Basically, abortion can be defined as the process whereby a pregnancy is terminated by removing the foetus, before it gains the capacity to survive in the exteriors of the uterus. Abortion which occurs in the absence of intervention, is known as a miscarriage. Also, when there are intentional steps taken to end a pregnancy, it is known as induced abortion, it is also called induced miscarriage sometimes.

Below are reasons why you should not think of having an abortion:

• It adds to tragedy: It is understandable that most times, the circumstances which surrounds a pregnancy are unpalatable. Hence, the woman in question would want to remove the baby due to the fact that the thought of it induces shame and pain. It should be known that it is not a good idea to end the life of an unborn baby simply because you want to end pain.

Visiting a counsellor is better in this case.

• It is against civil rights: In many countries, having an abortion is a violation of civil rights, and it is punishable depending on the rules of the country. Children who are yet to be born, should not be denied their right to live their own life irrespective of the instances surrounding their birth.

• It can cause harm to women: Women who undergo abortion, are putting their lives at risk. This is because there are health demerits which are attached to this. Asides the fact that they could be affected health-wise, they could also face mental, relational and emotional problems. Sometimes, women die on the spot after having an abortion.

• It damages relationships: Committing an abortion makes people to think less of you. With time, you would discover that you would lose many friends, as they would want to keep their distance from you. When it gets to this stage, you would realise that you have lost both your relationships, and a life- The unborn child.

• It does not go away: After having an abortion, the thought and the experience never goes away. It is something which would remain with you for the rest of your life. It is a stigma which sticks and does not live.

There are some people who would argue that abortion is a solution to a problem, but there would seem to be more evidence against this than for it. In fact, the more abortion is studied, the more it is agreed upon that abortion causes mental and physical damage far more than it helps or repairs anything. People commit to abortions thinking that they are harmlessly evading a natural consequence of their actions when they are actually making themselves worse off. Below are several reasons that abortion is largely considered unnatural and harmful:

• It goes against nature’s plans. Pregnancy and child bearing is a natural and essential component of the life of any organism. There is a reason one hears pregnant women often say they feel radiant, glowing and in tune with nature. This is because nature intended for women to become pregnant. Therefore, when a woman becomes pregnant but then aborts her pregnancy, an unnatural event has taken place in her personal life and in the life of her physical being, and it has disrupted the spiritual and biological intentions of motherhood.
• It creates an unwanted shock to the body. Aborting a pregnancy literally puts a woman’s body into a type of shock. A woman’s body has a lot to do in order to prepare for a pregnancy. As soon as a woman become pregnant, her body and brain chemistry begin to change in order to prepare for the next nine months of pregnancy. Cancelling this process at any point presents intense confusion the chemical changes that were taking place, throwing the woman into a flood of hormones that she cannot use and a crash of bodily processes that make her unwell.
• It often goes against the natural desire to be pregnant. All too often, a woman commits to an abortion despite an inner voice telling her to go through with it. This causes the worst kind of damage, because once an abortion is performed, the woman becomes haunted by regrets and thoughts of “what if.” A woman who is inclined to feel that she should keep a pregnancy should never terminate it.

The abortion debate is always constructed around the notion that the issue is polarized between conservative and liberal, republican and democrat, right and left. Each side has a traditional stance on the matter and when anyone is opinionated on abortion, they are pegged as representing the right or the left. The truth of this matter is that it is not black and white the way it is often represented. Republicans can be pro-choice and democrats can be pro-life. Abortion is a complex matter.

The traditional conservative view of abortion is that it is murder. Republicans are known to disparage the legality of abortion and work to undo its passage into law. Their argument cites all the ways an unborn fetus is similar enough to a human to qualify as one, including behavior such as dreaming, observing, thumb sucking and clapping. They cite how a fetus’ nervous system is developed enough that it can feel pain. And they cite the fetus’ behavior that resembles terror during the act of abortion.

The liberal view of abortion is that it is a woman’s right to choose whether or not she keeps a fetus or terminates it. This view was adopted in response to the tradition of patriarchy that has dictated control over women’s bodies through most of history. This tradition has commonly demanded that a woman comply with her “duty” of bearing children, which came to be enormously resented during the rise of feminism.

What many people do not realize is that, all politics aside, abortion is not a black and white issue that falls neatly on one side of a debate or another. There are many republicans who passionately stand for abortion, as well as many liberals who are against it. The freedom to abort a fetus represents a right to protect the interests of the self, where as the protection of an unborn fetus protects the fetus’ human right to life. It is not traditionally liberal or conservative to protect the interests of the self or of another. It is both and neither in equal measure.

It has long been known that abortion causes mental strain to women. Abortion is a very challenging, morally loaded decision to make and is known to cause significant mental hardships to women. This has always been a fact that anti-abortion groups cite in their campaigns. Pro-abortion groups retaliate by saying that the mental health argument is subjective and there is no real evidence of mental health problems caused by abortion. Modern studies show that abortion is connected to certain mental health concerns in women.

Abortion negatively impacts a woman’s mental health for a number of reasons. Having an abortion feels unnatural to women because it is. It is far more natural to a woman’s hormone production and bodily processes to allow nature to run its course. A woman’s body does a lot to prepare for pregnancy, and when the process is aborted, her body is confused and is susceptible to malfunction. Not only does her bod physically crash due to the aborted pregnancy, her mind is flooded with hormones and unintended brain chemicals that make her feel not like herself.

Abortion is often connected to shattered dreams of intimacy for women. Many women have abortions because they are pressured into them by the man who fathered the child. Or, the pressure on them could be perceived by them and they make their decision to abort based on imagined pressure. The point is, many women get abortions ignoring the feeling that they would rather not have one. This kind of decision making is always the grounds for mental unhealthiness because she does not feel free or able to choose based on what she wants.

The other obvious dilemma for a woman when it comes to abortion is wondering whether or not it was or is the right thing to do based on personal morals. Abortion was not something women considered until very recently, relatively speaking. There is a great deal of support for a woman’s right to choose, and there is a great deal of opposition to abortion. Knowing what to choose can be incredibly difficult, and creates mental strain for women.

Because it is a natural process for women to become pregnant and give birth, aborting a fetus can come with dangerous physical complications for women. This is not information that is circulated like it should be. People tend to think of abortions as harmless as long as they are performed by licensed medical professionals. This is far from the truth. The abortive procedure is very intrusive to a woman’s body and poses a great deal of risk to her physical health in the form of infection, bleeding, fertility problems and more. Some of the common physical risks of abortions are as follows:

• Infection. One common risk of abortion is infection due to mishandled surgical equipment. Frequently, not all matter is removed from the uterus and it can cause infections over time. Surgical instrument can also cause abrasions, which lead to infection.
• Bleeding. Excessive bleeding is another risk of abortion. Some bleeding is normal, but excessive bleeding indicates a bad procedure and calls for emergency surgical repairs.
• Damaged Uterus, Cervix or Bladder. Surgical instruments sometimes puncture the uterus, cervix or bladder, causing perforations that require surgical repair. A weak cervix cannot always be repaired after an abortion and some women are unable to conceive ever again.
• Sterility. Abortion statistically increases a woman’s chance of sterility. Aborting a fetus compromises a woman’s reproductive organs and they are not always able to be functional afterward.
• Scarring. It is common for an abortion to leave behind some kind of scarring. Surgical tools are obtrusive and can leave marks on the uterine walls. Because an egg needs a smooth surface to bind to on a uterine wall, scarring can cause sterility, as well as causing infection and bleeding.