Abortion is not a pleasant thing, and nobody should suggest it be an option of first choice. First choice should be to avoid unwanted pregnancy altogether, however this is not always realistic (as in the case of rapes). Does allowing abortion have an affect on society, and if so, is this affect positive or negative?

If abortion were illegal, it would still exist. It would take on hideous forms and result in suffering to women and the unborn. It would take place in abandoned buildings and back roads. It would still exist somehow, somewhere. Or, let us say it did not. In this case we would have unwanted babies being born and very likely abandoned, or killed shortly after birth by frightened women and girls.

Not every pregnant woman wants to be pregnant. If a woman were the victim of a brutal gang rape it is unrealistic to expect her to “love” her unborn child. Although some women do, most rape victims feel no bond with the baby. Even with the option of putting the child up for adoption, would they even take care of themselves and their unborn baby? I suspect many woman might be disgusted by the thought of carrying a child from the result of such an act, or carrying the genetics of one of the monsters that did it to her.

Now we can look at the mothers who are on drugs or abuse alcohol. Even with abortions, we still see a large number of cocaine addicted babies born, there are several fetal alcohol babies that will forever remain wards of the state, living off the tax payers money. If abortion were illegal, and simply did not happen the numbers of state dependent children would rise.

Abortion is not a fun thing, nobody gets pregnant with the goal of getting an abortion later. It is a last resort. Some women use it because their doctors have warned them of health risks to themselves by being pregnant. If a woman already has a child and is warned that her pregnancy is endangering her life, should we risk leaving the first child without a mother for the sake of the unborn one? It is not a pleasant thing, but without it there would be negative problems for society.

It is not true to say that these babies would all get homes. If that were the case there would not be as many children living in foster care (at the taxpayers expense) even now. Not too many people line up to adopt crack addicted babies, or those with massive deformities.

I cannot argue that abortion is good, but unfortunately it is a realistic, and legal, solution to the problem of an unwanted or risky pregnancy. It may save the tax payer a burden, it may relieve stress on a woman, it may even stop rapists from being born (if indeed such aggressive traits are genetic). As such the conclusion is that abortion affects society in a way we cannot calculate or measure.