Abortion in Terms of Politics

Abortion is a highly debated concept with high school teenagers, middle aged business men, and the elderly.

I remember on a school field trip, I overheard a group of teenage boys debating abortion. For the most part, even 16 and 17 year old boys were against abortion and pro- life. But, it's not the 16 year old boy's decision as to whether or not it's legal or illegal and to what term is legal.

Abortion is a highly debated topic with politicians and the Senate. Some are pro life and some are pro choice.

Abortion is a touchy subject because it's a moral, legal, and religious debate, as some believe that no matter what age or term, a fetus is still a human. Others believe that a fetus is not human, so to speak, until after 12 weeks (give or take).

Before you make your personal decision, you should understand the different methods that induced abortion include.

• For the first 12 weeks, the fetus is basically sucked through a syringe, which is called vacuum abortion.
• Between the 15th and 26th week dilation and evacuation is the most common method in which the cervix is opened and the uterus is emptied via surgical instruments.
• Dilation and curettage is another common method; basically, the walls of the uterus is cleaned and cut.
• After the 16th week, abortions are induced by intact dilation and extraction, in which the fetus's head is decompressed before evacuated from the female's body.
• Between the 20th and 23rd weeks, doctors put an injection in the fetus's heart to stop it and ensure that the baby is still born.

Politics and Congress are the men and women who are those in charge of determining whether or not abortion is legal or illegal and at which term of the pregnancy.

Hillary Clinton (democrat): She says that abortion rights are protected by the Constitution, but that abortion rates can be minimized by furthering sex education. Clinton is opposed to upholding the ban on late- term abortions.

Mike Gravel (democrat): He supports abortion rights and has criticized the Supreme Court decision to uphold partial- birth abortions.

Alan Keyes: The center of his campaign, Keyes opposes abortion rights.

John McCain (republican): He supports banning abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or when there's a threat to the mother.

Barack Obama (democrat): Obama supports abortion and voted against the ban for late- term abortions.

Ron Paul: He opposes abortion and believes that even the smallest fetus is still a human being.

In my opinion there is no need for abortion unless the mother is at danger. Yes, rape and incest is a whole separate story, but in a way I find that if the mother actively participated in incest and then decides she doesn't want the baby, there's always adoption. Rape- I'm still undecided as to my opinions.

But in any other occasion, if a teenager gets pregnant, and decides she cannot support a baby at 14, then consider adoption. She was actively 1 of 2 people participating, so she should make the responsible decision.

I know in my state, if you wait until the third trimester, you have to go to Atlanta to have the abortion. Personally, if you wait until the third trimester, you might as well have the baby and put it up for adoption.

There are so many families that want children and cannot conceive.

Plus, think about the health concerns that the female must undergo during and after an abortion. It's not all physical. The mental concerns, I believe, would be much worse that any physical concern.

Do you have an opinion? Keep it PG. The comments will be manually approved, so don't worry if you don't see your comment when you initially submit.