Is abortion murder? Abortion’s very definition is debatable. Some could argue that it is taking a life. How could anyone advocate abortion if it is the case and if it is murder? There is only one solution left. A fetus is not a human is one response that might potentially be used to justify any action. In order to accurately answer the issue, “Is abortion murder?,” we must first determine what constitutes a person and whether a fetus satisfies those criteria. 

It is obvious what the Bible says about life. What is the philosophical definition of a human, nevertheless, if they do not adhere to the teachings of Christ? It is “the state or fact of being a person; possessing human features and sentiments,” according to the dictionary. Both similarities and distinctions demonstrate the existence of a person because they share human processes, structures, and sensations while yet being distinctive. Do unborn children possess the same human traits as adults? 

Individualism is a characteristic that is uniquely human. Our DNA gives each of us a distinct genetic identity that endures throughout our lives. Genes create a four-letter nucleotide code that serves as the body’s blueprint during conception (A-G-C-T). The human body is genuinely unique from the time of creation because each cell in the body possesses 3,200,000,000 nucleotide pairs, multiplied by at least 20,000 genes. The French researcher Jerome Lejeune, who discovered the chromosomal anomaly that causes Down syndrome, stated it succinctly: “To accept the fact that, after fertilization takes place, a new human has come into being is no longer a matter of taste or opinion… The human nature of the human being from conception to old age is not a metaphysical contention, it is plain experimental evidence.” 

Even while a fetus does not yet have physical, human-like qualities, many features are already established within hours of fertilization. Personality qualities, eye and hair colors, and gender are all included. Within a month, external features like ears, fingers, toes, and eyes start to form—before the majority of women even realize they are pregnant. The child’s bones and ligaments have been built from the inside out. Female fetuses fully develop their reproductive systems by 20 weeks gestation, with every egg they will carry for the rest of their lives present. 

On top of that, the heart starts pumping at just five weeks old, which is probably the distinguishing feature of a human. Wouldn’t it be reasonable to state that life at the very least begins after the heart begins beating, using the same logic as when someone is deemed dead after the heart stops? When unborn children can sense pain, emotion, and sensations is a topic of continuous debate. We can now see inside the womb thanks to technological developments, and there are various ways a child reacts to feeling before birth. 

• When their mother is awake, they prefer to sleep in the womb because the action lulls them to sleep.  
• They are equally affected by the mother’s feelings.  
• Certain music that was played to babies in the womb helps them remember and feel comforted after birth.  
• When the mother smokes, stress and nervousness are evident in her movements.  
• They quiver at the thought of a chilly drink of water.  
• Early in the first trimester, they have hiccups. As they become older, their taste receptors and food preferences change.  
• The entire body gets sensitive enough months before birth to feel a single hair brushing across it.  
• If there are twins, they just need three weeks in the womb to start interacting with one another in deliberate and planned ways. 

Additionally, during three weeks of conception, nerve cells start to form, which may provide insight into the subject of whether or not unborn children experience pain. To that end, legislation allowing the baby to be given anesthetic during an abortion operation has recently been put into place in some states. This is a practice that would be absurd if the infant were merely a clump of cells rather than a living creature with feelings and sensations. The developmental and embryologic sciences amply reveal that the preborn are fully living members of our species (homo sapiens) from the earliest stage of development, showing both similarities and differences. 

Additionally, nerve cells begin to grow three weeks after conception, which may shed light on the issue of whether or not unborn children feel pain. To that aim, some states have recently passed legislation that permits the infant to receive anesthesia during an abortion procedure. If the infant were only a collection of cells rather than a live being with emotions and senses, this technique would be ludicrous. The preborn are fully living members of our species (homo sapiens) from the earliest stage of development, demonstrating both similarities and distinctions, according to the developmental and embryologic sciences. 

Abortion would then be regarded as the premeditated taking of a person’s life, or murder, given a great deal of scientific, religious, and ethical evidence points to personhood prior to birth. The Unborn Victims of Violence Act, for example, was passed into law to protect fetuses from murder, but it only applies when the killing is not consensual. This indicates that while homicide is covered by this legal protection, abortion is not. 

