Dear President,

There are several issues that the next president needs to take into consideration, but one of the most important is abortion. Abortion is a controversial topic that is highly influenced by religion, but the responsibilities of having a child outweigh the negatives of terminating the pregnancy. It’s is a personal decision that couldn’t possibly be an easy one. That being said, I do believe that women should absolutely reserve the right to make this decision and the government shouldn’t enforce regulations that require one decision over another.

First of all, in many instances, women are victims of sexual assault or rape which result in unplanned pregnancies. According to an article from the Huffington Post, a conservative estimate of the number of women raped in the United States per year is 300,000 and it is estimated that about 54% of rapes are undocumented. Furthermore, according to PubMed.org, approximately 5.0% of rape cases result in pregnancy nationally in the U.S. These women should not be held accountable for someone else’s heinous acts and they should not be required to birth the child and be forced to face the dilemma of raising it or putting it up for adoption. In these instances, the women had little to no control over the situation and having a child is a monumental event that can derail your life if you’re not ready for the responsibility.

The idea that having a child could have life-lasting impacts leads me to my next argument. According to the CDC, about 24% of women between the ages of 15-19 have children each year. Although teenagers should be able to make smart decisions, teenage pregnancies are still prevalent and remain an area of concern in the U.S. I don’t believe that a bad decision this early on should have the ability to alter a person’s life to such a massive extent. Likewise, many of these teenagers are legitimately unable to care for the child due to financial concerns or time restraints. Also, if abortion was made illegal, then all these children would have to be cared for, which probably would not happen to the extent necessary. This isn’t fair to those children.

I understand that those who are in agreement with making abortion illegal cite legitimate reasons for their stance on the issue. Religion and the idea that a fetus is just as alive as an actual human being are the two biggest opposing arguments. That being said, the topic of abortion should not be influenced by religion because the United States was built on the principles of equality and freedom of religion. While some believe it is inhumane, others may hold a different view, which should be respected. Furthermore, although other people shouldn’t be able to kill another human being, a fetus does not constitute human life. The consequences of having the child outweigh terminating the pregnancy to the extent that it should be a personal decision. In many regards, isn’t it just as unfair to neglect the child than to have an abortion?

For the reasons outlined, I believe it is your duty to protect the right of abortion for women in the United States. Abortion is a sensitive topic and women should be able to make this personal decision for themselves.

Sincerely,

John L.