Caroline Oring
Many of us today cannot remember the times when abortion was illegal, and the meaning of ‘choice’ for pregnant woman who didn’t want to have a child meant choosing between a back alley butcher who would illegally and dangerously abort the unborn fetus, or engaging on a hellishly long trip to one of the few more compassionate physicians, who would illegally perform a safe abortion, for an insane amount of compensation. Some believe that the United States should return to the principles of this time and make abortion illegal. However, many others believe that the United States should maintain that woman have the right to choose. As the host who has take care of that unborn child for nine months and be responsible for it’s well being for the rest of it’s life after birth, many woman believe that they reserve the right to make this choice. In other cases woman choose not to have a child for the mere well being of that child. If someone is financially, or physically unable to care for a child, they might choose to not have that child. Another unfortunate reason for abortion to be legal is in the case of a rape victim. There have been many cases where a rape victim has been impregnated, in which case it wasn’t their choice to engage in sex, or get pregnant, but it should be their choice to give birth to that child or not. Abortion should be legal because woman should be able to have the right to choose whether or not they want to bear children.
The main reason why abortion should remain legal is because woman should continue to be able to control their bodies. Woman should be able to have the right to decide whether they want to bear children or not. If a particular woman doesn’t want to have children she should not be forced to have one. Or if a woman becomes pregnant at a time in her life when she is not ready to have children she should not be forced to. Also, in the case of teen pregnancies, it is not fair to the child being born or the child that is pregnant. If a teenager was irresponsible enough to become pregnant at such a young age, when they can’t even take care of themselves, they should not be given the opportunity to be fully responsible for a whole other life. Regardless of the reason, woman should be able to make the choice whether to bear children or not.
Another reason why some have abortions is because of extenuating circumstances which may cause a person to be unable to care for a child. If a person is sick, mentally or physically and are not stable enough to care for another person, they should be able to not have their child. Also, if someone is unfit to care for a child that might be born with illness, and are unable to dedicate all of their time to this child, it is unfair to force them to make such changes to their lives in order to do so. People who may not be able to afford a child should also not be forced to have one. For one thing it is unfair to that family, but also to the child who might not be getting the right nutrition or health care. In the case of an unfit parent, they should not be able to have children. By making abortion illegal you would be allowing people who might have gotten rid of their child because they couldn’t have taken care of, to have a child that they will not be giving the best of care to. In certain circumstances that would be harmful towards the child, parents should be allowed to obtain an abortion.
In some cases, the pregnancy could not have been controlled, under these circumstances the parents should not be forced to have the child. For example in the case of a rape. Although, rape victims are rarely impregnated, it has happened. Woman that are impregnated through rape should not be forced to have a child that will remind them everyday of something so terrible that has happened to them. Not only is it not fair to the parent because they might not have wanted to have a child and it wasn’t their choice to be raped, it is unfair to the child who will have to live with knowing they were brought into the world because of a terrible crime. Although, the only 100% guarantee to prevent pregnancy is to not have sex, some people who use contraception to protect themselves from becoming pregnant, still might be part of a small statistic that still get pregnant. Ineffective contraception is also a cause to some unwanted pregnancies. If someone was responsible enough to use contraception but still became pregnant, they should be able to still decide whether or not they want a child. Because if they had wanted to have a child they wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of using contraception in the first place. Because of mistakes, and accidents abortion should remain legal to fix these mistakes.
The legality of rape is one of the more controversial topics of today. Although some believe that abortion is murder, religiously wrong, or an easy way for an irresponsible person to avoid taking responsibility for their actions, it should remain legal because woman should be able to make decisions affecting their bodies. As the host who has take care of that unborn child for nine months and be responsible for it’s well being for the rest of it’s life after birth, many woman believe that they reserve the right to make this choice. In other cases woman choose not to have a child for the mere well being of that child. If someone is financially, or physically unable to care for a child, they might choose to not have that child. Another unfortunate reason for abortion to be legal is in the case of a rape victim. There have been many cases where a rape victim has been impregnated, in which case it wasn’t their choice to engage in sex, or get pregnant, but it should be their choice to give birth to that child or not. Abortion should be legal because woman should be able to have the right to choose whether or not they want to bear children.