Pro-choice arguments (for abortion)
Some believe a woman should have the right to choose to have an abortion, whatever the reason. She should not have to persuade two doctors that she is making the right choice. Arguments include:
- It’s the mother’s body - she should decide what happens
- Every baby has the right to proper care and love; if this is not possible, abortion should be okay
- There are already too many unwanted babies in our over-populated world. Why add more?
- Surely the woman, and her family, have rights, not just the unborn baby?
- Raped women should not be made to have the baby as they did not choose to get pregnant and would be constantly reminded of their ordeal as the child grows up
- If baby is severely handicapped, only mother can decide if she can look after the baby
- In the case of under-age pregnancy, the girl may not have really understood what she was doing, and should not lose her education and career opportunities over one mistake
- A family may be too poor to cope with a child, and if there are other children already, they may suffer
- Life doesn’t really start until birth, or at least until the foetus is viable
- Many pregnancies end through natural abortions (miscarriages) – abortion is natural and often women don’t even know they were pregnant: it doesn’t have to be a big deal
- A baby with severe disabilities may have a very poor quality of life that also brings trauma to the parents who have to watch it suffer. It may be kinder for that child not to be born
