Marlee White October 11, 2011 ENC 1101 Feature article 2-Draft 3 16 years old and feeling desperate

and abandoned in the world because she is part of a Catholic family whos against abortion and her boyfriend just dumped her because he wasnt ready to be an 18 year old father. She was exhausted of feeling this way and unprepared herself to become a young, unbalanced mother. On the 23rd of October in 2001 Nancy Smith* had an abortion. There are some people that believe that if a female becomes pregnant and automatically turns to abortion then she becomes a bad person, yet what they dont stop to think about is that there are many reasons a person would turn to abortion and should be able to. There are many definitions to define pro-life and pro-choice. By my definition pro-life is someone whos against the idea of abortion, which in their eyes is killing an unborn child. The opposite side of this debate, pro-choice, I define by being a person who believes in letting the woman, and her only because it is her body, choose whether or not keep the zygote (only a fertilized female egg) to the point of delivery. While I am not seeking to belittle the people whose opinion is that pro-life should be the only way, but I do highly believe in being pro-choice because I always believe that women should be able to make their own decisions concerning their bodies and the could-be life of another person. Not only that but it is also my opinion that I don't think any woman should

have to face all the consequences from something that she did not do alone and she may not be ready for. If women know that they have the option of abortion it could be one of the only logical and sane things they know during a period that could be filled with feelings hatred, abandonment, and helplessness. There are always multiple reasons women should have the choice of legally having an abortion. There is the unfortunate incident of rape, not being emotionally, physically, or financially ready to provide for a child, being too young, as well as maybe there being health problems involved with the mother or fetus. Saxon George is a young 17 year old girl one day who was enjoying the carefree life of a high school teenager with her friends and boyfriend and the next a financially and mentally unstable mother to two fraternal twin boys. If she had an abortion maybe they all would not be living in a dangerous neighborhood in a dirty broken-down trailer while her boyfriend does whatever he can, legal or not, to provide for his little family. Maybe they both would have been able to attend college and make lives for themselves before having to deal with such adult responsibilities. While I agree if women, especially young ones, are not ready to take care of an unexpected pregnancy (and therefore child) then they should not participate in sexual intercourse in the first place, yet I also believe that once the act is done they, as well as the child, should not be punished for the rest of their lives. By making abortion illegal people could be causing pain to parents as well as the unwanted child, which I see as being very unjust. We have the freedom to speech, religion, and even to bear arms; so why should a womans freedom stop at making decisions respectively when it comes to her own body? It is my strong belief that no man or woman should be prevented from making choices about his or her own body, especially when the body in question contains a fetus. Pro-life activists are on the side of the unborn child and believe that children should have the chance to live. What

people need to think about is the fact that children dont make the important decisions when they are alive so why would they be the only ones making the decisions when they are still an undeveloped embryo in a womans womb? This woman knows whether or not the child will be able to have a good life, because she will know if shell be able to provide it or not. One girl, who shall remain anonymous, that was forced to have sexual relations with her father and ended up becoming impregnated by the mandefinition being rape. Though she ended up going through with the pregnancy she had to pretend for the rest of her life that her actual son was just her little brother (anonymous source, October 3, 2011). In later years, the boy who had grown into a man was finally told the truth and it turned into a devastating and crushing time period for him. It uprooted this mans whole life to find out that a bigger part of his life had been a lie. The woman who is now in her fifties told me that having to tell her son this horrible story shattered her and seeing his face when he found out the truth was the worst part, that truly tore at her heart. Is this really how someone should want to live their life, living day to day a lie? Some woman arent so grateful to actually be able to love and care for their baby whose father was their rapist and if they didnt have the choice to have an abortion then they would have to face their child every day and maybe grow to despise him/her therefore causing painful emotions in not only the mother but also the child as well. Though rape is statistically only 1% responsible for all abortions during a year, that 1% is still bigger than zero percent (religioustolerance.org) and these are also some of the most extreme circumstances. Unfortunately there are men in the world that arent ready to provide a stable environment for a child and the mother of that beautiful child, so why should the female be forced to try to be both the father and mother? The option of an abortion lets these ill-equipped women have a chance to get their lives together before having to face motherhood and all that it

comes with. Men have the choice of running away from the situations that theyve caused, yet for nine months women have to stay and face the obstacle head on and live with a daily reminder of their mistake. Men are not the only ones to turn their backs and let the females make the decisions by herself whether she likes it or not, but in a lot of cases so does their families. Many families every day turn their daughters out because they are disappointed in her, cant provide for the young mother and child, or maybe just for religious reasons. So once again I must put out there that with the option of abortion women dont have to be put through all this horrid treatment. Would we rather add more homeless, struggling mothers to the streets or would we like to let them have a chance to continue on with their lives to the point when they feel equippedfinancially and emotionally- and satisfied enough with the stage of life they are at to have a child? Wait to a stage when they can choose whether or not they care to have their loved ones supporting them, instead of being forced to live with being dumped on the street? I believe that is the best possibility; let the mother be able to choose and most of the times that can only happen when they are old enough to handle such a precious thing as another living being. Men are not the only ones to turn their backs and let the females make the decisions by herself whether she likes it or not, but in a lot of cases so does their families. Many families every day turn their daughters out because they are disappointed in her, cant provide for the young mother and child, or maybe just for religious reasons. So once again I must put out there that with the option of abortion women dont have to be put through all this horrid treatment. Would we rather add more homeless, struggling mothers to the streets or would we like to let them have a chance to continue on with their lives to the point when they feel equippedfinancially and emotionally- and satisfied enough with the stage of life they are at to have a

child? Wait to a stage when they can choose whether or not they care to have their loved ones supporting them, instead of being forced to live with being dumped on the street? I believe that is the best possibility; let the mother be able to choose and most of the times that can only happen when they are old enough to handle such a precious thing as another living being.