Dear Future President,

When discussing abortion, people often claim that it is "murder" and that we should consider the life of the baby first. What they fail to realize is that they are neglecting the life of the mother. I often hear people say, "what if the baby that was killed was going to be the next Bill Gates?" or "what if the cure for cancer was in the mind of a baby that got aborted?" But what if the cure for cancer was in the mind of a woman who had to drop out of school early because there was no one else to care for her child? Abortion isn't murder! It's illegal to get an abortion after 24 weeks, and late-term abortions are only legal if the child will not have a chance of survival. 

The only person who should have control of a woman’s body is herself. No uterus, no opinion! Frankly, I am tired of hearing about men constantly having the right of deciding what a woman can and cannot do with her body.Women should not feel forced to bare a child when they feel like they are unfit to provide for their child. 

In a perfect world, abortion wouldn’t be necessary because we wouldn’t need abortion. But, clearly we don’t live in a perfect world. Condoms break, women are raped, and some women are just unfit to raise a child. Would you force a rape victim to keep her child? Even if the child is a constant reminder of her traumatic experience? That is unfair to the rape survivor and the child. Many pro-lifers believe that a better alternative to abortion is adoption/foster care. Although that may be a good option for some, there are currently 400,000 children in foster care without a family. If a woman decides that the best option for her and her unborn child is to have an abortion, than it is her choice and it should be respected. 

Some people just do not want to have a child and some are simply not ready. There are women that cannot handle pregnancy, whether it be physically, emotionally, mentally, or financially. Everyone should be able to decide for themselves if they are willing to handle pregnancy. At the end of the day, abortion is a responsible choice. Recognizing that you're not prepared to carry a child is a difficult thing to do. So, if a woman believes that the best decision for herself is to have an abortion, than they should have the right to have access to a safe AND legal abortion.

Sincerely,

Kendra