by Joshua Mccracken

Created on: June 01, 2009   Last Updated: June 02, 2009

Many pro-life abortion activists do not seem to realize the psychological trauma caused by abortions, or when they do, they use it as yet another argument against it. The fact that in some cases a woman will willfully choose this psychological trauma over childbirth should be telling. What about rapes? What about teen pregnancy? Should rape victims be forced to live with the spawn of the person who victimized them for 9 months, when they are already haunted by the traumatic memories of the horror of rape which in and of itself tends to cause psychological problems for the remainder of the victim's life? Should inexperienced teens whose poor decision-making resulted in the conception of a child be forced to live with that mistake? Is the abortion not difficult enough in and of itself to stomach, for those who decide that it is the answer?

Pregnancies frequently cause steadily-increasing constant physical discomfort over the course of 9 months. Pregnant teens must also deal with social issues such as stigma and discrimination once they begin showing. Their poor judgment is visible for all to see and many judge them, calling them whores for it, which is completely unfair. Frequently, women are held to much higher standards than men when it comes to hot button issues such as sex.

Additionally, there are cases where women have medical issues that can cause complications during childbirth, potentially threatening their own lives. Should an HIV-infected woman be forced to carry her child if she becomes pregnant, knowing full well that the disease will be transmitted to her child? What about other blood-borne incurable and life-threatening diseases that are transmitted from mother to infant? Is the embryo really a separate being during the earliest stages of pregnancy when most abortions occur? If it was, then would it not be able to survive outside of the mother at these stages? So is abortion really taking life if it's really no more than removing a 'growth' at these stages?

The excruciating pain of childbirth is such that most men are never able to experience physical pain anywhere near that magnitude. The final stages can last hours, even days. Is it right to force a woman to endure this against her will? Pregnancy is a two-way street. It's a result of the actions of two people and not just solely the female who happens to become pregnant. How is it fair to expect a person to endure something we can't, or wouldn't endure even if we could?

Having a child is

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