Dear future president,

An abortion is killing the life of a baby who has a heartbeat, a baby who can do somersaults in the womb, and a baby who can suck its thumb. This baby is a human, and abortions murder these innocent children. I don’t know if everybody knows how abortions actually happens. There are three different kinds of abortions. In aspiration, a long plastic tube is inserted in the uterus, and the tube suctions the fetus and placenta up. In dilation and evacuation, a tube is inserted and begins to remove tissue from the lining. Then they take tools and remove any residue. Dilation and extraction, in my opinion, is the worst. In this process, doctors use tools to pull the baby’s limbs out of the birth canal, piece by piece. To get the skull out, they suck the material out until it collapses, then they pull it out in pieces. The worst part of that third method, is that it occurs after 21 weeks… at 20 weeks, a baby can feel pain. That child is capable of feeling its body parts being pulled apart.

According to the Center for Disease Control, 91.3% of abortions occur during the 1st trimester, which is the first 12 weeks. Between 3 and 4 weeks after conception, an unborn child’s heart begins to beat. Around week 9.5, the baby can respond to sound, yawn, and suck its thumb. At week 10, the major organs have formed in the baby’s body. By week 12, the blood begins to form in the bone marrow, the kidney can create urine, and the baby is able to wake up and fall asleep. During week 20 (in the 2nd trimester), the baby can feel and recoil from pain. If a baby can feel pain, the baby can obviously feel what is happening during an abortion.

At 23 weeks, 17% of babies have a chance to survive. At 24 weeks, 39% will survive. At 25 weeks, half of them will survive. 26 weeks is very premature, but 20% of babies born before 26 weeks end up with no problems. Yes there is a lot of room for problems, but 20% of them end up perfect. Then at 32 weeks on, most of the babies will survive with help from medical technology. Only 1 in 10 babies that are born premature end up with a permanent disease such as cerebral palsy, lung disease, blindness, or deafness. That means that if you have a preemie, your baby has a 90% of ending up healthy long term.

The Alan Guttmacher Institute conducted a study on abortions and asked the mothers why they decided to abort. 92% of the women gave social reasons that had nothing to do with her health, or the health of the baby. About half of these social reasons were that the mother was not ready for a child or she couldn’t afford a child. 19% said they had completed childbearing already and have people depending on them. 7% said they were not old or mature enough, and 4% said that a child would interfere with their education or career. Less than 1% said that either their parents or the child’s father wanted the mother to abort the child. And a few,  less than 0.5%, gave the reason that she didn’t want people to know that she had sex or got pregnant. Only 7% had to do with the health of the mother or the baby. Those reasons are the logical reasons. And only 0.5% had been a victim of rape.

I think it is absolutely silly that people choose to abort, when babies have survived at that certain age outside of the womb. James Elgin Gill was born at 21 weeks and 5 days, and weighed 1 lb. 6 oz. He survived and is healthy. James is the earliest premature baby to survive in the world.

Another example is the twin sisters that survived born at 25 weeks in September of 2004. Rumaisa weighed 8.6 oz. and was 8 in long. This twin stayed in the hospital until January when she weighed 2 lb. 10 oz. Her twin sister weighed 1 lb. 4 oz. at birth and got to leave in December. Their mom suffered from preeclampsia, which causes dangerously high blood pressure, and put the babies into distress. They both had laser eye surgery to correct vision problems.

Multiple famous people were born premature. Johannes Kepler was born premature. He created the three laws of planetary motion. Isaac Newton was born so premature that his mother said he could fit into a quart size mug. He came up with the theory of gravity, the laws of motion, a new mathematics called calculus, and the telescope. Now can you imagine what our world would be like now if his mother would have aborted him? Winston Churchill, the previous Prime Minister of Great Britain, was also born premature. Anna Pavlova, a famous Russian prima ballerina and choreographer, was born premature, as well.

Mothers should be more comfortable putting their child up for adoption. In that study that I mentioned earlier, mothers said that it went against their morals to put a baby up for adoption, yet they thought it was okay to abort. That is not right. If you deliver the baby, then put it up for adoption, the child still has a chance to have a good life.

My final statement is this: give a child a chance to have an amazing life. Kids have so much opportunity waiting for them. When you abort, all that opportunity is gone. Abortion is not okay, and it never will be. Give the baby a chance.

Thank you for considering,

Brooke

Waltman, Kyle. "Pro-Life: Abortion Controversy." University Wire. 04 Feb. 2016: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.

"The Real Reason Women Choose Abortion - Action Life (Ottawa)." 2013. 30 Oct. 2016 <http://www.actionlife.org/index.php/life-issues/abortion/item/124-the-real-reason-women-choose-abortion>

"Premature Birth Statistics - preemiesurvival.org." 2008. 31 Oct. 2016 <http://www.preemiesurvival.org/info/>

"Surgical Abortion Procedures - American Pregnancy Association." 2014. 31 Oct. 2016 <http://americanpregnancy.org/unplanned-pregnancy/surgical-abortions/>