Abortion as a Right

Today in America those supporting and opposing abortion engage in very heated debates. I am for abortion for many reasons that I strongly believe in. Without legal abortion many women in this country would be killing or mutilating themselves. We would also have unwanted children, which leads to huge problems for families and society. Also I believe that the outlawing of abortion violates the separation of church and state. The choice to have an abortion or not, should be left up to the woman bearing the child instead of the government.

Most women who want to have abortions will not be stopped by a law. Pro-lifers say that the women that desire abortions should opt for adoption instead. These women are usually young girls who are uneducated, frightened, vulnerable, and embarrassed of their situation. They are not ready to publicly recognize their pregnancy to their parents or families to go through their entire term and then give the child up for adoption. 74% of girls who had sex before age fourteen, and 60% who had sex before age fifteen, report that it occurred involuntarily . A probability sample of women at least eighteen years old showed 84% of rape victims did not report the offense to the police. Although in both of these incidences the young woman is not consensual, they feel that they are responsible for these acts of sexual abuse. Therefore they are reluctant and ashamed to continue their pregnancy. If laws exist prohibiting abortion, many of these young girls will secretly find other ways to rid themselves of this child. These other options are either performing the abortions on one or going to an unlicensed, unregulated, abortionist. Often this leads to death or mutilation of the woman's body.

If a woman decides to have the child and become a mother many problems may result. If the mother is a teen, she is 50% more likely to deliver a baby with a low birth weight than non-teens. If the baby survives birth that may not be the end of the dilemmas. Many times when a teen mother does not have an abortion, she will feel as though the child is a burden to her resulting in child abuse or throwing the child into the care of someone who is irresponsible or untrained. Every day in the U.S. between three and five children are murdered by a parent or caretaker. Not only would the absence of abortions have horrible effects on the unwanted children, but our society as a whole. Child abuse increases the odds of future criminality by 40%. One third