Reasons Why Abortion Should Be Legal in United States

The Declaration of Independence indicates that every citizen has unalienable rights which are “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. If citizens have unalienable rights, what allows some states to strip them of those rights such as choosing to have an abortion? A mother should, without question, have the strongest influence on what they do with their bodies. Therefore, she should have the option to abort a baby or not. An example of a woman that would choose abortion is if she was raped and got pregnant as a result of it. 1 out of 6 American women is a victim of sexual assault every year. Look around yourself. How many is that in here? So, imagine this: You, a 15-year-old girl, with a prominent future ahead of you suddenly is unable to pursue your dreams because of an unwanted pregnancy that you had no say in. You are unable to pursue your dreams and live a life you’ve always wanted because abortion is not easily accessible due to strict laws in specific states, such as Texas. Therefore, that is why abortion should be legal in all states, including Texas.

By not allowing abortion, Texas is harming women by making them pay for children that they do not want. About “six-in-ten U.S. adults (61%) said in a 2019 survey that abortion should be legal in all or most cases, compared with 38% who said it should be illegal all or most of the time”. This statistic shows that the majority of American adults already support abortion. Moreover, what if the mother could not support a child at her age and level of income? The “estimated cost of raising a child from birth through age 17 (in the United States) is $233,610 -- or as much as almost $14,000 annually”. Moreover, an astonishing 70% of sexual assault victims are aged 12-34. At those ages, the mother may be way too young to hold a job, as well as be physically and mentally unprepared to raise a child. Now, would you be able to raise an unwanted child right now, and go through the grueling responsibilities of a parent? Would any of us teenagers be able to do that? In an anonymous survey of over 1,000 people at 9 different abortion clinics, over 50% of women who got abortion listed reasons: can’t afford a baby, not mature enough, and not ready for a child. This is where the law comes into play. If Texas made abortion legal, these women would not have to waste hundreds of thousands of dollars on raising a kid that they don’t desire and as well as have a safer alternative instead of turning to illegal and dangerous abortion clinics.

Another factor to consider is that women are at significantly more risk by turning to secondhand clinics that are not safe to abort a baby. Abortion has a low mortality rate when executed under safe conditions; it is about 7 deaths every 1000 abortions. However, when women turn to unsafe and illegal options where hygiene is not distinguished, these numbers turn to about 1 death per 270 abortions. This staggering increase in the mortality rate is one of the many reasons why abortion needs to be legal and why all women should have access to safe abortion. Even if a woman survives an unsafe abortion, about 2-7 million women are affected by long-term damage and diseases. Some of these symptoms may include infection, inability to conceive children in the future, and injury to the internal organs. If these women had the readily available option of safe abortion, these women would not live a life of pain and suffering, or even worse, death. Think about this, these deaths, your death is avertible through legal abortion.

Now, it is true that abortion should be illegal in some cases, as people should have a consequence for their actions. In addition, some argue that those aborted babies are wasted talent that we will never find out about; they could have grown into fitting members of American society. Nevertheless, women have suffered enough already directly from the result of unsanitary abortions, and they should have the option of abortion regardless of their age. We need to call for change now as we can not let more women fall victim to the harsh consequences of unsanitary abortions. Here is a question to the congressmen of Texas, who believe that abortion should be illegal. If you had a daughter that was pregnant as a result of sexual violence, would you still support that abortion should be illegal?

Abortion should be an option that all women should have access to, especially since it is their own body. Therefore, since it is your own body, women should have full freedom over what they are allowed to do, such as abortion. Before government officials think it should be outlawed in all states, they should consider factors such as sexual assault, the maturity and income of the woman, and the situation that she is in. This is why abortion should be legal not just in Texas, but in all the states. Let’s think about this now. That 15-year-old girl from earlier was just one case, thousands of cases just like her happen per year. If these women had readily available access to safe abortion clinics, they would not have to suffer their entire life raising a child, that they do not care about. So, would you still think abortion should be illegal if it was you?