PRO-CHOICE OR PRO-LIFE

BY: VAIBHAVI MENON

“No woman can call herself free who does not control her own body.” Abortion is the medical termination of a foetus and I believe it should be allowed because it was made for a reason. The doctors wouldn’t create abortion if they didn’t think it was right. Abortion should be the woman’s choice and not according to society because it’s the woman who has to carry the baby, take care of the baby and worry about its future. It is the woman’s body which is going through the changes. The mother could be financially unstable and not be able to provide for the baby so in such cases it’s better to abort the baby at the initial stage rather than make it suffer for the rest of its life. Yes the mother can have the baby and put it up for abortion but pregnancy completely changes a woman’s body and for some women it can be fatal and can cause infertility but lets imagine the baby is put up for adoption what is the guarantee that the baby gets into a family and even if we assume the baby has gotten into the family what is the guarantee that the family is good and not abusive.

in the case of a child with a severe disability like Progeria (child ages ) or butterfly skin their life expectancy is only a couple of years and even in that little life they suffer so much cuz of disease. In this case its better to abort especially people who are not financially stable they wont even be able to afford medicines for the diseases. Victims of sexual assault who become pregnant should be able to abort because they dint want this child. The incident that happened to them is already traumatic for them and the child is a constant reminder of what happened to them. there have been cases around the world where a mother who wasn’t ready to have a child has postpartum depression and has committed suicide or takes drugs or kills her own child. Aborting the child inside the womb does not cause pain to the child but killing outside definitely will.

That being said abortion should not be used negatively like for example female infanticide.. it should be used in the case of important situations. Honestly a person who wants to abort a child is going to do so whether legal or not….only difference is that if its allowed they will do it with professional help and if not allowed they will do it on their own by taking pills or through consumption of alcohol etc. in the end its only the woman’s choice as she’s the one who deals with the upbringing of the child and has to see whether she is ready to accept the changes that would happen to her both physically and mentally.therefore I would like to conclude this by saying abortion is not a evil thing to do as many people consider it to be. Infact it saves the unborn child from the fatalities he/she may experience due to the unwilling birth of it.

INFERTILITY AND THE IMPACT OF GADGETS

We live in a century where technology and gadgets are closely knitted to our everyday life and it is hard for us to imagine that the generations before our’s existed with near to zero exposure to the kind of technologies we have today. With the introduction of modern technologies, a significant change in the basic routine of people’s lives is clearly visible. Though these technologies are meant to make life easier and better, they do come with several drawbacks as well. Many aspects of the modern lifestyle have severe impacts upon our health both mentally as well as physically.

While new technologies are introduced every day, simultaneous attempts are made by the researchers to understand its various health impacts. Of all the identified threats caused by the excessive use of technology, especially electronic gadgets, infertility stays high in the order followed by cancer, poor mental being etc. People often overlook the health consequences and carry these gadgets most of the time because of the convenience it provides. Many have a habit of scrolling through their phones right before they go to sleep. Apart from sleep deprivation, studies have revealed that this habit can cause far more shocking repercussions like reproductive disorders in both males and females.

According to studies, the electromagnetic radiations are transferred directly to the reproductive organs when cell phones are kept in trouser pockets for a longer period. Evening or late-night exposure to short-wavelength light(SWL) emitted from electronic gadgets and digital media devices can result in poor sperm quality, reducing sperm motility, sperm progressive motility and sperm concentration. The long-term exposure and its proximity affect the ovarian activity in women leading to infertility. The radiation from mobile phones affects one’s DNA destroying our cell’s natural ability to recover and might result in abortions.

Abstinence from electronic gadgets is not practical but their excessive use must be reduced. The people suffering from fertility issues must consider reducing the use of electronic gadgets. Cutting down the screen time helps one to avoid health consequences like sleep deprivation, fatigue, headache caused by the overexposure to digital gadgets. Pregnant women should limit their exposure to cell phones as it is known to affect the growth of the fetus. Exposure to EMF radiation / RF from laptops, cell phones, Wi-Fi and other personal devices are known to be key detriments to the mental health of a child in its pre-term and neonatal days.

Modern technologies and gadgets are invented to reduce physical efforts and make life easier and better for. The introduction of new technologies every day is revolutionising our world and lifestyle. But the comforts provided by these technologies should never be the ground for us to move away from our basic instincts. Exploiting these technologies without its proper and limited usage will be similar to digging our own grave.

Abortion-a right or a choice?

What happens when people take the decisions of your life? When an unborn child is murdered before even stepping into this world? Who gave them the right to do so? Is it legal or illegal when a young girl is murdered with her unborn child by her parents? These questions triggerd in my mind while reading a recent story which took place in Telangana, where a 20-year old girl was murdered overnight by her parents because she refused for abortion. Digging deep into this story, I found out that the young girl was in love with a man from another caste and this was also a reason because of which her parents committed an unlawful crime by killing her overnight because her actions were against them. Earlier she agreed with her parents on aborting the child but later on she changed her mind and wanted to bring the baby in the world but she didn’t knew what misfortune was coming in her way and the poor child died even before opening his eyes. Who among us will be the one like her parents? Will try to commit this false crime? Or who among us will take a stand and support her and who all will fight with her? Stories like this revolve around the world where again the society plays a major role, not allowing the people to live and breath. According to the WHO, every year an estimated 40-50 million people who face unplanned pregnancy decide to have an abortion in the world. What a strange thing which is a tabu in some parts of the world where men cause women to be pregnant but it is the woman who alone bears the child and goes through a difficult period of pain and suffering. I am not only talking about teenage pregnancies but also about the mothers who face early pregnancy or about the mother who does not want to perceive. I am neither against the abortion nor standing with it, but as a girl I want the society to let the mother decide what she wants and not force her to kill the child because of various reasons.

Medical Termination of Pregnancy(MTP)

Since the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act allows women to seek abortion as a part of reproductive rights and gender justice. This amendment places India on the top league of the countries where a woman can make individual choices from their perspective. In India, abortions are legal in certain situations, as for unmarried girls, rape victims and for married women with different reasons. There has been a decreasing rate in abortion since India made it illegal to detect the sex of the foetus. But there is a time limit given to the woman for getting an abortion done. A woman should always make sure to have a safe abortion procedure inorder to keep her body safe and always ask the doctor before getting it done.

Reasons why women get this done

1.Peer pressure, the biggest reason for a woman to get her child aborted. Where society never lets the woman live and allow to make her own decision which makes the abortion as the only solution. 2.Female Foeticide, which comes under peer pressure, where the society never lets a girl child to step into this world and gets her killed before her birth. 3.Rape victims and differently- abled.

Since this is a very vague and wide topic, I would like to end it here with a quote “Abortion is a part of being a mother and caring for children because part of her caring of her children is knowing when its not a good idea to bring them into the world”-Katha Pollitt.