Should Abortion Continue to Be Legal?
Story by Christen Gans. Image from https://letters2president.org.
OCT. 9, 2018: A great debate is happening in America right now—Should Abortion Be Legal? My personal opinion is yes. I think abortion should be legal and I’ll tell you why.
I think abortion should be legal because women should have the right to do what they want with their bodies. This is the law according to an article from the Pew Forum which states, “In the early 1970s, the Supreme Court agreed to hear two cases challenging laws that restricted abortion. In Roe v. Wade (1973), the high court considered a challenge to a Texas law outlawing abortion in all cases except those in which the life of the mother was at risk. The second case, Doe v. Bolton (1973), focused on a more lenient Georgia law that allowed a woman to terminate her pregnancy when either her life or her health was in danger”. I agree with this because what if a woman is raped? Do you think she would want to keep the baby?
I believe abortion should be legal because when a fetus is aborted, it cannot feel what is happening so it won’t be hurt by the procedure. This finding was endorsed in 2012 by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecology, which stated that that there is "no legitimate scientific information that supports the statement that a fetus experiences pain. So that means doctors aren’t hurting a fetus when they are aborting it.
Lastly, I believe abortion should be legal because for women at risk of dying because of their pregnancy, abortion is actually safer than delivering a baby. A 2012 study in the publication, Obstetrics and Gynecology, found a woman's risk of dying from having an abortion is 0.6 in 100,000, while the risk of dying from giving birth is around 14 times higher (8.8 in 100,000).
I hope that you understand my reasons why abortions should remain legal in the United States. After reading this, do you believe that abortions should remain legal? Please leave any thoughts in the comment section below.
Christen Gans is a 9th grade scholar at Friendship Tech Prep Academy.