Dear Madame/Mr. President,

The issue I would like to address in this letter is the issue of whether or not abortion should remain legal, and my point of view on the subject. Although it is a sensitive topic, it is one that requires discussion. Personally, I think that abortion should definitely remain legal . Life is full of choices, and we live in a country where we have the freedom to make our own choices.The choice of having or not having an abortion shouldn’t be any different.

Continuing on the subject of choices, I think that one should have the choice to abort a pregnancy. A women should have the right to decide whether or not they want a child in their life based on their age, responsibility, circumstances causing pregnancy, financial situation, or their relationship stability. If a women is not able to support and care for a child, she should be able to decide to have an abortion. This should be the choice of the mother, the choice to have an abortion based on the mother herself, and her life. Furthermore, It should be a woman’s choice to decide what she wants to do with her body. No one else should have control over someone’s body, especially concerning something as serious as a pregnancy. My opinions on the right of abortion are supported in the 1973 Supreme Court case of Roe v. Wade. Roe v. Wade was a case debating whether or not abortion should be legal, which ended in favor of abortion rights. “ The 7-2 stated that the Constitution gives ‘a guarantee of certain areas or zones of privacy," and that "This right of privacy... is broad enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.’” The outcome of the Roe v. Wade case supports my argument because it proves that women have to right to privacy, and with that right the ability to make their own decisions.

Next, I would like to touch on a particular situation in which abortion should especially remain legal. This would be the circumstances that caused a woman to become pregnant. Sure this includes unplanned pregnancy from unprotected sex, but it also involves something bigger. Rape and incest. In these situations, the woman did not consensually take part in actions that could result in a pregnancy. It wouldn’t be right to deny an abortion to a young girl who was a victim of incest, or a woman who was violently raped. It was not her choice to be raped, but it can be her choice to have an abortion.

Next I would like to recognize and discuss the negative side of abortion. Particular religious groups and various pro-life groups that believe abortion is immoral, claim they are

“pro-life”, and would even go as far as to call abortion murder. Yes, having an abortion does prevent a life. With this knowledge, I do have to ask myself whether or not a child should have to pay for the actions of their parents. With this questions brings the feeling that abortion doesn't seem right. “Physicians, biologists, and other scientists agree that conception marks the beginning of the life of a human being—a being that is alive and is a member of the human species.” After reading this quote, I do understand why pro-life groups would want abortion to be illegal. As human beings we are made to be compassionate, and the thought of preventing a life naturally does not seem moral to us. However, even though I myself have perplexed feelings of the subject after hearing what pro-lifers have to say, I still believe that abortion should remain legal.

Returning to my argument, I would like to shift the attention to the fallacies in making abortion illegal. When a law is broken, there is a penalty. However, if abortion was illegal, the question of who would be penalized would have to be brought to attention. Would it be the man, the woman, or even the doctor who did the abortion procedure? There doesn't seem to be a clear way to determine who the fault of the abortion would belong to. Technically, they would all be equally “guilty”. It seems illogical for everyone involved to be penalized, but it also seems illogical for one person to be penalized. The issue is that the answers to these questions wouldn’t be black and white. Enforcing this law would be difficult.

To conclude my argument, abortion should continue to be legal because of the mother’s personal situation, freedom to make choices, circumstances causing pregnancy, and the problems with enforcement and punishment if abortion were to be made illegal. Women today have the right to abortion, and it shouldn’t be stolen from them. I would like to thank you for taking the time to hear my point of view.

Sincerely,

Student Samantha Kilbourne