Writings | The World From the View of Two Teenage Girls: Writings

Friday, December 27, 2013

Writings

Yesterday I shared a story I wrote for school two years ago.  Today I have a persuasive essay I had to write at the beginning of this month.  Both had a five paragraph length requirement, but you can very easily see this is much, much longer than the first.  Being a persuasive essay, it is controversial.  The point of this post is the writing, not the topic of the essay.


Pro-Choice
Before 1973, if you were pregnant, you stayed pregnant until you gave birth.  Imagine at any point in your life being pregnant, then having to give birth to a child.  There are certainly parts of your life where it would be inconvenient, but you could not just “take back” the pregnancy.  In 1973, it became legal to have an abortion. ("Facts About Abortion: U.S. Abortion Law.")  This enabled women to practically “take back” the pregnancy.  After 40 years, the topic of abortion is being brought up in many political debates and discussions.  Imagine a twelve-year old girl having her life turned upside down from being raped and then being told her country refuses to allow her to abort the child.  Not only will raising a child be physically difficult for a twelve-year old, she will also have to deal with the emotional trauma of raising a child that was a product of rape.  Sometimes, doctors know ahead of time that if a woman is to give birth to her baby, it could end her life and possibly the baby’s as well.  In this case, abortion saves at least one life.  Many politicians want to implement a federal law that makes it illegal for women to get abortions.  The majority of the politicians who want to make it illegal are male, and thus the law does not affect them.  If a politician lacks experience and understanding related to something, it is not right for him to make a law regarding it.  Making abortions illegal is unnecessary and unfair.
            Women get abortions for many different reasons.  In the case of rape, the woman may not be fit to give birth.  Rape happens to women and girls of all ages.  One out of every twenty rape victims of reproductive age get pregnant.  There are an estimated 32,101 cases of pregnancy from rape each year.  Out of that, upwards of 60% get abortions each year.  To implement a law banning abortions would completely change the lives of almost 20,000 people in just one year. (Holmes)  In other situations, it may not be safe for the woman to give birth or maybe the woman’s financial situation changed and she can no longer support the child.  In the case of not having enough money, if the woman is early on in the pregnancy, there are still going to be many expensive doctor visits, as well as costly tests.  At that point, it would probably be better for the woman to get an abortion.  If the mother were to become poverty and still have to give birth to the child, the child would not be put in a healthy situation.  The child would either be put up for adoption or would be living with their mother who cannot support them.  The child might even wind up having to live in a homeless center.  No child should be forced to live that way.  Sometimes it is better for the woman who is pregnant to get an abortion.  It is not fair to make a law banning abortions when it will negatively affect thousands of people.
            Murdering someone is illegal, yet upwards of 14,000 people were murdered in 2012.  Robbery is also illegal, yet there were over 350,000 reported cases of robbery in 2012 alone. ("U.S.: Reported Robbery Cases 1990-2012.") What happens if a law making abortions illegal is passed?  If a law banning abortions is passed, the number of abortions occurring would be a fraction of what it was previously.  However, making something illegal will not completely eliminate it, as seen with murder and robbery.  There will still be many women who decide they still want an abortion, even though it is illegal.   If abortion is illegal, it is unlikely certified doctors would still perform them, as they would not want to risk their qualification.  Who will be performing the abortions on women who decide they still want one?    People lacking qualification and proper tools are probably going to be the only option. This would make it unsafe to have abortions done.  It is better to allow women the choice otherwise the procedure could result in the loss of the mother and child.
Currently most women get minimal counselling prior to getting an abortion, if it is made illegal that will become non-existent.  People performing abortions on the black market will care about getting paid, not the woman’s well-being.  Instead of taking away the choices of many women, the government could pass a law requiring women to be fully educated.  They could get counselling as well as information on all their options regarding abortion.  Making a law requiring counselling prior to performing an abortion could help women make an informed decision and might even reduce abortions occurring.  The government should help protect its citizen’s well-being, not take away their options.
            There are many people who feel abortion is immoral.  However, there are also many people on diets.  They do not tell others not to eat a doughnut, just because they believe it is unhealthy.  There are many reasons people think abortions are a bad idea.  One argument is that abortion is permanent.  Having an abortion is absolutely permanent, but having a child is just as permanent.  With both, there is no way someone can change their mind once it happens.  It is important to have options and to be thoroughly educated on all options.  It is also argued that having an abortion hurts the child.  Based on the brain development of the fetus, they really cannot feel pain. (Derbyshire)  Another argument is that getting an abortion is manslaughter.  In most states, the latest week you can get abortion is about week twenty.  At week twenty, the fetus is only half-way to being fully developed. ("Your Pregnancy: 20 Weeks.")  If abortion is going to be considered murder, which is not untrue, there should be a point at which it is officially considered murder.  Then, make women get an abortion before then, not take away the option altogether.  There are many arguments as to why abortions should not occur.  However, for women who find themselves in an unfortunate situation, these do not outweigh the benefits of having the right to get an abortion.

            There are many valid reasons women get abortions.  Some of these include pregnancy caused by rape, an unstable financial situation, and when the safety of the mother is in jeopardy.  As seen with murder and robbery, if abortions are made illegal they will not cease to occur.  Instead, they will stop happening safely and the woman is more likely to get injured in the care of an unqualified person without proper tools.  Most, if not all, of the arguments against abortions can be overcome or disproven.  Women should have the right to obtain medical procedures that are in their best interest.  It is unfair of the government to revoke women’s options.  Prohibiting abortions can put women in a dangerous situation.  The federal government does not have the right to strip women of their choices, especially when it can lead to further harm and injury.

Bibliography

Derbyshire, Stuart W G. "Can Fetuses Feel Pain?" US National Library of Medicine National
Institutes of Health. N.p., 15 Apr. 2006. Web. 5 Dec. 2013.
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1440624/>.
"Facts About Abortion: U.S. Abortion Law." Facts About Abortion: U.S. Abortion Law.
Abort73, 20 Mar. 2013. Web. 02 Dec. 2013. <http://www.abort73.com/abortion_facts/us_abortion_law/>
Holmes, Melisa M., et al. "Rape-related pregnancy: estimates and descriptive characteristics
from a national sample of women." American Journal of Obstetrics and
Gynecology 175.2 (1996): 320-325.
"United States Crime Rates 1960 - 2012." United States Crime Rates 1960 - 2012. The Disaster
Center, n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2013. <http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/uscrime.htm>.
"U.S.: Reported Robbery Cases 1990-2012." Statista RSS. Statisa, 2013. Web. 06 Dec. 2013.
<http://www.statista.com/statistics/191139/reported-robbery-cases-in-the-us-since-1990/>.
"Your Pregnancy: 20 Weeks." BabyCenter. Baby Center, n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2013.
<http://www.babycenter.com/6_your-pregnancy-20-weeks_1109.bc>.

-Cassi

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