Letter to the Next President

By: Alyssa S

To whom it may concern,

The word abortion by definition means the induced expulsion of a fetus from the womb before it is able to survive independently. Abortion is an extremely controversial issue in America and all over the world because while some people are completely against it, others believe that a women should have the right to choose. I believe that abortion is morally and ethically wrong because every human being should have the right to live. Although abortion may seem like the “easier alternative” for a mother to live as she pleases, abortion should be banned in the United States. Abortion should be banned because it is a form of murder, it is harmful to the mother, and it compounds tragedy. Mr./Mrs. President I have aspirations that you can make abortion illegal in the US and give every American the chance to live.

In my opinion, when a woman chooses to engage in sexual intercourse, she is taking a chance. She is in control over what she is doing and is aware of the consequences it may bring. Protection or not, the result is her responsibility and she should have to deal with the consequences. One obvious consequence is getting pregnant, and if a woman becomes pregnant it is the result of her choices, whether the pregnancy was unwanted or unplanned.

To begin, the most obvious reason I believe that abortion is immoral is because it is the intentional killing of another human being. When an abortion is performed, the life of an innocent child is taken away. In an informational text titled, “Hopes Abound at 2016 National Right to Life Convention” author Maria Gallagher informs her readers that. “We haven't seen 1.6 million abortions in a given year since 1990, when abortion totals were at their highest. Today, while still tragically high, the number is down to just over 1 million.” Fortunately, groups such as, The National Right to Life were successful in obtaining a twenty week ban on abortion, which was adopted by fifteen states. Luckily, the number of abortions has gone down by 600,000 since but 1 million abortions a year is still a sickening number. Since the legalization of abortion of 1973, this form of murder has not been punished by imprisonment, like every other form of murder. Mr./Mrs. President I am aware that you do not have the ability to persuade the minds of every American, however you do have the authority to ensure that this murderous act is banned in the US.

Furthermore, I do not support abortion because of the many health risks involved for women who undergo an abortion. When you get an abortion you are basically murdering a human, which can turn out to be a lifetime worth of buren. Murder can take significant mental toll on a person and in the case of abortion, leave pregnant mothers mentally unstable. The thought of killing someone who could have lived a long, joyus life could haunt you for a long time. Not only are there mental risks but there are physical risks involved as well. The medical risks while undergoing an abortion can be very serious and even deadly. In an article I read they stated that, “The undisputed risks of immediate medical complications from abortion include blood clots, hemorrhage, incomplete abortions, infection, and injury to the cervix and other organs.” With all these medical risks. With the risk of death, is an abortion really necessary if the mother's body is only dedicated to the child for nine months? Abortion can also cause relationship issues within your family. Therefore, when you have an abortion your life can be extensively altered, mentally, physically, and emotionally. Mr./Mrs. President, in order to protect mothers from these health risks, abortion must be banned in the US.

Finally, not every unwanted pregnancy is the result of an irresponsible, hasty decision, in many circumstances pregnancies can be the result of tragic events, or going through with the pregnancy can result in calamitous consequences. A mother's fetus could have been diagnosed with a life threatening disease, the mother's life could be at risk if she goes through with the pregnancy, and the pregnancy could have been the result of a sexual assault. Although these are all tragic, abortion is too. By getting an abortion you are undoing one tragedy by committing another. If a woman is raped and has an abortion, she is taking away the life of a child who could have been happily adopted by loving parents who may not have been fortunate enough to have a child. Also, if a child has a birth defect, you can not cure the defect by murdering the child. Furthermore, the life of a child should not be disregarded for the health risks of the mother. Studies prove that 48% of unintended pregnancies ended in abortion, which is nearly 5 out of every 10 babies being aborted. This number is absolutely horrifying. Nearly half of the babies resulted from an unintended pregnancy were killed. Mr./Mrs. President, in order for our nation to grow and prosper abortion needs to be banned to protect the lives of millions of future American citizens.

To conclude, it's simply not civil to allow the lives of millions of babies be taken each year for the mother's convenience. There are other options out there such as adoption, to ensure the baby is not your responsibility. There is simply no loophole around the fact that abortion is the intended murdering of another human, because individual human life begins when the egg cell and sperm cell fuse to create a new cell. Therefore, to the future president of the United States of America, using the authority you have as the leader of the US it is your duty to make the issues apparent to the American public. Hopefully Mr./Mrs. President, one day we can live in a world that is abortion free because of the incredibly high number of babies killed, the health risks the mother will endure, and the fact that there are other options rather than compounding tragedies.

Sincerely,

Alyssa S

Citations:

Gallagher, Maria. "Hope abounds at 2016 National Right to Life Convention." National Right to Life News, July 2016, p. 18. Academic OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&u=lom_accessmich&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA461444645&it=r&asid=3f8ef9e80686b68a85cf9e2279cc8c22. Accessed 30 Oct. 2016.

Steinfels, Margaret O'Brien. "What women have lost." Commonweal, vol. 121, no. 18, 1994, p. 20+. Academic OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&u=lom_accessmich&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA15863070&it=r&asid=c49a64c0e0f0176f8e685c3eeb27f06e. Accessed 30 Oct. 2016.

McGuire, Peggy Proudfoot. "Johanna Schoen, Choice & Coercion, Birth Control, Sterilization, and Abortion in Public Health and Welfare." Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, vol. 33, no. 1, 2006, p. 274+. Academic OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&u=lom_accessmich&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA144292331&it=r&asid=07ea0695e146703acaba826b37d73463. Accessed 30 Oct. 2016.