Dear Next President,

As we all know abortion is a very sensitive and controversial topic, one that needs to be discussed and I am going to do just that. I believe that abortions should stay legal because there are a variety of uncontrollable and uncomfortable situations that call for it. In this letter I would like to address some of those reasons and situations.

I believe the right to choose your future is something that all children above the age of one should be able to do. You should be able when you decide to have children and if you’re ready. I think that it is great that we as a people are able to choose whether or not to have a child, which, would impact the rest of our lives. I believe that having a child that you don’t want to have effects both child and mother. I have an aunt who was told that she could never have children. Then she became pregnant and her spouse left her, while she didn’t get an abortion, what would have happened if she decided she wasn’t ready and abortion was illegal? Mistakes happen and like all humans we should be able to chose to fix them. Here is an excerpt from Fund Abortion Now, “We love kids and we love having a big family. But when my husband got laid off from his contractor job, having a big family got really hard. When I found out I was pregnant again, it was terrifying.”

Sometimes you cannot help it when you get pregnant because of a faulty condom or some other factor. There are a wide variety of reasons for abortion, though the most common theme is because they cannot afford the child. Let us look at another quote from Fund Abortion Now, “We had to cancel our health insurance because it was $600 a month and we needed that money… I realized I was pregnant two months ago and… needed to pay to terminate the pregnancy. I couldn't even sleep anymore, fearing that it may be too late at that point and feeling "forced" to have a child I didn't feel equipped emotionally or financially to care for.” The leading cause for abortion is not being able to financially support the child which takes 30% of abortions according to Reasons given for Having Abortions in the United States. There is also the factor that a women carries the child for nine month which can affect the woman’s health. There are a lot of things that can happen in nine months as well, and all of which can change your life forever; which can change your decision to have a child. Children who are not wanted tend to do worse things like commit crimes. In fact crime rate has gone down since 1970s when abortion was legalized. There was a 30% drop on committed crimes in the states that had high abortion rates according to Abortion and Crime: Who Should You Believe? - Freakonomics. When abortion was not legal women still had abortions and much more dangerous ones at that. In other countries they still do not have access to abortions and close to 70,000 women die a year because of it according to "The Right Way to Reduce Abortion." . Whether it’s legal or not there will always be people who will try to get abortions and risk themselves in the process.

Lastly I would like to address some main concerns of those who are against abortion. One main concern is the fact debt is being created by abortion. Let us take a look at some evidence from Responding to Economic Arguments for Abortion, “In 1998 alone, the victims of Roe v. Wade would have contributed approximately $1.7 billion to Medicare and $7.4 billion to Social Security. These contributions could provide the average monthly benefit to over 785,000 retired workers for the entire year.” That is a lot of money that is gone, though I believe they didn’t really exist to begin with. Another common thought I’ve seen from ‘pro-lifers’ is their concern of the life taken. Commonly they say it’s someone’s future and that the fetus is a living being. While they are right about the fetus being alive and the loss of around 40 million lives. Let us take a look at another excerpt from Responding to Economic Arguments for Abortion. “Abortion undermines technological innovation. Most significantly, abortion denies us the talents and the creativity of 40 million and counting unique human beings. Simon states that "in the long run, the most important economic effect of population size and growth is the contribution of additional people to our stock of useful knowledge."” While this is all true, none of them were born and none of them really knew anything therefore they did not have opinions or ideas yet. It is like a miscarriage only it’s your choice. As far as the states are concerned you’re alive if you have a birth certificate, without it you don’t exist. We aren’t losing a life only a potential one that we shouldn’t dwell on. The last common argument is that there are orphanages and there is no need for aborting. Yes there are orphanages but child birth is one of the most painful things that can happen to a woman. Carrying the child is also a hassle that takes away from the woman’s life, especially if she doesn’t want the child. Being forced to have a child would be worse than most things out there. Plus the emotional toll of losing or giving your child up is a great one.

Based on the evidence above I firmly believe that abortion should continue to be legal. Here I have discussed why I believe in what I do, gave evidence, and addressed some concerns about abortion. It is important that woman have a say in what happens in their life and to their bodies. If a man can walk out then a women should be able to as well. I would like to suggest that you put more people who are ‘pro-choice’ in the seats of the supreme court than ‘pro-life’ in order to keep abortion legal. Another suggestion is that you allow Planned Parenthood to continue to be funded as it supports more than just abortion, but ways to prevent pregnancy as well. Not only that but make it possible to make small payments at time after abortions so that females who really need it can access it. I do urge you to follow the first suggestion though, and thank you for reading and considering my letter.

Sincerely,

Lindsey Lindenau

"Responding to Economic Arguments for Abortion." Abortion. Priests For Life, n.d. Web. 30 Aug. 2016.

"Fund Abortion Now." How Are Women's Lives Affected? N.p., 2014. Web. 29 Aug. 2016.

"Abortion and Crime: Who Should You Believe? - Freakonomics." Freakonomics. Freakonomics, 2005. Web. 30 Aug. 2016.

"Reasons given for Having Abortions in the United States." Reasons given for Having Abortions in the United States. Robert Johnston, 18 Jan. 2016. Web. 30 Aug. 2016.

"The Right Way to Reduce Abortion." Center of American Progress. N.p., 2016. Web. 30 Aug. 2016.