Dear future President,

There are two sides to the debate over the legalization of abortion. I would like you to consider making abortion legal for all women to have.

Up until the third trimester, the fetus isn’t conscious or aware. It might react similar to a sentient being, but a reaction isn’t a sign of life. The fetus at that point is solely dependent on the mother for its essential functions and cannot exist outside her womb. Therefore the fetus is theoretically a part of the mother rather than its own separate being. “...the fetus experiences nothing in utero; that it feels the way we do when we are in a deep, dreamless sleep.” says Christof Kosh, a renowned neuroscientist. I’d like to propose that we look at this situation not from the point of view of the fetus, but rather from the point of view of the woman in the US considering an abortion.

One topic brought up often is the mental health problems that abortion causes, that having an abortion causes PASS or Post Abortion Stress Syndrome. Though a common argument, it isn’t actually recognized as a mental disorder by the American Psychological Association. “Yet the American Psychological Association found that stress was greatest prior to an abortion, and that there was no evidence of post-abortion syndrome.” says Linda Lowen a Women's Issues Expert. The mental repercussions of abortion are similar to normal stress but worse. “Women who receive abortions are less likely to suffer mental health problems than women denied abortions.” says Corinne H. Rocca and more, who show that the idea of PASS is even less of a constant. Even if this argument was true, women still have the right to choose. In an anonymous letter sent to The Atlantic Magazine, a woman who aborted a pregnancy says the following about her decision, “I don’t think anyone who considers an abortion comes to an easy decision. It may be a clear, rational decision that she is sure of, but that does not make it easy.” It’s not easy, and people don’t make it easy, but it should be clear to all that it is most abundantly, and solely the choice of the individual looking to abort.

As to the women looking to abort their pregnancy, she should be allowed to be any woman. Not just a woman who has been raped, involved in incest, or the birth would be fatal, but also those who made a mistake, or simply had a faulty pill. It should be her right to abort, and no one should blame a woman for ending a pregnancy that she has no attachment to. “On average, women give at least 3 reasons for choosing abortion: 3/4 say that having a baby would interfere with work, school or other responsibilities; about 3/4 say they cannot afford a child, and 1/2 say they do not want to be a single parent or are having problems with their husband or partner.” Additionally, “only 12% of women included a physical problem with their health among reasons for having an abortion.” I bring this up because of the Hyde Amendment. This Amendment is a legislative provision that barrs funding to go to abortions unless they involve incest, rape, or death. It shouldn’t be set up so that the women who aren’t able to afford to get an abortion have to have their first child born into poverty or with deformities because a stranger said so. “Some people I knew and loved seemed to feel more strongly about my unborn dying child’s life than what it was doing to mine—physically, emotionally, mentally. The ‘pro-life’ people reduced me from a person with my own established life to merely an incubator for a life that never would be. The term ‘pro-life’ really bothered me,” says a woman anonymously on the Atlantic Magazine Letter. One thing that is voiced throughout the discussion of abortion, is that people value the non-living fetus over the life that is calling out for help. Many don’t trust women to make their own decisions, whether they are based on religious or moral beliefs, and choose the fetus over the person. Women should make this decision as it is their life, and not anyone else’s.

Sincerely,

Aedean



Extra Information:

• The Hyde Amendment:
  

“In U.S. politics, the Hyde Amendment is a legislative provision barring the use of certain federal funds to pay for abortion except to save the life of the mother, or if the pregnancy arises from incest or rape.”