Partial Birth Abortion Debates

2008-01-24T14:49:00.000-08:00

In the up and coming election in Maryland’s 4th Congressional District, there is a democratic candidate unlike his two opponents. The main reason for this difference is that he is a pro-life democrat giving the voters in Maryland’s 4th Congressional District an alternate candidate. This alternate candidate is Dr. Michael Babula. Dr. Michael Babula has declared on his website (http://www.babula2008.com/) that he will work for the continuation of the fight against partial birth abortion. The New England Journal of Medicine’s article: The Partial Death of Abortion Rights, describes partial birth abortion as: “A so-called partial-birth abortion, or D&X, involves dilating the cervix, partially extracting the fetus, puncturing the skull while it remains in the uterus, and removing the brain tissue through suction, thus allowing for easy removal of the otherwise intact fetus through the birth canal. In cases in which the procedure is performed, it is usually done late in the second trimester of pregnancy, though in some cases it is used during the third trimester.” Dr. Babula’s two competitors, Albert Wynn and Donna Edwards, are both pro-choice, so therefore, have not presented the partial birth abortion debates as a concern. However, I do believe it is a concern, a major concern facing our country today. It is a problem that presents a large gray area of moral questioning. It brings to the surface questions such as: whose life is of more value the child’s or the mother’s and who has the right to choose between the two lives? But above all the moral questioning partial birth abortion is, as Dr. Babula states on his website, “the worst human rights tragedy occurring in the United States” and a “violent and vicious end to a child’s life.” According to the New England Journal of Medicine’s article entitled: Abortion, Health and the Law, “Even people in our society who support a woman's right to sovereignty over her own body, in the abstract and at early gestational ages, may become uneasy with the subject of abortion when forced to consider the details of the procedures involved and the clash between maternal rights and the claim of a "right to life" for a fetus of advancing gestational age.” Although the issue of partial birth abortion is a sensitive one, I believe it is wrong no matter the circumstances, especially considering the numerous other options. I do not support abortion in any form or at any gestational age and wish for Dr. Babula to not only fight against partial birth abortion, but also, the killing of unborn babies in all forms. Of course, this presents another largely debated question in the issue of abortion: when is the unborn baby to be considered a human being and be given the same rights as all other humans under the Constitution? I firmly believe that at the moment of conception a baby should receive the same rights as all other Americans, although this belief is not one that is wholly accepted in today’s society. I fully agree with Dr. Babula’s fight for an end to partial birth abortion and I hope that he does not stop there, but works further to bring to an end all abortions in the United States. Works Cited
1) http://gr4an4te8p.scholar.serialssolutions.com/?sid=google&auinit=MF&aulast=Greene&atitle=Abortion,+Health,+and+the+Law&id=pmid:14711920
2)http://gr4an4te8p.scholar.serialssolutions.com/?sid=google&auinit=R&aulast=Charo&atitle=The+Partial+Death+of+Abortion+Rights&id=pmid:17452437
3) http://www.babula2008.com/

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Partial Birth Abortion Debates