Transcription (2)

R: Hello everyone, I am Ruby.

E: I am Emma.

R&E: And we are going to talk about should university students take abortion.

E: And my side is to take abortion.

R: And my side is don’t take abortion

E: Hey Ruby, what are you reading?

R: I am reading Life’s Dominion.

E: Oh! But I remember this book talks about take abortion.

R: Yeah, but I just read it.

E: No, no way. Last time I told you to take abortion, haven’t you do that?

R: Of course not.

E: Why not? This book talks a lot of reason for you to take abortion.

R: Oh, maybe you can show me what you read from this book.

E: Okay, let me introduce the author to you first.

This book’s author is Ronald Drworkin. He is an American law scholar and also a philosopher.

So why do you object to abortion? Do you think taking abortion is immoral? Or very cruel? If you do, I will make you think twice. This author divided those who are opposed to abortion into two parts. The first part is derivative objection. They think, care babies’ rights. But actually is meaningless to suppose something has rights when it hasn’t had. Just take Dr. Frankenstein for example. If the doctor could make the dead body come alive, then could the stop of the experiment also be a way to take away the body’s right?

And the second part is the detached objection. They regard taking abortion as a murder and think life is so precious and sacred. But do you think it is acceptable when the pregnancy is resulted from a rape or incest? Incest means 亂倫. But most of people think it is acceptable, and they even can agree women to take abortion when the pregnancy is life-threating. However, those young girls also don’t want the children, and they also will have life difficulty. Now that life is so precious, why the former is acceptable, and the latter is guilty?

So the first thing we have to define is, is an embryo a person? Embryo means 授精卵, do you think an embryo is a person? Just think about it, and we will talk it later.

R:But on page 40, I also found the ideas of typical liberals who are against abortion. They insist that abortion is always the serious moral decision which made at least after embryos' genetic qualities established and successful embryo implantation. From that time on, abortion means eliminating a human life that has already begun.

It is not allowable to take abortion because of tedious and trivial reasons. For example, a mother takes abortion because of a long-expecting journey to Europe. Or because she wants to feel more comfortable when getting pregnant in other seasons such as fall or spring. Or she wants to have a boy, but the embryo is a girl and so on. They are all trivial and tedious excuses.

 Decision of abortion involves moral aspects. When college students contemplate on whether taking abortion or not, they should take embryos’ benefits of living and the holiness of human lives into account. Even though somebody may think an embryo is not a complete life therefore does not equip with human rights, but it is out there, just inside mother’s uterus. Therefore, it is certainly being. It deserves the basic rights to continue living which nobody can deprive of.

   As a result, I think if college students can find ways to balance the economical burdens and mental pressure just like me, I think we should not give up our babies easily since abortion also makes mothers shoulder ethical burdens and social judgments. Abortion is not always the best refugee from the upcoming responsibilities.

E: okay, but in my annotation 4, it talks about taking abortion in the United States. Roe was a poor girl and she wanted to take abortion, but the laws in Texas forbade it. So, she brought the suit to the Court, and finally she won. Because of the fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution said that the local government cannot deprive persons of life, liberty, or property legislative authorization. But the word “persons” does not include the unborn baby.

So my conclusion is that I think it is not proper for a young girl to have a child. Not only they will have to face the financial problem, they will also have mental stress during the pregnancy. And I think it is not fair that the stigma which those girls have to bear when they want to take abortion. If they want, we should stand their side and respect their decision. Putting the overwhelming stress on them with those unclear reasons is too cruel. Just like the Roe’s case, in the end, she still had to deliver it, she couldn’t support the child, so she still had to give it up for adoption.

So, Ruby, I think you should be positive to abortion. If the abortion can make you take having sex more seriously next time, and it could also relieve your financial problem, why don’t you just take it?

R:Ok, but you talked about an example in America. I also got an example from Malaysia. In 2010, the chief minister of Malacca, Mohammed Ali Rustam, set up the first school for pregnant girls in Malaysia. The school not only provides normal courses, it also gives students a dormitory to live in which is translated into Home of Hope. In School of Hope and Home of Hope, students can receive religious, maternity healthcare counseling, medical check-ups and skill training such as cooking and baby-caring for the preparation of being a mother and a wife in the near future. The school of hope is a great support for pregnant girls. If those girls can receive thoughtful care, nonstop education and most important of all, a shield from the outside gossip, they will have greater willingness and courage to deliver their child and to take care of them.

And Emma, remember that I told you some information few weeks ago? Article 26 of University Act was amended. And according to the rule, students can apply for temporary suspension of study. Then they have more time to earn money for their child and have more time to stay with their child. Moreover, abortion harms women’s body. If the baby in the uterus is not moved out completely or during the process of abortion, the doctor hurts the endometrium, it will lead to infertility forever. All in all, I think I won’t take your advice to take abortion.

E: Why not?

R: I still want to deliver my child.

E: Okay.

R&E: And thank for your listening!