Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton,

I am Nevin, a 15 year old girl from Westport, Connecticut. I attend Staples High School and am in the 10th grade. In my U.S. History Honors class, the students have been asked to write to you two presidential candidates in the current U.S. election about an issue we feel the most passion for.

I am writing to you, Donald and Hillary, about the issue of abortion. Abortion rights and laws have been a popular issue in the 2016 presidential election, and regardless of your current views, I would like to share my opinion on the topic. I feel that this topic has much importance because this topic affects all U.S. citizens and their personal lives and futures. Abortion should be a choice of the women bearing the potential child, and no one else's. I believe this because just like any other health issue, the American that has this issue should have the options of what to do in their own hands. It is a personal decision that affects their own bodies, so they should be able to make their own choices with regard to their own health. In my community, underage pregnancy is greatly looked down upon and extremely rare due to the mass expectation and standard that every child will excel in high school, graduate, and attend a good college to become financially successful in their adult life. I am not saying that a family is not impossible to raise at an academic level, but it has been proven difficult to succeed to begin one while trying to complete an academic career. Without the ability to terminate an unwanted pregnancy, a potentially successful life in the making could be shattered by having to drop everything and carry a pregnancy and raise a child.

The issue of abortion laws and rights are important to every U.S. citizen. When thinking about abortion, it is often related to women’s rights. I have a broader idea of abortion. Although it is, in the end, a woman's decision whether to abort a potential child, the father also has a say in the discussion. Have you ever thought that a man’s dreams may be crushed along with a woman’s when they learn they have to raise a child in their life, especially at a time they aren't prepared to raise one in? Every person who is partaking in activity that could lead to a pregnancy should be able to make a decision if the child is unwanted, instead of having to bear a fetus for 9 months to make a decision with it once born. Our country has invented ways to help women and men back track from an unwanted or health risking issue. By making this option illegal and unreachable, we as a country are back tracking from our advances in medicine.

As said earlier, another important reason why abortion availability is important is when a pregnancy is not right. Women that have been impregnated by rape, impregnated at a young age, or if a medical condition is affecting the mother or child in the pregnancy, there should have the option of abortion available. There have been countless cases where a mother has a condition that is life-threatening if the pregnancy isn’t aborted. There is also many occasions when it is shown that a child will carry a gene that will cause a condition that will leave the child in pain or in near death for their entire life, and a mother has had to make the decision to bring that sick child into a miserable life or if they should abort it. My mother had a woman in her pregnancy group who had a child who was discovered to have a neurological condition that was passed down through genetics. This caused this baby to be in immense pain for its entire yet short life that ended at the age of two due to this condition. The child never stopped crying and squirming in its life except when asleep. When she found to be pregnant again years later, she had the important and tough decision on her hands to abort this child if found to carry the gene. This woman had always been extremely pro-life no matter what, but knew how terrible her first child's short days had been. She did not want to bring another child into the world that would live its life in misery. This is a pure example of how abortion is sometimes the morally correct action to take.

Hillary, I know you have expressed your pro-choice thoughts and how it’s a woman’s right and they deserve the privacy to make the decision of abortion for themselves. I agree with this. Just like how deciding to see a doctor for any medical problem and which doctor to see, it is something that should be decided by you and you only because it is your body.

Donald, I know that you stay decided as pro-life, but can see the reasons why abortion is important as well. As you have stated, “I am opposed to abortion except for rape, incest and life of the mother. I oppose to the use of government funds to pay for abortion.” (Trump post on Google) It is good that you recognize how there a many occasions when a woman should not have to bare a child, and that their is a higher importance of the mother’s life than a potential child’s. I think that maybe cutting the amount towards abortions in the government funding will make a good compromise, but erasing the funds towards abortion and Planned Parenthood completely would lead to many problems. Not all women can afford an abortion right on the spot. Would you rather have the government pay a few hundred dollars for an abortion, or have a mother”struggle to support herself, the child, her other family...each case is individual and personal; it’s absurd to imagine that state or national laws could nor should make the decisions regarding individual families. for the each case isthat cannot even afford that try and raise a successful child?

These are many different reasons why keeping abortion legal is so important to American citizens and it should not be de-funded or become illegal. Under-age pregnancy,, unwanted pregnancy, rape pregnancy, incest pregnancy, and mother-child medical problems could all be avoided if this option stays available and affordable to all the people in the United States. Future president, take action! Keep this life changing option working well and increase its legality nationwide.

Best of Luck in the Election,

Nevin