Hammonds

Shelby Hammonds
Ms. Schneider
Intro to English Composition
12 November 2014

Pro-Life or Pro-Choice?
Abortion is a womens choice, not the government. However, it would not be a choice
for me but I am pro-choice. I think that when it comes to a choice like this, it is the womens
decision to what happens to her body, depending on the circumstances. No one ever thinks about
the greater reasons as to why a woman wants to no longer carry her child. Reasons such as rape,
incest, and inability to carry full term without putting her life in harms way. Less dramatic
reasons such as individual freedom and life opportunities can also be a reason as to why woman
chose this route.
Every year many women become pregnant due to rape or incest. Every two minutes
another American is being sexually assaulted, 44% are girls under the age of 18, and girls ages
from 16-19 are four times more likely to be victims of sexual assault, rape and attempted rape
(RAINN, 2009). Being very traumatic crimes for the woman, who is the victim, most of the
time, cannot even cope with the stress it brings. But telling a woman she cannot terminate the
pregnancy is wrong. Carrying that baby would be a constant reminder as to what happened; it
could even potentially cause a lot of stress and lead to mental health disorders. Some people may
ask but did the baby ask for this to happen? No the baby did not, but no one ever ask, did the
woman ask for this to happen? How do you explain to a child they were conceived because of
rape or incest.

Hammonds

Some women do not have any other choice but to abort their baby, as heart wrenching as
it sounds. Woman sometimes have to terminate their pregnancy due to high chances of losing
their babies because they have the inability to carry it full term. While other woman have to
terminate it because they could lose their own life. This is another very emotional yet wise
choice for an abortion.
A less dramatic reason but also an important one people forget, is individual freedom.
These are womens bodies; they should have control as to what happens to it no matter the
situation. If they chose to abort their baby then they have to live with the emotional and physical
toll it takes on a womans life not the president of the United States or the congregation from the
church down the street. Many women who receive abortions regret their decision and some
woman say it was the best choice they could have made under the circumstances they were in.
The government is continually trying to shut down a lot of abortion clinics across the United
States, The last remaining Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in Cincinnati could lose its
license to perform surgical abortions (CNS News, 2014). What people do not realize is that
these so called abortion clinics are also where people go to be provided with the proper care to
prevent pregnancies, to get check ups, and be tested for sexually transmitted disease because they
cannot afford to go anywhere else.
Getting pregnant can put a damper on a lot of life opportunities including women in and
out of their teenage years. Woman are a lot of the time more focused on work or their schooling
and do not have the time to tend to a brand new baby and eventual child. There are also
complications with not being in a good financial state and not being able to provide. Most teens
that become pregnant are still in high school and most of the time do not even graduate. These
teens continue on and will not even go back to get their GED making them ineligible to attend

Hammonds

any college. A lot of the time the woman do not want to take on the responsibility of being a
single mother knowing the father will not have any part of the childs life. Fewer than 1% said
their parents' or partners' desire for them to have an abortion was the most important reason
(Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2005). Woman make the best choice they think is possible for
them and that is what matters to them not anyone else.
Imagine being a woman who is broke and starving herself, being told she cannot abort
her baby. She then has to bring the baby into this world with no support. Imagine being a single
mother of five kids barely making ends meet, working 60 plus hours a week, not even having the
time to give her other children the attention they need. Why should that baby suffer along with
her and her five other kids? What if the women was told if she did not terminate the pregnancy/
abort the baby she would have no chance of living. If abortion is made completely illegal, it
takes away the womens right to herself and her body.

Hammonds

Work Cited
Finer, Lawrence B., and Lori F. Frohwirth. "Reasons U.S. Women Have Abortions: Quantitative
and Qualitative Perspectives." Reasons U.S. Women Have Abortions: Quantitative and
Qualitative Perspectives. N.p., Sept. 2005. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/3711005.html>.

"Last Abortion Clinic in Cincinnati Might Be Forced to Close." CNS News. Penny Starr, 24 Oct.
2014. Web. 17 Nov. 2014. <http://cnsnews.com/news/article/penny-starr/last-abortionclinic-cincinnati-might-be-forced-close>.

"Who Are the Victims? | RAINN | Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network." Who Are the
Victims? | RAINN | Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. N.p., 2009. Web. 17 Nov.
2014. <https://www.rainn.org/get-information/statistics/sexual-assault-victims>.