Dear Madam or Mr. President,

Ever since I began learning about the U.S. government, it’s always been a given that each and every citizen of this country has a certain set of unalienable rights. The right to privacy, property, trial by jury, freedom of speech and religion, the right to bear arms, the list goes on and on. This list includes the right to an abortion. Making abortions illegal in the United States violates a pregnant mother’s right to control her body, and has numerous negative effects on both the mother and unwanted child. As a young woman, I want to have children and know many other people who want or could have children, so ensuring that I and so many others have control over their body is immensely important to me for many reasons.

For instance, banning abortions and birth control causes many health, social and economic issues. Serious health problems like heart failure, infections, and severe preeclampsia can endanger the life of the mother, and require an abortion to save the person’s life. In addition, pregnancy causes a myriad of major changes within an expecting mother’s body, like weight gain, back and neck pain, abnormal eating patterns, nausea, fatigue, and vomiting. Forcing a person to carry out their pregnancy also violates their right to bodily autonomy, or complete control over their body, including what happens to it even after death. You couldn’t take a dead person’s organs or tissues even if it could save a life if the person didn’t consent to it while they were alive. By banning abortions, you force a woman to carry the baby, and violate her right to complete control over her being. To give a dead body more protection of their rights than a living, breathing person is a ridiculous point to argue.

Teenage pregnancies also have an effect on education that is too large to ignore. According to the Progressive Policy Institute, only 51% of teen mothers earn their GDP, and about 30% of high school girl dropouts cite pregnancy as their reason. Many teenage moms also can’t financially support themselves through high school and college if they choose to continue their education, and aren’t able to find someone to take care of their baby while in school. In a world where every single person is needed to help solve issues our society presents, we can’t afford to increase or contribute the amount of high school dropouts. Being a teen mom can also result in social backlash at school, work, religious events and at home. Fathers of unwanted babies also are affected by the responsibility of raising a child and supporting a mother. It isn’t fair to deprive someone of their education by forcing them to carry or support a child that they had too early in life.

I believe that protecting the rights and improving the health and welfare of about half of the citizens of the United States is extremely important. Ensuring that important decisions like Roe vs. Wade of 1973, and nominating a Supreme Court Justice that supports abortion will help continue the mission to protect the rights of women and girls everywhere. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Alyssa

Eighth Grade

Massachusetts