Imagine figuring out you are pregnant! Let that sink in. You are not prepared or in the right situation to bring a baby into this world. No money, no family/friends, not even a job. The responsibility of taking care of a baby isn’t something you can decide quickly on. What do you do? Or what can you do? Not being able to choose abortion can hurt women’s bodies and minds. The Federal Government should listen to the people’s opinions and take action legalizing abortion in every state, instead of concerning themselves with how woman should handle unintended pregnancies or whether it is the cause of rape or other cases of unintended pregnancies.
I, as a teenage girl who is still considered a child, can’t imagine myself with the responsibility of another person, let alone a newborn child. Newborns need care, safety, and responsibility that a 10-15-year old can’t provide. Yet teens and sometimes kids have to deal with the possibility of having a child without choosing whether they want it or not. If a child is forced to have another child, that will gravely affect the reproductive system and might even prevent them from actually having a planned child with the person they love, since they will have gone through a tough change that their body and mind can’t take.
Some people believe that the abortion law should be handled by states instead of the Federal Government. However, issues like slavery were handled by the state government, and according to ABC news, Mississippi was the last state to abolish slavery in 2013. It took 148 years to abolish slavery in Mississippi. As you can see, the state government shouldn’t be allowed to make decisions about abortion because they don’t always make the best decisions that benefit the people.
Children born of unintended pregnancies are raised in different situations compared with children that were planned, which affects their growth and state of mind. An article by Diana Greene Foster stated that when children are born into families with unintended pregnancies, it tends to affect them negatively rather than positively: [they have] “a greater chance of living below poverty level (72 percent compared to 55 percent) or living in a household without enough money to cover food, housing and transportation (87 percent compared to 70 percent).” This quote shows just a few of the hardships that a child has to endure while being so young. Another thing that often happens when there are unintended pregnancies is abuse. An article by Valeryia Pratasava says, “Children born as a result of unwanted pregnancies are more likely to suffer from domestic violence and witness parental intimate partner violence.” This quote shows that unintended pregnancies can lead to violence towards the kids and in front of them, which will damage them greatly in life. This factor may lead into their adulthood which, according to the CDC, might cause low self-esteem, low education or income, heavy alcohol and drug use, depression and suicide attempts, anger and hostility, and so on.
These kinds of impacts aren’t only affecting the unfortunate children. They also heavily impact the mothers who were forced against their will to carry the pregnancies to term. In an article that appeared in State News, a women was interviewed about her experience in her life after abortion. She said that it was a huge relief that she got an abortion after having a baby just twelve months earlier. She wasn’t prepared mentally or financially for the baby to have a supportive environment when growing. All this evidence states that abortion should be allowed for the greather good of the mother and child stability.
The government should listen to people’s opinions on matters that affect everyone. A 2022 article in Pew Research says, “Today, a 61% majority of U.S. adults say abortion should be legal in all or more cases, while 37% think abortion should be illegal in all or most cases.” This quote shows that the majority of people or about ⅔ of adults think abortion should be allowed and the stagering ⅓ of adult say that abortion shouldn’t be allowed. This shows that the federal government isn’t listening to the majority of people to allow abortion access.
In conclusion, abortion should be allowed by the Federal Government because the people should be able to make a decisions whether they want to keep are give up their baby for the better cause of their circumstance. Without access to abortion, the mother and child will be at risk for challenges that affect them mentally and physically. These outcomes can affect their future with lots of hardship compared to kids with planned pregnancies.
Sources
#1, (When women are denied an abortion, their children fare worse than peers, By Diana Greene Foster ,Dec. 5, 2018)
Link: https://www.statnews.com/2018/12/05/how-abortion-denial-affects-children-well-being/
#2, (Unwanted pregnancies: Outcome for children, By Valeryia Pratasava, February 18, 2022)
Link: https://drexel.edu/medicine/academics/womens-health-and-leadership/womens-health-education-program/whep-blog/unwanted-pregnancies-outcomes-for-children/
#3, (Mississippi Officially Abolishes Slavery, Ratifies 13th Amendment, By Ben Waldron, February 19, 2013)
Link: https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/02/mississippi-officially-abolishes-slavery-ratifies-13th-amendment
