Dear Future President,

    Congratulations, I hope you are able to address the many problems that America is facing today. One problem is abortion.

    The topic of abortion has been a sore subject in America for about 140 years, “...abortion was widely practiced before about 1880, by which time most states had banned it except to save the life of the woman.” (“History of Abortion in the U.S.” by Obos Abortion Contributors) Everyone has a different opinion on the matter, and that’s one of many things that should be considered. Abortion is something that America needs to have an adult conversation about, to decide whether we need to make it illegal or keep the system the way it is now. Different people of different beliefs will protest, they will fight scenarios of a world with or without abortion, but abortion is essentially something that needs to be talked about.

    A human life is considered precious by family members, friends, people who once knew someone else. We read and write and sing and dance about human emotion and beauty, about the relationship between a mother and child. The women and girls who are considering or have considered abortion can all agree that they have contemplated the life of their unborn child. They can all agree that their unborn child is something growing inside them.

    Abortion is something that a woman should discuss with her doctor and decide whether or not she wants to keep the baby. These girls and women have school to get through, a job that doesn’t allow enough time for a child, or they just can’t get through the financial cost. The unborn child could be anything or anyone they want, but what about these girls and women still trying to find themselves?

    A 17-year-old woman from Barbados found out she was pregnant and was brimming with feelings. She knew that school was a priority but she also wanted to keep the child. The girl thought that she had figured out a way to keep the baby but when she explained this plan to her own mother, the woman thought the whole situation was a joke. This woman told her daughter, “You know you can’t keep it.” March 8th was the day the abortion took place and this young girl is devastated, heartbroken that she couldn’t keep this baby. But she also knew that completing high school and moving on was a huge part of her life plan, a baby just wasn’t going to fit in.

    There is also a 34-year-old woman from New Jersey that already had a child with special needs. While she was deeply thankful for him, his care caused her concern and stress all of the time. When she became pregnant again, she was afraid that she wouldn’t be able to take care of her first child, that this unborn baby might pull this mother away from her child who has additional needs. She thought she wouldn’t be able to perform properly at work, the anxiety and depression was too much. So, the abortion was performed and she regrets it, and she struggles to forgive herself.

    My beliefs aren’t necessarily the same as everyone else. I know that abortion is a very hard decision to make when you’re in a difficult situation: work or baby, school or baby, broke or baby? A woman can go through a lot of emotional changes as the thought of abortion is hovering over her. I think abortion should simply be discussed between the woman’s partner and her doctor, or whoever she wants to include in the decision. I’m very “do whatever you want” in the sense that the woman is adamant about her decision and knows what she wants out of life.

    I also know that a lot of people are against abortion and they don’t want to see an unborn life being “murdered”. I agree that this baby is a living thing, it’s something that needs to be taken care of and nurtured. A baby is a lot to take care of and can uproot your whole life routine and plan.

    But I also think that when it comes down to it, abortion should be used as a procedure to continue on with your life. Girls and women have dreams and people that they want to be, they want to go to school in order to do that, they want to work to do that, they want to be able to have enough money to support themselves.

    So, Future President, I’m not exactly rushing you into giving America an answer right away. I just want to simply ask you to gather some people who are of significance in this situation and talk about it.

Sincerely,

Eve A.