Women Shoud Have the Right to Choose

Jennifer Ford Ford 1

Ms. Moses

ENG 112

23 October 2006

South Dakota’s governor Mike Rounds recently signed into law a bill to outlaw all abortions in the state with the exception of those performed to save a mother’s life, abortion is steadily becoming a hot controversial topic. Those in opposition of abortion say that it is an immoral act and that it should be banned throughout the country in all circumstances. Supporters of abortion say that access to abortion is vital to ensure that women are able to protect their health and exercise control over their lives (Update: Abortion 1). While abortion should not be used as a form of birth control to some women, a woman should however have a choice in whether she wants to have a child or not. A woman should have full control of her body without government interference no matter the circumstance.

Each year, one million American teenagers become pregnant, and 78% of these pregnancies are unintended (“Teenage women, abortion, and the law”). There are many reasons why a woman might choose to have an abortion but among the most common are she might’ve gotten raped by someone, maybe even a member of her own family or more importantly her health might be in danger. Some women are physically unable to bear a child. This could cause complications during childbirth which would result in her death. A woman should have the choice in whether she wants to go through with that pregnancy, and not be forced to do so simply because the government says it’s illegal for her to have an abortion.

Another reason for abortion is rape. Most women who have been raped do not want anything to do with their attacker. In the unfortunate event of her becoming pregnant by this person the choice should be left up to her on whether she wants to bring that child into this world or not. If she was forced to do so, more than likely the child will be unwanted. This means that the child would be at a higher risk of neglect and abuse because it was never wanted in the first place. This would also affect the mother. Women who are forced to have a child will be more likely to drop out of school, rely on public assistance (welfare), develop health problems, etc. By ending the pregnancy she wouldn’t have to hurdle these obstacles. She would still be able to have the chance of finishing school and continuing her life (“Teenage women, abortion, and the law”).

During a recent survey conducted amongst people between the ages of 17-23 66% of people are pro-choice leaving the other 34% of people to be pro-life. The people who support pro-choice believe that abortion should not be outlawed in any case and that a woman should have full control of her body without government interference. Of this percentage there were more females than males. This shows that women obviously feel strongly about being able to have a choice. On the other