Dear future President,

The process of abortion has been practiced since ancient times. As society changes, so do the views of whether it is right or wrong to terminate a pregnancy before birth. The idea of legalizing abortions in the United States has been an unbelievably controversial topic for decades now. Many that are pro life believe it should be considered murder, and it is inhumane. While those who are pro choice, believe a women should have the right to do as she wants with her body. So the question that should be answered is, “When should we consider a fetus as its own human being?”

Some say the fetus is considered a living child the moment of conception, but if the fetus cannot survive outside of the mother's body, should it really be considered its own human? Each year about 1.2 million American women have an abortion. ¾ of women who have abortions say their reasoning is because of money issues, or they feel like they have too many responsibilities to take care of already. Naturally, a family not intending to have an addition to the family, may not be able to afford such a change in their life at the time. Most reasons behind women having an abortion are very understandable. Having a child is a very important decision that needs a lot of consideration and devotion. If two parents are not ready to give their child the love, care, and attention they need, then why should they go through with the pregnancy? No child should ever grow up in a household where they are unloved or unwanted. 9 out of 10 abortions happen during the first 12 weeks of a pregnancy.

As doctor’s technology advances, we begin to know more about the pregnancies earlier than ever before. Birth defects are normally found around the second trimester by doctors. Abortions due to birth defects make up about 6% of all abortions. Many religions such as Islam, Judaism, and Hinduism actually believe abortion should be legalized, and do not look at unborn babies as living human beings. They agree that every woman should have the right to their own bodies, and make their own decisions as to when and how they'd like to start their family. Statistics say about 50% of pregnancies in the United States are unintended, which shows that many of the pregnancy situations are not all surrounded by open arms. Families that do not have open arms for a child, could take anger our regret out on the child. If abortion was not kept legal, it could risk families in need to have illegal and unsafe abortions. If a women is in desperate need of an abortion, she will find a way to abort the fetus, legal or illegal. We should have a safe procedure for women who feel like they have no other way out, so they do not endanger themselves. Every family should have the decision of abortion, if needed. Abortion should be legal because adding an addition to your family should not be the government's decision. Our country needs to keep abortion legal because in the land of the free, mothers and fathers should be allowed to say when their family is ready to grow.

Thank you,

Layla

Works Cited

Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations. "Right to Choose," uua.org, June 3, 2010

Dave Anderson. “Top Ten Reasons Abortion Should Be Legal”

Listland. http://www.listland.com/top-10-arguments-in-support-of-abortion/