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2004 NCRTL Oratory Contest Winner

Janelle Lilley

April 2004

Persuasive Essay

"This speech cannot be reprinted or duplicated in any form without permission. Call 800-392-6275 for further information."
Consider the American lives lost in the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War 1, World War 2, the Korean War, the Vietnam conflict, and the Persian Gulf Wars; now realize that every year more babies are killed by abortions than the total number of casualties in all of the wars, battles, and conflicts throughout the entire history of the United States. Many fallacies and common misconceptions regarding abortion exist, but the truth is that abortion is harmful to the mother; it is the murder of an unborn child; and there is a better option available. Because of these and numerous other reasons, abortion should be outlawed in the United States of America.

Though many in the country may ignorantly spout off sophisms about the woman’s right to choose death for her baby to save her own health, the truth is that abortion itself is the more serious danger to the mother. Studies have proven that having an abortion substantially increases the risk of breast cancer (a leading cause of female death) by overexposing the woman to the female hormone called estrogen. When a woman becomes pregnant the estrogen levels in her body rise 2000% in the first trimester and are only turned off by hormones produced in the third trimester. Women typically have abortions in the first two trimesters; this means that the hormone that stops the increase in estrogen is never secreted in abortees. In short, the woman’s body is overexposed to the estrogen causing the increased risk of breast cancer. However, breast cancer is only one of the countless physical and psychological side affects that women experience because of abortion. Having an abortion can result in haunting impacts on future pregnancies. For example, an abortion may lead to sterility, miscarriages, or stillbirths. In addition, the uncontrollable feelings of guilt and mourning, prevalent in abortees, are many times accompanied by suicidal urges but is the common citizen aware of those risks? No, of course not!

Besides the fact that abortion is harmful to the mother, it is nothing other than the glorified murder of an innocent child. Anatomical evidence published by abortion doctors in France and England shows that an unborn baby “Can feel pain from 20 weeks and is caused distress by interventions as early as 15 or 16 weeks.” The unborn baby is a living human being that feels pain. Furthermore, an abortion is not the quick, painless procedure that pro-choice advocates would have people believe. Commonly used methods such as dilation and evacuation use forceps with sharp metal jaws to grab parts of the baby’s body. These parts are then twisted and ripped off until the baby’s entire body is extracted from the womb. The skull contains hard bone, so it is then crushed in order to remove it. Dilatation and cuterage is yet another deplorable and disgusting “procedure.” In this form of abortion, the cervix is dilated to allow the insertion of a sharp knife into the womb. The baby is then butchered to death and the placenta scraped off of the inside of the mother’s body. Does this sound quick and painless like the pro-choice advocates portray? No!

Finally, there is a better option than abortion. The average adoption in the United States takes anywhere from two to ten years. About two million couples are waiting to adopt, but only about fifty thousand babies are put up for adoption each year. Adoption laws vary from state to state, but basically, the birthparents sign consent forms which forgo their parental rights and give them to the adoptive parents. The child then has the legal standing of a biological child. Considering the fact that so many couples desperately want but cannot have children and so many mothers do not want theirs, does adoption not seem to be the logical solution? Yes! “But,” some may protest, “what about the baby that has a mental or physical handicap? No one will want to adopt them, right?” Wrong! Before I moved to North Carolina I baby-sat for a couple that lived up in Indiana. This wonderful pair of people was not blessed with the ability to have children though they desperately wanted them. Knowing full well about her cerebral palsy, they adopted Elizabeth. She is now a gorgeous 3-year-old with parents that adore her. She still has her disability, but I can guarantee you that no one that has ever met Elizabeth would trade her life for anything they were offered. She has endeared herself to me personally, and I can honestly say that I would do anything to protect her and any child like her. I cannot imagine life without knowing Elizabeth, but if her mother had chosen to have an abortion like people suggested, I and many others would have been robbed of the life-changing experience of knowing this precious child. It is because of this that abortion must be outlawed immediately in America before anyone else is robbed of his or her own “Elizabeths.”

In conclusion, abortion is harmful to the mother; it is the murder of an unborn baby; and there is a better option. Contrary to popular belief, abortion is not the safe and easy procedure void of repercussions like it is portrayed. Abortion is a terrible act filled with negative consequences, and it should be outlawed.

"This speech cannot be reprinted or duplicated in any form without permission. Call 800-392-6275 for further information."