Close your eyes, imagine a letter from your dream college just arrived in the mail. You open it and read “Congratulations, welcome to the family”. You’re in, you did it and you feel as if nothing can stop you now. However, as you are walking to show your family you feel nauseous and sprint to the bathroom only to lose your lunch. This cannot be what you think it is, not now, not here. The pregnancy test in the cabinet seems to call your name so you use it and low and behold, it’s positive.
All kinds of girls all over the globe face this issue everyday, but not all girls have the resources to receive an abortion and continue living their lives. Sadly, those who do have the right to aborton in America are under the threat of it being revoked; this is why I find myself in an ocean of dismay. Visualize being placed into poverty, losing connection with loved ones, or even being forced to give up on your dreams all due to an unwanted pregnancy that you could not rid of. Not only can I foresee women being engulfed in a fire of hatred towards the world or themselves; I also see a hatred for their child considering if it was not for them, they may have been able to live their life to the fullest. So yes, I am terribly upset that America is forcing children to face some degree of neglect since everyone’s first experience comes from the very women who had them, and being told from day one that you were “unwanted” could possibly be the worst pain one can ever experience.
Pro-Lifers who use some sort of argument along the lines of “That baby could have found the cure to cancer” contradict themselves considering the mother baring that child could have completed the same task by farthing their education, however that opportunity has now been taken away due to their forced motherhood. Some women are not ready to be mothers so bringing a child into this world only to have them suffer from neglect is more harmful to that child then never being born for they would have never known what it was like to live somewhere they do not matter, which brings me to the next point of those who suggest just entering unwanted children into the foster care system.
TheAppeal.org states “Thousands upon thousands of children are then separated from siblings, subjected to multiple placements, and left with little to no support, on a pathway to homelessness, incarceration, and unaddressed trauma”, this conveys that placing children into the foster care system hurts them instead of helping them. The more juveniles placed into the system only crowds it leading to the quality of care to worsen, therefore these children suffer from various mental and physical health issues. Chlss.org reveals that “Using logistic regression models, researchers found that kids who’d been in foster care were… Three times as likely to have attention deficit disorder, hearing impairments and vision issues. Twice as likely to suffer from learning disabilities, developmental delays, asthma, obesity and speech problems”. Why leave these children to suffer instead of giving them the right to never know what it’s like to go through poverty or a life without a stable home?
Here’s the part where I propose a solution to this devastating problem since you have read why I am greatly upset and now you need to know what we can do about it. Aclu.org is offering a text line where you text FIGHTBACK to 826-23 in order to stay notified with alerts on the progress of the abortion situation. Also, voting for polititions who cater towards keeping abortion rights available to all, and for those who are still in school, start by advocating for better sexual education classes if your school does not require students to take one. Misinformation could critically damage an individual’s life, therefore making sure your learning environment contains all of the correct ways to prevent an unwanted pregnancy is an admirable thing to do.
Abortion is not only a right for us women who stumble upon sudden mishaps, it’s also a right for those who are affected by our mistakes to never have to face the consequences of our actions. So before you go and say “Stay celibate until you’re completly ready for a family”, just allow women the right to choose whereas when Pro-Choicers say “my body my choice”, this does not signify that it is necessary for all young mothers recive an abortion.
Alisha Walker – Fenwick High School – Fenwick High School
Image: Mayo Clinic