Dear Future President,

Abortion is a serious issue that should always be the woman’s choice, not the government's. With abortion being a very hot topic today, especially with the presidential election less than a month away makes me wonder, what would happen if the ability to get an abortion would be taken away from us women? What would happen to the health and prosperity of women in the future that needed access to such services, but couldn’t get them because they became illegal?

You would have to face the fact that, even if abortion became illegal in the U.S., women would still be doing it. “Estimates of the number of illegal abortions in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s range from 200,000 to 1.2 million per year. Prior to Roe v. Wade, as many as 5,000American women died annually as a direct result of unsafe abortions” (OBOS Abortion Contributors). Imagine this becoming a reality again if abortion became illegal. In fact, this number would be even higher with today’s standards because of the population vastly increasing since that time period. And with dangerous methods that can be performed on oneself, such as trauma-induced miscarriages or abortions performed at home with no knowledge of the procedure or even the tools to do it with, the list of things that could go wrong would be endless.

Some government officials may argue that putting up the baby for adoption is better alternative than abortion. Well imagine this: Being put up for adoption by your parents who couldn’t/didn’t want to take care of you as a baby, then having to grow up in foster homes with people that could be physically, mentally, or emotionally abusive. Not to mention the “guilt” you might have brought upon yourself because your parents “didn’t want you” or “couldn’t take care of you”. Mixing this with having to compete with other kids just like you, to find parents that are willing to take care of you, creates quite a stressful life for a young person. “Children in foster care have disproportionately high rates of physical, developmental, and mental health problems and often have many unmet medical and mental health care needs” (Developmental Issues for Young Children in Foster Care). Not only can these factors affect you when you are a child, but they can also transition into adulthood and get even more severe the more it is ignored or left untreated. Looking at these reasons (with many more out there), it is easy to see why abortion should be legal and be the women’s decision instead of the government’s.

Sincerely, 

Sofiya