Life should be cherished, not perished

Abortion allows a woman the right to choose. The right to choose what? Whether or not she wants to kill her own flesh and blood! Abortion is murder, even if the unborn child is unwanted or unplanned.

A women's ultimate right is to act responsibly by thinking about the consequences that might occur - before the act of sex, not after.

House Bill 945 is pending before the Texas legislature. It requires consent from a parent or legal guardian before an unemancipated minor can receive an abortion.

HB 945 expands on the Jan. 1, 2000, "Parental Notification" Bill that requires either written or verbal notification to be sent to at least one parent or legal guardian of an unemancipated minor within 48 hours before the abortion procedure is performed.

Minors or anyone under the age of 18 years old cannot vote, consume alcohol, watch a rated-R movie, get a tattoo or gamble, so why should they be able to "choose" the death of their child, and possibly themselves, without advice from someone wiser and more experienced in life.

Ever since the January 22, 1973, Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade decision, which originated in a Texas district court, allowed the legalization of abortion, strong beliefs have stimulated debates on the legal, social and religious ramifications surrounding abortion.

The Roe v. Wade decision has affected 46 states.

Pro-choice advocates disagree with the parental notification and parental consent laws based on the belief that minors will be left with unsafe alternatives, including back-alley butchers and noncertified physicians in cases of rape, molestation and abuse.

These cases present difficult choices, but abortion is not a solution to these problems. Minors still need advice, guidance and possibly therapy to deal with these devastating acts of violence.

Child-abuse cases were expected to decline with the legalization of abortion, since people believed many unwanted births stemmed from abused children; however, child abuse has significantly increased after abortion was legalized.

Pro-choice advocates base their arguments for abortion on the notion that the unborn fetus is not a fully-developed human being. These advocates claim women are killed or seriously injured from illegal abortions.

They argue for the legalization of abortion so that women would, allegedly, no longer be harmed by resorting to amateur physicians or by performing the procedure themselves.

First of all, a fetus is a real human being. Neither side, pro-choice nor pro-life, can agree on the number of women who have died from illegal abortions. Second, it is a known fact that women do and are dying from legal abortions. If death is a concern, let's not ignore the millions of unborn humans who die every year from this act of execution.

According to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, the term "abortion" is defined as: the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus.

Today, most abortions are elected for social rather than medical reasons. Usually the majority of women feel pressure from their loved ones or because they feel they are not ready to become a parent.

"Approximately 93 percent of all induced abortions are done for elective, non-medical reasons," says the National Right To Life Organization.

Basing the decision to have an abortion on social reasons does not take into consideration the medical and psychological effects. No one would ever consider having any other operation without discussing the potential complications that may be involved.

Medical problems extend from infection, hemorrhage, inflamed organs, bowel perforations, to sterility and possible death. Psychological problems vary from depression to suicide. Nothing can be benefited from having an abortion, unless it will save the life of the mother.

Abortion cannot be reversed. Women need to be informed that this decision will remain with them for the rest of their life.

As expressed by Mother Theresa, "America needs no words from me to see how your decision in Roe v. Wade has deformed a great nation. The so-called right to abortion has pitted mothers against their children and women against men. It has portrayed the greatest of gifts - a child - as a competitor, an intrusion and an inconvenience."

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