Abortion

Arlyn Perez

English 1101

December 4, 2019

Abortion, what is it? Well, it is the ending of a pregnancy by removing an embryo or fetus before it can survive outside the uterus, it can be performed in-clinic abortion locations or by taking an abortion pill. The most debatable issue the world we live in has faced for many centuries. The practice of abortion dates back to ancient times and has been performed illegally until laws were created to allow the legalization. Although today in some parts of the world, abortion is still considered illegal. The topic of abortion has always and still is controversial to many individuals. It is a highly sensitive subject, with people usually having strong feelings and divided opinions. A person actively for abortion believes that women should be allowed to make their own choice about what happens to their bodies and are entitled to their own freedom. On the other hand, a person who is firmly against sees it as a crime or is against their morals or religious beliefs. Women will do what they think is morally correct no matter what the outcome is. Though the question, should women have the right and accessibility to getting an abortion? Still remains as a personal opinion. However, I believe there shouldn’t be a limit to a woman’s right to control her own body. The two audiences I will be reaching out to about this issue are government authorities in states who are challenging the Roe v. Wade decision and Planned Parenthood. My message will be delivered as a speech to the government authorities to persuade them why this issue shouldn’t be challenged and needs to be the decision of the woman. As for my second message to Planned Parenthood, it will be portrayed as an open letter to discuss the importance of protecting abortion clinics, to continue keeping a safe and accessible way to get an abortion. 

Speech-

Imagine that you are a woman who happens to be pregnant now you’re presented with a difficult decision of either keeping your unborn baby or getting an abortion. In all honesty, what would you do? What is my decision you might ask? To me that is a no-brainer, as a woman, I know that I am not mentally prepared or physically prepared for a child at the age of 18. I rather get an abortion, I’m a college student trying to study for a career I want for the future, I’m dealing with enough on my plate and adding a child would prevent me from that and could lead to me dropping out to be a full-time mother. However, this is one of the many reasonings as to why women would follow through with an abortion. According to the article on CNN, “Women have abortions for many reasons aside from rape and incest. Here are some of them” by Christina Zdanowicz, multiple women have spoken out about why they got an abortion using the hashtag #YouKnowMe to get their stories heard. A woman named Casey Duran tells her story “… 24 years old and making $15 an hour when she learned she was six weeks pregnant… on birth control and asked her partner to use protection… working as a receptionist and barely having enough to support herself.” This example here explains that even when a woman is taking precautions to ensure an unwanted pregnancy does not occur, contraceptives don’t always work and mistakes can happen. However, there are facts about what happens when strict laws are inflicted on women. According to “Debates over anti-abortion laws have raised common myths about abortion. These are the facts” By Holly Yan, recently states have been passing stricter laws on abortion making it less accessible. As evidence, Yan provides a map displaying the distance of the nearest abortion clinic with states like Wyoming and South Dakota having 1 clinic available between 90-176 miles away. Not only is transportation difficult, but the cost of an abortion has also increased due to the stricter laws. The same article I just mentioned by Holly Yan states “… with tougher state laws getting passed, more abortion providers are going out of service…  means higher costs for abortions… clinics must fly in a physician each week to provide abortion care, raising the costs for patients.” So now that you understand why women should make the decision about their own body and should not be restricted to any laws. You might begin to think why is Roe v. Wade’s outcome being challenged? The New York Times article “Abortion Bans: 9 States Have Passed Bills to Limit the Procedure This Year” by K.K. Rebecca Lai,  discusses how in some states, government authorities are proposing more stricter bills on abortion with most passing and being signed into existence. According to the article “Louisiana on Wednesday passed a bill to ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, making the state the ninth this year to pass abortion restrictions that could challenge the constitutional right established in Roe v. Wade.” I find this bill to be an abomination, it is unfair for a female to be restricted because at six weeks when the fetal heartbeat is detected, the body image of a woman for most the difference is not noticeable. Right now I want you to search up images of pregnant women at 6 weeks, if you don’t get any symptoms or appear pregnant and find out later you are it’ll be too late. So sometimes a female isn’t even aware that she’s pregnant and this bill prevents her from making her own decision on time, being left with a baby she does not want. I understand that although abortion is a horrible thing,  a woman who is not ready to maintain a baby doesn’t have to keep it to satisfy the state’s law, it should be her own choice to make. The truth is that abortion needs to stop being challenged. Women are entitled to their freedom, body, and choice. Ultimately everyone should have the right to their own body and freedom without a high authority trying to control it. 

Open letter-

Dear Planned Parenthood,

My name is Arlyn Perez and I am here to say that I stand behind your goals and believe that abortion clinics should continue growing to help increase the safety and accessibility for women.  In the past, abortion in the United States, abortion was authorized to happen before quickening, or the start of fetal movements began (15–20 weeks) after conception but other states were completely against it, making it illegal. Illegal abortions are the ones that caused more damage to women sometimes resulting in death. According to the article “History of Abortion.” National Abortion Federation,https://prochoice.org/education-and-avocacy /about-abortion /history-of-abortion/, A lot of women died or suffered serious medical problems after attempting to self-induce abortions. Others went to untrained practitioners who were uneducated and performed abortions with dangerous methods often in unsanitary conditions. I don’t want women going back to these harmful methods because strict laws are being enforced to prevent abortion from happening. So I fully support planned parenthood or any other reproductive health service and will gladly donate to help women get access to a sanitary and secure abortion clinic. Although abortion clinics have been pushed to get their facility license removed in certain states, I’m glad to see that you are getting the word out by posting an open letter on your website to address why it is necessary to keep clinics around. The line “ We denounce the reckless actions of those who oppose reproductive freedom, and together with Planned Parenthood, will fight every attack that threatens access to reproductive health care” really stuck with me because it’s a bold and powerful statement saying we will not stop fighting until states stop challenging Roe v. Wade.

Works Cited

“History of Abortion.” National Abortion Federation, prochoice.org/education-and-advocacy/about-abortion/history-of-abortion/

Parenthood, Planned. “Open Letter to Protect Abortion Access.” Planned Parenthood of Nassau County, Inc., www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-nassau-county/blog/open-letter-to-protect-abortion-access.

Rebecca, K. K. “Abortion Bans: 9 States Have Passed Bills to Limit the Procedure This Year.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 15 May 2019, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/us/abortion-laws-states.html.

Yan, Holly. “Debates over Anti-Abortion Laws Have Raised Common Myths about Abortion. These Are the Facts.” CNN, Cable News Network, 18 May 2019, www.cnn.com/2019/05/18/health/abortion-myths-and-facts/index.html.

Zdanowicz, Christina. “Women Have Abortions for Many Reasons aside from Rape and Incest. Here Are Some of Them.” CNN, Cable News Network, 22 May 2019, www.cnn.com/2019/05/21/health/women-reasons-abortion-trnd/index.html.