to decide on whether to keep the pregnancy or not. The public health agency advocate for the legalization of safe abortion and enhanced access to women who need them. The failure to which many deaths of women procuring unsafe abortions have been experienced. The religious groups should then step and advocate for things like sexuality education, family planning, and safe abortion to protect the lives of many women who intentionally undergo unsafe abortions. To some extent, abortion is a controversial issue in religion but based on the fact that it protects lives which religion is called for. Abortion in religion should thrive in the given circumstances.

References

Frohwirth, L., Coleman, M., & Moore, A. M. (2018). Managing Religion and Morality within the Abortion Experience: Qualitative Interviews with Women Obtaining Abortions in the US. World Medical & Health Policy, 10(4), 381-400.

Nye, J. L. (2017). Abortion Is Not Just About the Role of Women in Society, but Also the Role of Religion. American Journal of Public Health, 107(11), 1690.

Rebouche, R. (2017). Reproducing rights: The intersection of reproductive justice and human rights. UC Irvine L. Rev., 7, 579.

Smolin, D. M. (2018). Aborting Reason and Equality: A Religious Pro-Life Critique of Roe, Casey, and Abortion Rights Rhetoric. UC Irvine L. Rev., 8, 673.