Many view the fertilized egg as a potential human life. But according to Carol Emmens ("The abortion controversy" page3 para 2) "the fertilized egg is not a whole human being; it needs to develop fully to form a complete human person." This is not the case. When a fertilized egg or a potential human life is denied the chance to develop, it is considered abortion.
So, who has abortions? Women from all religious groups, from all races, and from all economic and social classes have abortions. Abortion is divided into two main parts: spontaneous and induced abortions. A spontaneous abortion, generally is called a miscarriage. It occurs in about 15 percent of all pregnancies. Most spontaneous abortions occur in the first three months of pregnancy. An induced abortion is when the fetus is forced to leave the uterus of a mother, and as a result, it dies. This is the type of abortion that is creating so much controversy, and is considered by many as ethically wrong.
An abortion that ends in a live birth presents doctors with an almost overwhelming moral problem. Should doctors try to save the fetus just as they would try to save a premature baby? A doctor in Philadelhpia has been charged with murder because he did not try to save a fetus that lived for ninety minutes after an abortion. To avoid the risk of a fetus surviving in a abortion, doctors have been using methods to make sure it is killed. For Instance, many hospitals have lowered the cut-off date for abortions to twenty weeks. This way, it is near impossible that the fetus will survive. But shouldn't these procedures be regarded as medically wrong? .
Because abortion links with the ethics of life and death, there are many controversial issues. One main group of opponents of abortion rights are anti-abortion groups like March for Life, Liberty Federation, Pro-Life Action League. These groups oppose abortion because they believe that a fetus is a person, and aborting it is just like murder.