Abortion: The Right to Choose

Abortion is difficult to talk about. It should be a private matter. Not for politicians or ministers or strangers. But, people are either for or against it. Former Surgeon-General, J. Everett Koop said: "Nothing like this has separated our society since slavery" (Kerl 1). I will cover two areas of Abortion: Should it be legal? And, Should we all taker sides, for or against? Mainly, I believe that women should be free to choose. That means with no legal restrictions.

Here is a quote which says what I think: "Take the term ABORTION, for example. It is a label we apply to any and all situations in which a pregnancy is deliberately terminated. And because the label is universal, there are those who think it is possible and desirable to condemn all abortions, no matter what the circumstances, as wrongful. (Likewise, few would maintain that abortion is always the proper thing to do)" (Christman 2000 25).

Abortion should not be political. It should be a woman's right to choose. It is her body. It does not belong to the church. It does not belong to the government. It does not even belong to doctors. Why do women want abortions? It is often an economic choice. Families are already too large. There is too little money coming in to raise a child. There are also emotional problems. Often, unmarried women have good reasons. For example, teen-agers who have had unprotected sex and know that the father is not willing or able to help support the child. Teenage girls are also afraid of their parents. How often do we read about teen-agers thrown out of the house? Pregnancy is one reason.