With the chance of Roe V Wade being overturned by the Supreme Court, many people have started protesting and have taken to social media to express their disdain for this decision; but abortion is murder, and life should be valued from conception. 

According to The American College of Pediatricians, “The predominance of human biological research confirms that human life begins at conception… At fertilization, the human being emerges as a whole, genetically distinct, individuated zygote living human organism…”

When the sperm and egg join at conception, a unique combination of chromosomes is formed. It is completely genetically separated from the mother, the decision to abort is not backed up by the right to bodily autonomy. 

The CDC states that 92% of abortions are done within the first 13 weeks of development, but the developing embryo may be able to feel pain as early as 12 weeks. 

According to the article “Reconsidering fetal pain” by Stuart Derbyshire and John Bockman, “At 12 weeks’ gestation there are the first projections from the thalamus to the cortical subplate…Recent work with ferrets has demonstrated that auditory stimuli trigger neural activity in the subplate that is topographically highly similar to the activity observed in the more mature auditory cortex.” 

Even though a fetus doesn’t develop a cortex until 22 weeks, the cortical subplate may provide the same pain responses that the cortex does. The implications of a fetus as young as 12 weeks experiencing pain during abortion should be a considering factor when discussing the morality of abortions.

A study done by Guttmacher Institute showed that 74% of the women were seeking abortions because “having a child would interfere with [the] woman’s education, work or ability to care for dependents.”

While these reasons are understandable and valid, a woman should not be able to decide whether or not a human life has value based off of her current circumstances. Each person, born or unborn, should get an equal opportunity to experience life. 

Even if abortion becomes criminalized, many will still resort to back-alley or self induced abortions, which can lead to serious health consequences. The only long-term solutions are better sex education in schools, increased access to contraceptives, and reforming the foster care system.