Dear Future President,

One of the controversial topics often discussed in presidential debates is abortion. On one hand, pro-choice people argue that abortion is not a choice that the government should make and that it should be the women's choice. On the other hand, pro-life people contend that abortion is murder and should be against the law. Some don’t support late-term abortions because that is when the fetus begins to be able to feel pain, but agree that early-term abortions should be legal and available to women. I believe that women should have control over what they would like to do with their life and bodies. Abortions should be legal and easily accessible for the women who chose to have abortions at any time during their pregnancy.

Abortion should be legalized because there are many women and children who will suffer much more if they are forced to go through with their pregnancy than to just get an abortion. For example, 5% of women who get raped become pregnant as a result, this means about 32,100 women a year get pregnant from their rapist (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). Studies show that women who get raped are 6.2 times more likely to develop PTSD than women who don’t (mainweb-v.musc.edu), and that's without getting pregnant afterwards. It would be unhealthy for the mother and possibly the child if abortion wasn’t an option because the mother could develop traumatic memories associated with the child which, in turn, could negatively affect the mother-child relationship. Although 5% of rape victims reported end up getting pregnant may not seem many people, those women still deserve the choice to abort their unborn child if they wish.

Next, abortion should be legal because many women who choose to get abortions make the decision because they know that they cannot afford to support a child at the time. According to johnstonsarchive.com 21.3% of women get abortions because they are not finacially stable enough to have a child and be able to give them the life they deserve. I believe that this is much less selfish than aborting the fetus because then the child won't have to live a life of poverty, worrying about where their next meal will come from or if they will have what they need in order to be successful. Should a mother be forced to give birth to her child if she knows that child will grow up miserably or in a bad environment? Mothers want the best for their children, and sometimes the best thing for the child is to be saved from suffering a life of poverty.

The most controversial topic involving abortion is late-term abortion because after 21 weeks the fetus beings to have to ability to feel pain. Naturally, many people see this as inhumane and the most brutal kind of abortion that can take place, but in reality, most people who chose to get a late term abortion were planning on having a child. This is usually around the time that parents discover if their child has any debilitating mental or physical disorders or if childbirth may harm the mother, these situations then influence whether the parents would like to continue with the pregnancy or not. Sometimes a family can not support a child with a mental or physical disorder, I believe that children with disabilities should always be put into families who know and are willing to give them all the care and love they need.

In conclusion, I believe that abortions should remain legal and be more available to women because the women who do chose to get abortions usually have very relevant reasons for doing so. I think that the government should pass laws to keep abortion legal now and for the future, it should be a right that women have that control over their bodies. They deserve to chose if they want a child, and be able to avoid having a child if they are not yet fit to support one.