Abortion is murder.  It should be illegal.  The procedure is immoral because the mother ultimately got pregnant, so she should be responsible enough to accept her consequences.  She should have known better, right? Since this woman was careless, it is now my business to influence the decision she makes for her body.  This is the rhetoric of pro-lifers.  Do you believe that these words are true?  If so, let me paint a life-altering picture for you, one that no one should ever have to experience….

    You are eighteen years old, overjoyed because you are finally attending your first year of college, which, by the way, has exceeded every expectation thus far.  There are a lot of firsts, including your first college party, which you are attending as of this exact moment. The dim, cramped room has clearly achieved maximum capacity, making it increasingly difficult to slither through to an empty spot.  Almost immediately following the long journey through a sweaty, inebriated crowd, a boy, whom you befriended in your psychology course, who is the most genuine and sweetest person you know, also makes the same journey. He is smart and funny and cute, which leads you to gain a decent amount of trust in him, so why would there be any suspicion about the drink he just handed you?  

    You’re not okay--really not okay. The fuzziness is unlike anything you have ever experienced before; it feels as though there is a filter on your eyes.  You see your friend from psychology class with limited vision and stumble over to him. He takes you into his arms, leading you away from the faded, perplexing scene that was once the epitome of social college fun.

Darkness.   

Remember when I said that you were experiencing a lot of firsts?  Add another one to the list because, at this point, you just experienced another first: rape.

At first, your naiveté allowed you to believe that there would be no physical complications from this event, only mental.  But, a whole month has gone by at this point without your long-awaited period; you decide it would be best to take a pregnancy test, just in case.  The wait-time is painstakingly long until the notorious double bar reveals itself--you’re pregnant.  You’re in a state of shock, the test dropping from the grip of your hand. You’re eighteen. You don’t want this baby.  The decision you must make for your own betterment and for the fetus growing inside of you is the only clear and distinct thought running through your spiraling mind: “I need to have an abortion.”

Think of the situation practically and reimagine the statements I made in the beginning.  In this hypothetical situation, you were not responsible for the pregnancy.  But, you should still suffer the consequences, right?  You were raped. You got pregnant without giving consent, yet you should still have known better?  Don’t those points seem illogical now, considering the story?

Right now in politics, people are aggressively supporting anti-abortion laws.  If these were to be introduced and enforced, how would a girl who goes through this same exact situation do what’s best for both her and her possible child’s well-being?  How would any girl or woman handle an unwanted pregnancy if she had no accessibility to help and support? Pro-lifers tend to ignore the many overwhelming factors of raising a child.  It’s almost as though they care more about the fetus’ birth than what happens to it once it’s in the world. If these anti-abortion supporters consider a fetus to be a sentient human, why do they force some to live an inhumane life?  Some women can’t afford the expenses of a baby or just don’t have sufficient parenting skills, which forces them to put the baby up for adoption. People against abortion usually argue in favor of adoption as a solution because it provides babies for couples who desperately wish to adopt.  Abortions lower the chances of obtaining this responsibility. People in favor of abortion rebut this point, questioning how 23,000 people age out of the foster care system each year, never finding a family.  Where are all the couples who wanted to adopt?  To make this statistic worse, only 2% of these eighteen-year-olds will pursue a college education.  If this still isn’t enough, 80% of all prisoners were once a part of the foster care system (Fogle).  If you think about it, then, isn’t the real issue that with fewer abortions comes more crime? This doesn’t seem like the best life path for these unwanted pregnancies.  

A woman knows herself best, so is it truly logical for other people to have the utmost control over her choices? I think it is clear that women should be the only ones making decisions for their bodies; it’s as simple as that. Instead of anti-abortion laws, what we really need is to give support to women who want abortions, not work against them.