The issue of abortion is often the topic of debate, and there are a number of pro-life arguments that are hard to ignore. Abortion affects both mother and child in numerous ways, and it’s important to know the truth.

As Dr. Suess wrote in “Horton Hears a Who,” “a person’s a person, no matter how small.” Many pro-life arguments center around the conviction that life begins at conception, and plenty of evidence points to the fact that an embryo is a human from day one. For example:

• On the day of conception, all human chromosomes are present.
• On day 22, the heart begins to beat.
• At just one month along, blood is flowing throughout the embryo.
• By week eight, every organ is in place and brain wave patterns can be recorded.

While preserving life is more than enough reason to oppose abortion, there are several compelling pro-life arguments that deal with the health and well-being of the mother. Abortion is associated with over 100 potential physical complications, ranging from fairly minor and temporary complaints, such as abdominal cramping, to extremely serious conditions, including blood clots, infections and convulsions.

However, the physical effects of abortion linger long after any immediate complications. A past abortion can interfere with a woman’s ability to get pregnant or carry a pregnancy to term, and increases her risk of tubal pregnancy and miscarriage. In addition, abortion has been connected to an increased risk for breast cancer.

Although protecting women’s health is a common rationale for approving abortion, less than 13 percent of abortions performed in the United States are what are known as “hard case abortions”: those due to rape, incest, a child with a potential health problem or protecting the health of the mother. That means that 87 percent are for reasons of convenience.

Another powerful set of pro-life arguments revolves around the emotional and psychological price of abortion. Women who’ve had abortions are at a greatly increased risk for a long list of mental health issues, including numerous mood and depressive disorders, as well as eating disorders, substance abuse and suicidal thoughts. It’s estimated that 90 percent of women who abort experience some level of psychological or emotional stress, and one in five suffers from post-traumatic stress syndrome.

We often hear about the freedom to choose, but is having the freedom to take a life really a liberating right? A woman has rights no matter how small or how young she may be. When a life is ended through an abortion, a lifetime of choices is taken away from the person that unborn child would have grown up to be.

The most compelling of pro-life arguments has always been that every person, no matter how small or how young, deserves life. After all, what if your mother had aborted you?

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