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Allison Jacobsen
Simone Suddreth
English 1010
5 October 2015
Should Abortion Be Illegal?
This photograph is simple, yet the message it conveys is complicated, and very
argumentative. A photograph of a piece of paper with 8 words on it can create an endless
discussion with hundreds of different opinions and issues; because the argument involves life.
Which is something that we have a very limited understanding of. Whether you are involving
religion or not, there is still no real conclusion as to where we came from, and where we go after
we die. This photograph involves making a decision to alter someone elses life, it can be
extremely difficult. The government shouldnt have control over a womans choice of what they
do with their body. Even if that choice involves ending a life that hasnt even begun. If you
played roulette with a limited number of options that all seem adequate to you, you wouldnt care
about the outcome. If you saw the options, but werent allowed to choose certain ones and were
forced into a decision, you wouldnt want to continue playing. Eliminating options to choose
from only increases the chance of a more problematic situation.
In 2007, a bill was proposed called The Freedom of Choice Act. This proposal declares
that every woman has the right to choose; to either bear a child, terminate a pregnancy, or
terminate a pregnancy if it will cause harm to the womans health. This act does not allow the
government to interfere or discriminate against those choices. This bill has since been brought up

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to Barack Obama in a press conference in 2009. He said the Freedom of Choice Act was, Not
highest legislative priority. (President) It has not been brought up since. He stated that abortion
is a moral and ethical issue.
The argument is based upon where life really begins. Is it at conception, or is it when the
baby can survive on its own outside the mothers womb? In a poll by the Pew Research Center
last year, 51 percent of Americans said abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 43
percent said abortion should be illegal in all or most cases. (Mantel) While there isnt really a
right or wrong answer to this question, most of the ethics of the situation rely on the fact that
youre making a decision for someone else that cant decide.
Certain situations can be problematic and abortion may be the only logical solution. Rape
is a situation that can be considered one of the most difficult. If you didnt have the choice to
abort the baby that shared the same DNA as your rapist, you would have to carry the child to
term, and be forced to either parent or put the child up for adoption. Incest is also another
situation that most laws abide by and will allow you to have an abortion. It can be supremely
dangerous for the mother and the child if the child is carried to term. There can be many genetic
conditions that can affect both parties. Everyone should have the freedom to choose. Agency is
something that I strongly advocate for, and if a woman wants and decides to have an abortion,
she should have the option to.
If the government makes abortion illegal, it wont stop people from getting abortions; it
will stop people from getting safe abortions. Should the government be able to control your
freedom of choice? The first amendment to the Constitution allows us freedom. Freedom of
press, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, etc. If the government controlled our freedom to

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choose, we wouldnt have freedom. If someone decided to have an abortion because they
believed they couldnt parent a child, they should be allowed to. We live in a free country with
the ability to vote and choose our leaders. Why should we not be able to choose what we do with
our own bodies?
The other point of this picture is adoption. Adoption is the cheapest of the three.
Adoptions are paid for by the adoptive family, including healthcare, pre-natal care, and living
expenses for the mother. While it is the cheapest and obviously more humane, Planned
Parenthoods most recent report states that from Oct. 1, 2011 to Sept. 30, 2012, the organization
performed 327,166 abortions and only 2,197 adoption referrals. (American Adoptions) Women
believe that it is easier to have an abortion than to adopt. Imagine having the government tell you
that you couldnt have an abortion; you had to adopt or parent. You werent given a choice.
While adoption is the safer and cheaper way, women dont want to have to deal with
their child being raised by someone else. Although they have a choice to be in their childs life or
not, it may be too overwhelming for the woman. In the USA, there are approximately two
million infertile couples waiting to adopt. (Abortion vs. Adoption) Two million couples that
cant have children waiting to be able to raise a child. Yet there are over one hundred times more
abortions than adoptions. Although adoption is cheap for the mother, it is very expensive for the
family adopting. It can take years to have enough money to even look into adoption. We need to
reform the adoption process. There needs to be more support for adoptive parents so that more
people are inclined to adopt. If the government decides to make abortion illegal, they should
make the adoption process less expensive and allow for more children to be placed with loving
families.

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The final point of this picture is parenting. Parenting is the most expensive option. Total
cost to parent a child ranges from $1,000-$2,000 monthly. (American Adoptions) Parenting a
child is difficult, expenses can be hard, especially for a single parent. Thats why so many
women turn to abortion or adoption. Even though abortion is very expensive, it doesnt have the
commitment or publicity of parenting a child. People believe abortion is confidential and easy,
but it can have life-long consequences.
Instead of making abortions illegal, we need to reduce the amount of unwanted
pregnancies; they may compel women to want to get an abortion. Advocate more for adoption
and make adoption an option that every woman is going to want to choose. A safe adoption over
an unsafe abortion helps both parties, and doesnt cause endless debates on the ethics of
terminating a pregnancy. Decreasing the options available to someone with an unwanted
pregnancy does not resolve the situation. They are more likely to make a drastic decision that
could dangerously affect their life or their childs life. Playing roulette with less options just ruins
the situation for everyone playing.

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Works Cited
"Abortion vs. Adoption: Why so Many Choose the First and What We Can Do | Live Action
News." Live Action News. N.p., 15 May 2012. Web. 08 Oct. 2015
"American Adoptions -- America's Adoption Agency." Abortion or Adoption. American
Adoptions, 2015. Web. 08 Oct. 2015
Mantel, Barbara. "Abortion." CQ Researcher 19 May 2015. Web. 8 Nov. 2015.
"President Obamas 100th-Day Press Briefing." The New York Times. The New York Times, 29 Apr.
2009. Web. 08 Oct. 2015

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