A fundamental tenet of the pro-life movement is that abortion is murder. However, a state senator from Idaho attracted unexpected attention in February when he expressed that opinion to a gathering of teenagers advocating for contraceptive policies.  

  The Atlantic recently hired a conservative writer named Kevin Williamson, who was then dismissed over past tweets in which he called the procedure “homicide” and that it should be handled “like any other homicide.” The death sentence for women who have abortions should be supported by those who support the death penalty, which he does not. 

The belief that ending a pregnancy equals killing the unborn child is common among pro-life campaigners, but it is also widely held outside of their circles. When pollsters ask Americans if abortion is an act of murder or the killing of a human life, pluralities or majorities respond that it is, according to Karlyn Bowman, a polling expert at the conservative American Enterprise Institute.  

 However, this is a rhetorical tactic or moral pretension rather than a well-reasoned conviction. The bulk of those who support it don’t actually mean it. Even they display a strong belief that an unborn child has a significantly lower status than an adult. 

Williamson’s scandal serves as evidence. Though he later claimed, “I was making a point about the careless rhetoric of the abortion issue, not a public-policy advice,” his comment that women who have abortions should be hanged ultimately proved fatal.  

  But why shouldn’t people who arrange abortions face harsh penalties if they are ethically equivalent to killing a newborn? It follows logically from the pro-life argument, without a doubt. 

In 2016, Donald Trump accidentally strayed from the pro-life playbook when he stated that women who had abortions should endure “some type of punishment,” only to later retract his statement. According to Mike Pence and Trump, “legislation against women who make the difficult decision to stop a pregnancy” will never be supported.  

  The March for Life Education and Defense Fund’s president, Jeanne Mancini, remarked at the time: “Never in a million years would a pro-lifer seek to penalize an abortion victim. We invite a woman who has taken this path to think about solutions for healing rather than retribution.” 

People don’t typically associate cold-blooded killers with “healing,” and murder is rarely described as a “heartbreaking choice.” Those who express themselves in this manner are essentially admitting that homicide and abortion are not fundamentally the same.  

  One of them is Trump. He frequently demands severe action to reduce Chicago’s homicide rate, which reached 650 last year. However, there are roughly 650,000 abortions performed nationwide each year. The number of nonfetuses who pass away is a minor portion of all homicides, if they are considered to be murder.  

  However, very few people really believe that having an abortion is as bad as killing an adult or a kid. Few people believe that a lady who has an abortion and a man who strangles his child should share a cell. 

By the time they reach the age of 45, one in four American women will have had an abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute. You are being consistent if you view abortion as murder and believe that your sister, daughter, aunt, niece, cousin, or friend should spend a lifetime in prison or be put to death if she ever chose to stop a pregnancy. You are not if you view abortion as murder and believe that they should be given a peaceful road to recovery. 

However, few pro-lifers have a realistic understanding of what it would mean to treat the embryo as a whole human from conception on. In her most recent book, “Scarlet A: The Ethics, Law and Politics of Ordinary Abortion,” Northwestern University bioethicist Katie Watson points out that up to 20% of pregnancies end in miscarriage and that 50% of fertilized eggs do not implant.  

  Why aren’t we spending a lot of money on studies to prevent miscarriages, she wonders, “since fertilized eggs are ethically similar to born people?” The quiet surrounding “normal” prenatal losses says a lot. 

Abortion cannot be prohibited, whether it occurs early in pregnancy or not, provided it is not murder. Women have the freedom to govern their own bodies, including the decision to undergo knee surgery, donate blood, or go skydiving. One aspect of that physical liberty is the freedom to abort a pregnancy.  

  If you truly feel that abortion is murder, you might be able to defend making a woman carry a fetus inside her for nine months before making her go through the agony and physical trauma of giving birth. But you don’t, I’m pretty sure. 

At the end of the day, abortion is a controversial topics. But no matter what, no one should tell a woman what to do with her body.