My name is Kassi Gonzalez and I reside at 3945 Cobblestone Court in Plano, Texas. I attend Collin College and am currently taking a government class. I am writing you to ask that you re-consider your position of pro-life in the topic of abortion and consider pro-choice. I believe that couples should be able to decide whether they want to have a child in their life without the government deciding for them. Women need the right to abortion to have full rights over their own bodies because banning this right, puts women at risk by forcing them to use illegal abortionists.
In almost all of the United States, new restrictions on abortion are being put into place and the rights of women are being slowly taken away, one restriction at a time. These restrictions include: mandatory counseling, ultrasound requirements, explanations as to why someone is seeking an abortion, and many attempts to ban the procedure at a certain number of weeks. No woman or man should be forced to take on the responsibilities of parenthood against their will and their better judgement.
The effect of these restrictions is that clinics that provide these services are harder and harder to find each day. Most of these facilities are mainly in big urban centers now making it harder for people who live in rural areas. According to the Qualitative study of women’s experiences obtaining abortion care in Texas, the number of clinics or facilities that used to provide the procedure of abortion, “decreased by almost half [and]…the number of mediation abortions decreased by 70%” all in one year before all the restrictions in Texas were put into place (Baum, Women’s Experience Obtaining Abortion Care in Texas after Implementation of Restrictive Abortion Laws).
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This issue has an impact on all the couples in the United States that are not quite ready to have a child. Becoming a parent means that someone is financially and emotionally responsible for the upbringing of a child until adulthood. Imagine a teenager about sixteen years old, by mistakenly becoming impregnated by another teenage boy. With these new restrictions being put into placed in every state, it makes it that much harder to get an abortion which will not decrease abortions, but women will find other ways to obtain this procedure. Women are the target or group of people that are directly affected because it takes away their right to choose. Giving the right to the woman will make it safer for them and the children in the world. This problem is very controversial in society today and it is feared that abortion will become illegal in the United States eventually due to the high number of restrictions.
Abortion laws has had an impact on many communities, including my own. I know a lot of teenagers that did not use protection and ended up pregnant throughout high school. In addition to carrying another in your stomach for nine months, many women, particularly teens, are shunned and shamed for their pregnancies; mostly by friends, families, employers, and classmates. A teenager about sixteen years old, by mistakenly becoming impregnated by another teenage boy. The parents of this young girl find out and become so angry that they kick her out of the house. The young man finds out and decides he wants nothing to do with it, stating that he is too young to have a child. Now this girl has no home, no money, and feels all alone in the world. If abortion was banned in the United States, she would not be able to get out of this situation and would be bringing in a child to the world with nothing. Considering that this girl is only sixteen and her parents kicked her out, she would also not even be able to get an abortion because a minor needs the consent of a parent.
A case study on teenage pregnancy was done by Hila J. Spear in order to explore the lived experiences from the personal perspectives of participants. The participants stated how people should “wait [to have a baby] until [they] are able to support [themselves] emotionally, financially, and physically” because of all the responsibilities that it entails (Spear, Havin’ a Baby Isn’t a Nightmare, but its Really Hard). Being a mother or father at such a young age can rob them of their childhood and it is one of the hardest jobs a person can have. There is a lot of changes that will occur in someone’s life and this study shows how having the choice to get an abortion could change one’s life completely. My alternative public policy solution would be to have less restrictions on abortion as the more restrictions being placed, the more the choice of the procedure is being taken away.
The government should be doing whatever they can to have less restrictions on abortion due to the fact that it does not improve the women’s safety and it actually increases the risk of their health. These restrictions create higher costs and a delay in getting an appointment. Limited access to abortion also increases the chance for women to self-induce the procedure and will most likely become more common in the United States. An alternative course of action is to let abortion become illegal in this nation which can lead to more children being put into the foster care system. Being moved around from family to family could affect a child’s behavior and their emotional state. Oftentimes, a foster child will encounter an unfit family, and undergo a traumatic experience such as physical or sexual abuse. An experience like this can ravage a child’s life, and lead them to unhealthy habits in adulthood, like drug use.
Pro-life believers believe that adoption is a viable alternative to abortion. However, it can be an emotionally scarring experience for many of the children who went through it. Just by looking at Romania, which banned abortions in 1966 by the communist dictator Ceausescu, there are studies shown that shows that the policy had negative effects. Findings of studies suggest that “the lift of the ban had decreased the number of abandoned children” (Rada, Ethical Considerations on Abortion in Romania). Many of the children that were abandoned suffer from mental and physical health problems now. Once abortion becomes illegal, it becomes a lot more unsafe for both women and their children. I do not really agree with your vote on the bill to prohibit partial-birth/ late term abortion. I believe that more time should be given to women to choose whether they want an abortion or not. It would be really great for you to consider this position and I know it is a lot to ask to change a whole viewpoint of a person, but I hope it opened up your mind a little bit more with this information.
Both sides of abortion, pro-life and pro-choice, have their reasons for what they believe in. Pro-choice believers give way for abortion to be legal and the choice will ultimately be the woman’s, not the governments. Unnecessary restrictions on this procedure can cause effects on the women and the child that neither of them will benefit from. Giving the right to the woman to make their own choice for abortion will make it safer for more women and more children in the world. I appreciate the time and attention you are taking to read my concerns and ask that you please send a response letting me know if you are able to help make restrictions of abortions go away.
