Argumentative Research Paper about Educating teenage students in New York State public schools about unplanned pregnancy and abortions

Running head: ARGUMENT POSITION PAPER 1

ARGUMENT POSITION PAPER 4

Argument Position Paper: Educating teenage students in New York State public schools about unplanned pregnancy and abortions

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Educating teenage students in New York State public schools about unplanned pregnancy and abortions

Research questions and tentative thesis: Abortion can be defined as the termination of a pregnancy by removing the embryo. In most cases, abortion happens when a woman gets pregnant unexpectedly, and with no intention to keep it, they end up having an abortion. Providing education to teenage students in the public schools in the state of New York is essential to help them understand the various precautions that they can take to avoid pregnancies that are unplanned, abortion and the steps that they can take when they find themselves in such circumstances. This paper seeks to address the question of whether abortion is right or wrong, and how one can avoid unplanned pregnancies, in giving advice to the students in the public schools in New York.

Background: Unplanned pregnancies and abortion are a major issue facing teenagers in the, especially those in public schools. This is especially due to the lack of sufficient education on how to avoid pregnancies that are unplanned. The act of terminating a pregnancy can have negative consequences both on the physical and psychological health of a person. It becomes especially risky to the life of a woman when she gets an unsafe abortion. Teenage pregnancies and financial problems are the leading cause of women engaging in abortions that are unsafe. Complications that may arise out of abortions that are unsafe can cause loss of life.

Reasons for my argument: My argument is that unplanned pregnancies should be avoided in every way possible so that they may not have to engage in abortions that are unsafe. My argument is against abortion for several reasons. The first reason is the risk it poses to a person's life, especially when risky measures get used in performing an abortion. Another reason is that I believe life begins at conception, and the right to life is more important than the freedom to make decisions about one’s body. From a religious perspective, I believe abortion is murder, and Christianity takes a murder to be a sin.

Evidence: The evidence that gets used in supporting my argument is from surveys conducted establishing the effect that abortion has on a woman’s life. Further evidence on this got acquired on the Global database of abortion policies, laws, guidelines, and standards of health that are meant to strengthen the national and global efforts in the elimination of abortion that is unsafe (Johnson et al., 2017). The reports on deaths caused by unsafe abortions on various news channels and social media present evidence on why abortion should be avoided.

Appeal: In the information I have acquired from my friends working in healthcare centers and from the news reports, I have understood the effects of abortion. My logical argument will be my explanation of why I think abortion is wrong based on the evidence showing the effects of abortion. This includes my personal experience where my 16-year-old cousin, because of fear of her parents’ reaction, had an unsafe abortion, which cost her life. For pathos, I will explain to the students how a person's mental health gets affected by knowing that through abortion, they murdered an unborn child. For ethos, I will explain to them the reasons why it is wrong to have an abortion as established by the bible in relation to morality.

Opposition: The opposition I get is from the women's rights arguments that provide that women have a right to make decisions about what to do with their bodies. They also argue that the only way equality can be achieved is when women get the right to decide what happens with their bodies. They also argue that advocating against abortion is what causes women to have unsafe abortions, and thus, abortion, according to them, is not bad as long as it gets done in the right way.

Rebuttal: Allowing abortion and acting like it’s not wrong does not liberate women. Neither does it save them from the emotional and physical trauma that they end up suffering after having the abortion. One could possibly have depression in trying to understand and cope with the outcome of an abortion. There is also the physical pain that one feels.

Reference

Johnson Jr, B. R., Mishra, V., Lavelanet, A. F., Khosla, R., & Ganatra, B. (2017). A global database of abortion laws, policies, health standards, and guidelines. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 95(7), 542.