A Woman's Choice

A Woman's Choice

Isabella Smith is 23 years old, has a child who is six years old, pregnant, and living off welfare. Isabella had her first child at the age of 17. She dropped out of high school because she was afraid of what people would think or say. Her family disowned her, so, she was all alone to have and take care of this child on the way. She has struggled extremely hard over the years, dealing with an abusive lover, lack of affordable daycare, lack of affordable housing, lack of stability in a job, and all this while managing to raise a child and grow as an adult. Six years later, she has made this dreaded mistake again and she is pregnant. Unknowingly she heavily drank alcohol on the weekends during the beginning of the first trimester. Isabella knows the first trimester is one of the most important trimesters for the development of the baby and she is terrified of the horrific damage she could have done to the fetus. She also knows it's not too late to make the decision to have an abortion. Isabella is yet again afraid of what people might think of her if she has an abortion but she also doesn't want to bring another child into the world when she can barely provide for one child and herself. Women in America should have the right to determine if they want to have an abortion or not without being looked at as murders.

In life, everybody makes choices, choices whose effects can be temporary or choices that may make waves in one's life permanently. In my opinion, abortion should be a choice that one is able to make. I do not believe that abortion is murder in its true sense. Murder, as defined by Merriam Webster's dictionary is:

murder: (n) the crime of unlawfully killing a person especially with malice aforethought (476)

Abortion is not a crime and it is not usually done with malicious intentions. Don't get me wrong, I do not believe that abortion should be used as a form of birth control, but if there is an unwanted fetus, it is better to terminate it then bring it into the world to live a life of abuse, poverty or sickness. It is for some, an escape but for others a blessing.

All too often I hear or read of young girls and women who have been raped and become pregnant. It is so disheartening to know that when that baby is born, it is born bearing the sickening memory of what preceded it. In this case, why should that woman have to live with such a horrible memory on her shoulders? I believe that a woman should have the right to do as she pleases. She should have the right to "rid" herself of something that will forever haunt her of the pain she went through. Perhaps this will even prevent future suffering of the mother and child.

Then there is the scenario of a woman living in poverty that has become pregnant with a child (i.e. Isabella Smith). If that woman does not believe that she can provide for this being sufficiently, I believe that she has the right to terminate the pregnancy. This woman is thinking ahead for the well being of her child. Most people want their children to lead a better life than they have. In this case, it would be very difficult for the child to do well; living in poverty and the child possibly never getting the chance to fulfill its capabilities in life. There is also the chance this child, who was born into poverty will lead the exact same life as its mother.

What if a woman becomes pregnant with a direly ill child? What if that woman feels she cannot deal with the emotional stress of having a disabled child? Must this woman be forced to go through with a pregnancy which will only leave her unattached to her disabled child, emotionally unstable and unable to care for this child? I don't think so. Much emotional and physical stress is placed on the shoulders of parents with disabled children. Some parents may give under this tremendous pressure and not be able to care for the child, giving the child up to orphanages or to the state. Even though there are many successful, disabled individuals, there still is the population of disabled people who live with depression and anxiety. This is a horrible and an unhealthy way to grow up. I believe it would be better for this woman to have an abortion.

A woman's body is hers and hers alone, and although there's less than 0.5 percent of women who experience an abortion-related complication (Frontline), that is just one of the many facts women face when choosing to abort. The fetus does not yet possess "person" qualities. It is not conscious of its surroundings, it cannot reason, it does not perform self motivated activities, and it cannot communicate. This child does not carry out life as we know it. I believe that life begins with the passing of a fetus through the birth canal. To give birth is to give life; therefore, I believe that they occur at the same time.

If a woman made the decision to begin to have sex, she is faced with the consequences of having sex (i.e. abortion). With an abortion comes a large variety of side effects.

The psychological after-effects of abortion are hotly contested. Pro-life groups regularly report negative psychological effects after abortion; including depression and a form of severe emotional distress they term "Post-Abortion Syndrome (PAS)," which includes symptoms of sexual inhibition, flashbacks and alcohol abuse. (The American Psychiatric Association does not recognize PAS.) According to Planned Parenthood, temporary, mild depression is reported in about 20 percent of women who have had abortions, and severe "post-partum psychosis" occurs in less than 0.02 of women who have had abortions. According to mortality reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been between four and 12 deaths from legal or illegal abortion every year for the past 10 years. The risk of death associated with abortion increases with the length

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