The first line of the Declaration of Natural Rights portion of the Declaration of Independence states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
The first unalienable right that Thomas Jefferson was addressing is the right to life – the right to breathe freely and live the life that was given to you. To me, a Christian and true believer of the right to life, the biggest insult to this is the thought of abortion in cases that are not rape, incest, or a pregnancy that would harm the mother.
Ronald Reagan, a man who stood for liberty and equality for all, once asked, “They tell us not to impose our morality on those who wish to allow or participate in the taking of the life of infants before birth. Yet no one calls it imposing morality to prohibit the taking of life after a child is born. We’re told about a woman’s right to control her own body. But doesn’t the unborn child have a higher right, and that is to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?”
It’s a weird thing we call it being “pro-choice,” because who is the choice really for? It’s truly for the mother, whether she wants to keep the baby created by her sexual actions , and not for the baby. This issue doesn’t just lie in the grounds of religious orthodoxy, or another move on the latest radical feminism movement, but it is actually a question of true human morality.
The argument that some pro-life activists bring up is that in cases where a pregnant woman is murdered, the killer is then charged with a double homicide. Now, say a man stomps on the abdomen of a pregnant woman with twins and they are both killed, does the man get charged with two counts of capital murder? The answer is yes – this occurred in February 2008.
Another argument that tends to come up is that if a couple, or even a single mother, cannot afford the child and does not have the means to give it a proper life, shouldn’t the fetus just be terminated? Well, let’s address this from the standpoint of two adults knowing that they do not have the means to afford a child. Should they be engaging in sexual intercourse in this instance? I was taught, starting in fifth grade, that such actions can lead to pregnancy, so I must assume that two adults would know the same and should learn to take responsibility for their actions. The next standpoint is that if you truly do not think you can take care of a baby, give it up for adoption and let an infertile couple love and care for it.
To me, abortion is morally wrong. Besides my Christian beliefs, I still believe that a fetus is a living entity and has the ability to grow up and do great things. Terminating its life before it has this opportunity is the same as killing the world’s chance at possibly getting a cure for cancer or the next activist for world peace. Every living being has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in our country. The fetus is a living being and thus has the right to grow and prosper in a nation that has its best interest and safety at heart.
