Abortion

Abortion has always been a complicated issue, one that people have struggled with in one form or another for as long as there have been people. But I predict that science will put an entirely different spin on the debate in the next twenty to thirty years. As viability approaches zero weeks, the idea of a fetus as something other than a living organism will gradually lose traction. Many supporters of abortion rights argue that freedom is the central issue when it comes to terminating a pregnancy. An important term for the abortion rights supporters is “choice,” a word that by its very nature implies freedom. The woman’s right to choose has to do with whether or not she allows a baby to develop within her own body, not whether or not she has any direct control over the fetus’s body. If destroying the baby is not essential to carrying out her wishes, the abortion debate will be completely changed. While it has been relatively effective to argue for freedom, it will be hard to convince anyone of the right to kill a fetus that could possibly continue to live even after the woman is free of the responsibility of incubating it.

For all of human history up continuing to the present day, choosing to terminate a pregnancy and killing the fetus have been inextricably connected. There will be a day not far in the future when this will cease to be true. When this day comes, I believe four things will happen. First, a woman’s right to choose to end a pregnancy in the second or third trimester will be strengthened because no one will be able to say that she is killing a fetus. Second, public support for first trimester abortions will plummet because of pressure to wait for the current “viability date” so that the baby will be saved (especially as viability approaches 8-10 weeks). Third, it will be considered a crime to destroy a viable fetus if the technology exists to support the child out of the womb. Fourth, there will be huge “orphanages” where fetuses are allowed to develop in artificial, womb-like environments.