Teenage Abortion
QUESTION: Teenage abortion - Is it legal?ANSWER:In the United States, the legalities of teenage abortion (for females under 18) are decided on a state by state basis. Though abortion
procedures are nationally legal for teens, some states require parental notification and others require notification and permission. Some also require a 24-hour waiting period.
Some sources report that each year one million American teenagers become pregnant, and 78% of these pregnancies are unintended. Four in every five American girls begin having intercourse before age 20. Why such high percentages? Many of these young women have little to no understanding of their bodies, emotions and spirituality, so they've begun having sexual intercourse before knowing the consequences.
Having an abortion is a life-altering decision. It not only may forever alter the life of the mother but also takes the life of what was meant-to-be a child. Many young teens (and women in general) suffer life-long effects from abortion. To name a few, studies show that abortion can lead to increased chances of
breast cancer, severe depression, ever-lasting guilt feelings and an eternal feeling of void. Abortions also occur with
complications; these have resulted in death.
If one is considering abortion, we must always look at all the options, alternatives, and consequences of our choices. We can learn from others the effects that may not have been disclosed by some organizations that promote abortions for the big money business that it is. They do not personally have to live out their lives with adverse feelings or the severe physical risks.
Pregnancy is not usually the planned course for a young girl's life, but the alternatives to abortion will no doubt offer her a wide path back to the life she had envisioned. There are many life-keeping agencies available to help a teen take that path.
Is any abortion legal? That seems to be a question more perfectly answered by whose laws you are examining. By man's law, yes, it's legal though sometimes with restrictions. But by God's laws, and his divine plan for each life, no - God has not legalized taking a life of a baby. Federal or state law might say it is now legal to abort a baby, but God's view has not changed. His law says to take a life is murder. The abortion takes away a life He has planned and allowed to be conceived.
