The Moral Argument Surrounding Abortion

Arguments based on moral ideas tend to be polarized, but sometimes can be taken to extremes. When I was growing up in the late 1980 s my mother was, and still is, politically involved. I grew up in the state of Louisiana, and at that time in Louisiana the legislature introduced a bill that would make abortion illegal. This was and still is today a controversial moral issue. Being as my mother was directly involved, at a young I was able to sit in on some of the arguments in the legislature and also in the media. I saw first hand both sides and both arguments of this issue.

This argument started several years previous with the United States Supreme Court ruling in the Roe versus Wade case, legalizing abortion. With the possibility of an abortion law being passed in the state of Louisiana this debate became very heated around the state with both sides becoming very intense. When dealing with moral issues such as this one avoiding polarization is impossible because of the strong emotional ties to both sides.

There were two sides of this issue the pro-life side and the pro-choice side. The pro-choice side of the issue argued that abortion needed to be kept legal giving the women the right to abort her the unborn child. Some of the examples they cited where abortion would be necessary is in cases where the woman s life could possibly be in danger if she went through labor. The pro-choice side also dwelt with the argument that a woman should not have to give birth to a child that was conceived in an act of rape or even incest.

The pro-life side of the issue argued that abortion should be made illegal. One of their main arguments was life began at conception not birth. If life began at conception then it was their job to stand up and fight for the unborn child. Also assuming life does began at conception then abortion, according to law, would be illegal. They believed it was not any person s job to play God.

Polarization is unavoidable in this argument because of the strong beliefs on both sides. Although in this argument some people on both sides of the issue took things to the extreme. With death threats made and protest that soon became not so peaceful. Just because you feel strongly about an issue does not give anyone the right to perform an act of violence against another individual.

In conclusion polarization may have been unavoidable in this situation, but the violence was not. In the United States we have the right to free speech, and that means people with opposing views are allowed to speak out against one another. Being able to speak what you believe is one of the greatest things about the United States of America. However, when debates heat up past the point of just free speech is when you begin to infringe on some else s rights and is against the law. Heated debates and arguments may lead to polarization and that kind of diversity is another thing that makes the United States a great place to live.