Dear Future President,

Imagine a world where a struggling single mother was expecting, but she already has to provide for her other children. Her low paying job won’t be enough for the doctor appointments and an extra mouth to feed. Her only option is abortion, but that’s illegal. As the new President you will have to face the issue about abortion, which the country is still divided about. Abortion should continue to be legal for the safety of women, the future of girls, and for rape victims with unwanted pregnancies.

Making abortion illegal won’t stop girls from terminating their pregnancies. However, it will make abortions unsafe and endanger thousands of girls. “Estimates​ ​of​ ​the​ ​number​ ​of​ ​illegal​ ​abortions​ ​in​ ​the​ ​United States​ ​during​ ​the​ ​1950s​ ​and​ ​1960s​ ​range​ ​from​ ​​200,000​ ​to​ ​1.2 million​​ ​per​ ​year.​ ​Prior​ ​to​ ​Roe​ ​v.​ ​Wade,​ ​​as​ ​many​ ​as 5,000​ American​ ​women​ ​died​ ​annually​ ​as​ ​a​ ​direct​ ​result​ ​of unsafe​ ​abortions.” (Obo Abortion) Now, women have professional doctors, and the death rate for abortions have extremely decreased to 0.6 deaths per 100,000 procedures. Think of all the lives that were saved thanks to the legalization of abortion!

Many women abort to insure the safekeeping of their future. The responsibility of a child when one isn’t ready is hard enough, but most girls can’t afford to have a kid. “Forty-nine percent of abortion patients in 2014 had incomes of less than 100% of the federal poverty level. ($11,670 for a single adult with no children)” (Induced Abortion) Not only that, “59% of women obtaining abortions are single mothers.” (Induced Abortion) Single mothers already have to work so hard to nurture and support their children alone, and and now another mouth to feed? Statistics show that only half of single mothers are employed all year long, and less than a quarter received unemployment benefits. Plus, caring for a newborn baby will be taxing, and with odds like that, she will likely lose her job.The only option is abortion for the well-being of the single mom and her kid’s future.

We need abortion for the victims of rape who never asked to be pregnant. “Among adult women an estimated 32,101 pregnancies result from rape each year.” (Rape-related pregnancy) Rape is a serious crime and a traumatic experience. It is very hard for victims to ever fully recover. For most abused women, the undesired fetus is a painful reminder of the incident. Not to mention, who would force a girl to carry their rapist’s child for nine long months? It is bad enough innocent girls were abused, and now they are burdened with a child! Women should have the option of abortion, instead of ruining their bodies with the baby from their perpetrator.

Now imagine a world where women have a choice about what to do with their bodies. Remember the girls who died before Roe v. Wade, the struggling single moms, and victims from rape. As the new president you have the responsibility of protecting these women’s rights. the American women and make abortion legal

Work Cited:

Obo Abortion Contributors. "The Impact of Illegal Abortion - Our Bodies Ourselves." Our Bodies Ourselves. N.p., 23 Mar. 2014. Web. 04 Nov. 2016

"Rape-related Pregnancy: Estimates and Descriptive Characteristics from a National Sample of Women." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1996. Web. 04 Nov. 2016

By Comparison, Only 9.6% of Married Parents Had No Insurance.25. "Single Mother Statistics - Single Mother Guide." Single Mother Guide. N.p., 17 Sept. 2016. Web. 04 Nov. 2016.

"Induced Abortion in the United States." Guttmacher Institute. Guttmacher Institute, Sept. 2016. Web. 04 Nov. 2016