I will keep this brief. First and foremost, supporting a woman’s right to choose does not mean one encourages abortion. Pro-choice advocates do not find joy in the idea of aborting a child; the pro-choice stance exists to protect the basic rights of women in the United States. A woman’s right to choose outlines freedom at its most basic: the freedom to make decisions about one’s body. Yet, despite being legalized for 43 years, abortion remains one of the most contested subjects in the United States.

What a woman chooses to do with her body is a completely personal choice and should not be susceptible to the opinions of the government. Abortion is a private medical procedure and should remain as such; certain reasons to have an abortion do not trump others, there is not one magical justification because each case is a personal decision. Perhaps they cannot fund a child, perhaps they were raped, perhaps it is simply not the right time; whatever the reason may be, it should not include my opinion nor yours. There need not be an argument for why women choose abortion because frankly, it is no one’s business but their own.

The safety and human rights of the mother overrides the rights of a fetus- there is a big difference between a fetus and a baby. According to research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, “tests of cortical function suggest that conscious perception of pain does not begin before the third trimester”, meaning that a fetus does not feel pain until 25-30 weeks. The CDC reports that only 1.3% of abortions occur after 21 weeks, while 85. 1% take place before 12 weeks of gestation; this data supports that fetuses do not feel pain when the pregnancy is terminated. Because most states have laws against late-term abortion (past 24 weeks), pain of the fetus should never be an issue. When a fetus is aborted, it is not fully aware, therefore the rights of the mother -a fully aware human being- should be prioritized over the rights of the fetus. Abortion is not murder- abortion saves the life of the mother in more way than one.

The availability of abortion is a safety measure; the aborting of babies will not stop, whether it is legal or not. The earliest recordings of abortion go back to 1550 BC, in Egypt; abortion has been consistent throughout human history because having a baby is not always an option.

The legalization of abortion must remain intact because otherwise, the government is directly violating the constitutional rights of a woman. I insist that a woman’s right to choose remain a legal option throughout your term.