Dear Future President,

When my nana got pregnant with my mom, she was not married to my grandpa, and he did not intend to marry her, so she made the decision to raise my mom on her own. At the time, abortion was illegal, and her only option other than having my mom was to go to some unaccredited person who claims to have the ability to perform an abortion, but no certification to do so with a sufficient level of safety. For my nana, the right decision was to have the baby; however, there are many other cases where the future mother may feel that she has no choice but to abort the child, so legality is necessary to keep these measures safe and in a doctor's office. Not everyone has the means to raise a family at the time of arrival of the child but this does not mean they should be condemned to taking the risk of an unsafe operation and losing the ability to have children later in life.

There is controversy over this topic, as some people find abortion to be “anti-life,” “murder,” and unfair to the unborn child. However, in many cases, the life an aborted child would have lived would lack sufficient care and financial support. Not only would the “pro-life” movement push thousands of families into poverty, but it would also push many children into adoption centers which already are unable to adopt out every single child.

Abortion should be a decision left to the mother and father of the child to make, with no restricting laws keeping families from making the decision right for them. Please in your future presidency, keep in mind that laws preventing abortion would only make unsafe abortion rates skyrocket, and cause families to struggle to support another life even if they are already facing difficulties with poverty. Although some find this act to be immoral, it is in most cases in the best interest of the child and family, and it should be entirely up to the individual.

Sincerely,

Kelsey Fernald