Abortion: Pro Life

PRO-LIFE - HISTORY

The history of abortion is inseparable from other problematic social issues to which abortion is attached. "Search the records of ancient civilization and you will not find a great deal said about abortion per se. The subject will appear as an adjunct to discussions of the status of women, crimes of assault, ownership of property, the rules of medical practice, constructions of ideal societies and population control" (Rosenblatt 35). Abortion goes as far back in history as human life goes. According to a group of researchers, “abortions used to be done secretly before it became an unsolvable issue and a controversial one to our society” (Tribe 29). Others say “that abortion seems to exist in history as an omnipresent problem that becomes controversial from time to time, when the rules of society and the needs of individuals are at odds” (Olasky 47).

Yet unlike the history of other complicated ideas, abortion does not develop significantly over the centuries. Over the centuries the number of abortions hasn't necessarily increased, but rather it has become more of a debatable issue within our society. "Historically, the irresolvable quality of the problem shows up each time someone asks the question 'When is a fetus a person?'" (Whitney 70).

The essential fact is that the concern for human life goes as deep into history as is traceable. Abortion goes as far back in time as humans. Just because abortion doesn't show up in history books or historical records, it doesn't mean that it didn't exist. "That concern forms the foundation of civilized peoples, and pro-choice advocates today, who share that concern” (Rosenblatt 93). These people must acknowledge that the pro-life opposition is also rooted in that same concern, at an even deeper level.

As we already know, abortion is one of the most debatable issues facing us as a society today. These days every political party has to take a stand on abortion, and many times so does...