Abortion

            
             In the United States, abortion is becoming more of a divisive issue each day. The pro-life and pro-choice actions are both powerful and dynamic. Pro-life groups are particularly active at the state level and have effectively influenced legislators and governors into forming many laws that restrict abortion. Many of the laws have been unsuccessful; they are so broadly worded that they are usually declared unconstitutional soon after having been signed into law. The laws that do go on are not particularly effective; they often have the effect of deflecting abortion seekers to nearby states. In the United States, women choose to end about twenty-five percent of their pregnancies through abortion. This number has been gradually declining since nineteen seventy-nine (Abortion: all sides to the issue). When faced with an unwanted pregnancy, a woman who is considering an abortion will be choosing between life and death. However, for many women, it does not end with the abortion. It is an experience that can have an impact on a woman for the rest of her life (Wall 124). Abortion has become such a controversial issue that, at this point, a concession between pro-life and pro-choice supporters appears to be unfeasible.
             There are many questions that arise when the topic of abortion comes up. The pro-choice and pro-life supporters cannot see eye to eye on any of these issues, therefore there is no correct answer. One main question that will forever be argued over is the question of "is it alive?" The answer to this question is yes it is alive. "It is a biological mechanism that converts nutrients and oxygen into energy that causes its cells to divide, multiply, and grow" (Wall 125). This would be called a single-cell zygote that contains the DNA necessary to grow into a self-sufficient, mindful human. This is a potential person. However, just because it is alive does not give the zygote full human privileges.