by Antonio Aguilar

Created on: May 03, 2008

I am a man, so I realize that some people would say that I have no say on abortion, seeing as I can never be pregnant. I would argue that since it takes a man to get a woman pregnant, a man should have some say in the issue. If a father can be called a deadbeat for not paying child support, what is he if he has no say in weather or not his child lives or dies?

So now that I have established why I think I should have a say, I'll go into where I am coming from. I was raised Christian, and so naturally I always thought abortion was wrong. The only time I can see it being acceptable is if it is necessary to save a woman's life. Even if the baby is the result of rape or incest, the woman can still carry it full term and then give it up for adoption.

I am about to be a father. My wife is twelve weeks pregnant, at the end of her first tri-mester. I saw my baby for the first time this week on an ultrasound. The doctor started the ultrasound, and there in a black and white image, my child appeared. The baby, or "lump of fetal tissue" was dancing around inside my wife, spinning and wiggling its little arms and legs. It must have sensed we were watching it because it froze then and its little head turned towards the ultrasound sensor. I could make out the form of its mouth, nose, and eyes.

Perhaps the most astounding aspect of this whole procedure was the heart. I could see its little heart beating, a fluttering white dot on the ultrasound. The heart, the seat of human emotion (at least in western culture), and this little baby had one that I could watch and hear.

Abortion advocates would argue that this little thing I was seeing on the ultrasound was just an un-living lump of fetal tissue that could be discarded as easily as taking out the trash. I can only disagree. This baby reacted to the ultrasound. It had a beating heart, discernible features, and its little limbs were surprisingly well formed. It was a living human being. Maybe it's not all the way developed, but it's still a human, with a beating heart and a reaction to an intrusion into its little world.

I've seen horrible videos of aborted babies from their first tri-mester. They have perfectly formed little organs that look very much like adult human organs, only on a smaller scale. They have little hands and feet that I've seen detached from their bodies. They have little jaws that are hinged perfectly on little decapitated heads. The very thought of that happening to a baby like mine horrifies and enrages me. I think if a woman saw something like that she would have second thoughts about having an abortion, and she wouldn't think it was alright then. Even seeing an ultrasound like the one my wife had would probably make her realize that the little thing growing in her was a human life, not just a "lump of fetal tissue". I guess that's why abortion clinics try to keep women from ever having an ultrasound.

I think that abortion is often used as a cop out so that a woman does not have to take responsibility for her actions. If the father of the baby pressures her into having an abortion, he is using it as a cop out too. Abortion is just plain selfish.

All of that is why I have to call abortion what it really is, murder.

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