Pro-Choice

Abortion has been, and still is, one of this country's most controversial topics. Some people are against abortion, while others believe in a mother’s right to choose. These opposing views can be broken down into two categories: Pro-life and Pro-choice. I personally believe that there are many important factors to ponder before bringing a new life into the world. The consequences of pregnancy are always magnified when the mother isn’t emotionally, physically, or financially prepared.

In the past few years, the number of teenage pregnancies has increased significantly. Most teenagers are not prepared to meet the many challenges of raising a child. Most often, they are not even mature enough to care for their own needs! A baby can sometimes disrupt a woman's ability to earn money or plan wisely for her future. This is especially true of teenage mothers. Having a baby will often mean an end to a future career, and can even create health and financial complications for the mother. A baby is a financial obligation that many teenage mothers cannot afford to commit to.

Many people that are pro-life suggest adoption as an alternative to abortion. Even if the mother decides to give the baby up for adoption, she still has the burden of carrying the fetus for nine months. There are a multitude of emotional and physical issues to deal with in carrying to term and then giving the child away. Also, the majority of people looking to adopt are middle class white couples, while the majority of the babies given up

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for adoption are of a mixed race. Unfortunately, most of the adoptive parents don’t want these children.

The word "murder" is often used by pro-lifers to describe abortion. The definition of murder is, “the deliberate and unjustified killing of another person containing intent.” How can anybody see an evil intent in a woman's decision to interrupt pregnancy if the pregnancy is an accidental occurrence? This ”murder” idea is based on the unscientific idea that an embryo is a human. In reality, an embryo is merely a mass of tissue, that has no thoughts as to whether it wants to live. Technically, women may have an abortion up to the 25th day of pregnancy, and not be murderers under the pro-life’s guidelines.

Every child should be a wanted child. Pregnancies should be planned when the mother is physically, emotionally, and financially capable of having a child. When the mother is lacking in even one of these areas, it can negatively