An Open Letter to Donald Trump
Dear President Trump,
In my English class, we have been completing multiple projects about families and relationships. As a small group, we’ve been learning about divorces, single parenting, the loss of a family member and much more that affects families and their relationships together. Through this project, I have realized that abortion is a big problem that many women think about at least once during a pregnancy. I wanted to write to you specifically, because you are president of the United States of America, and it is up to you to decide if abortion should be legal or illegal in the United States. I can also argue, that without abortions, women who aren’t fully wanting a child, might go through depression, stress, and anxiety based on what is happening in their bodies. Have you ever thought about how women deal with being pregnant especially if they are young mothers? Based on my research, I can argue that rape victims might not have the necessities to raise a child, especially young mothers; also abortion should be legal because if it is not, it will cause mental health problems.
To start, abortions should be legal because people, but mainly teens probably do not have the necessities to raise a child for 18 years of their life. To give some context on this issue, every year, there are over 750,000 teen pregnancies a year and 30% of those pregnancies end in abortions. According to CBSNEWS, in their article “Parents, save up: It costs this much to raise a kid”, they state that “The estimated cost of raising a child from birth through age 17 is $233,610 — or as much as almost $14,000 annually […]”. In other words, one child can cost up to $14,000 every single year. Most teens today do not have jobs, or cannot make that much money in a year. Imagine finding out you are pregnant, but then realizing that you do not have the necessities to raise a child from 0–17 years old? This information is significant because, without the money to raise a child, the mother would then be homeless, or be living with her parents making very little money, trying to help raise her child. Additionally, according to Lisa McQuerrey in an article titled, “How Much Money Does the Average Teen Earn Through Summer Jobs” she states, “As of January 1, 2018, the federal minimum wage was $7.25 per hour. States may set higher minimum wages, but they cannot fall below the federal number. […] a teenager working a summer job in California, where the minimum wage is $10.50, would earn $420 a week before taxes”. This information is significant because, teens make about $7.25-$10.50 an hour, and $420 a week. But after taxes, they would have less. Overall this data shows how women who are pregnant, might not have enough money to pay for all the necessities a baby needs, which could lead to more homeless women in the streets.
Furthermore, abortions should be legal in all 50 states, because it will cause mental health problems. To give some context on this issue, mental health disorders, can be known as anxiety, PTSD, depression, and much more. Women who aren’t able to get an abortion like they would like to might feel as if they have to do something they do not want too. According to, Danny Huerta in an article title called, “Teens Affected By Rape” he states, “Victims may experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, sleep disorders and depression”. This information is significant because a woman or teenager going through a pregnancy could be diagnosed with depression due to not being able to live their life the way they want too, or diagnosed with stress disorders and anxiety. In the same article, by Danny Huerta, he states, “They are more likely to have multiple sexual partners. Also, they are at a higher risk for suicide”. This means that women who get pregnant, and aren’t able to get an abortion, might start feeling suicidal or even wanting more sexual relationships with other men. This information is significant because if women start to feel suicidal, while pregnant, it can trigger the mind to start wanting to die, or wanting to self harm themselves or other people. The mother of the child might start doing drugs, smoking, or vaping which could end up hurting the baby, which could trigger their minds to act violently. What would people think if you are pregnant, and doing drugs because it makes you feel better? Overall, this data shows how not having enough money, can lead to a woman or teenager to be homeless, trying to raise a baby on their own. Also, women who are having to raise a child on their own, might start to develop stress disorders, and go through depression. I think abortion should be legal, so then women don’t have to stress about making money for their child or so women don’t start having mental health disorders that might affect the child’s growth and birth.
Some might argue that abortion should be illegal in all the 50 states because it is killing an innocent human being, they aren’t born yet. According to Abort73, which is a non-profit educational corporation states that, “Even if the biological parents want nothing to do with their offspring, there are families all over the nation waiting desperately to adopt a baby, families who are willing to adopt diseased babies of any race or ethnicity”. What the author means here is that although a woman wants to get an abortion, and thinks it is the best idea for her, and maybe it is, the woman should think about putting up the child for adoption, instead of just requesting an abortion. However, it is also true that abortion should be legal because a baby isn’t fully alive until about the 24th-36th week of fertilization. According to myDr.com.au, in an article titled, “Baby’s development in the womb” they state, “By 24 weeks your baby’s organs are fully formed. The baby now has the face of a newborn baby, although the eyes are rather prominent because fat pads are yet to build up in the baby’s cheeks. The eyelids are fused until weeks 25 to 26 when they open”. Therefore, by the time you are 24 weeks into your pregnancy, the baby’s organs are finally fully formed, and by 25–26 weeks, the baby’s eyes start to open. If a woman gets an abortion before the 24 weeks when the baby’s organs are there, it wouldn’t affect too much and the child wouldn’t know or feel what is going on.
Therefore, I implore you to please make abortion legal in all 50 states. If you do not, there will be more women who are depressed, have anxiety, which can lead to suicidal thoughts, which can also lead to a higher death toll per year. Also if women are not allowed to get legal abortions, they might look for illegal ways to do so. Women or teens most likely do not have the necessities to raise a child from 0–17 years old. The cost of an average child is $14,000 a year, and most teens who’ve been raped can’t make that much in a year. Why should a woman who is unable to care of a baby be forced to do so? She shouldn’t have to, which is why we need abortion to be legal.
Thank you,
Melina de Souza
