An Open Letter to the American Family Association
Dear American Family Association,
Imagine this, your wife gets pregnant but the doctor says if she has the baby there is a possibility of medical complications. If you were pro-life would you let your wife get an abortion if it affects her health? In my English class, we have been completing a project about Family and Relationships. Throughout this project I have learned a lot about both sides of abortion. I wanted to write to your group specifically because I had found out the AFA is against abortion. Based on my research I argue that abortion should be legal in all of the USA because having abortion illegal is dangerous for women´s health and our country does not offer proper care to young, vulnerable mothers and minorities in pro-life states.
To start, having abortion illegal is dangerous for women´s health. To give some context on this issue, states with banned abortions laws women are more likely to end their pregnancy in unsafe ways. Do you know how many women die yearly because of unsafe abortions? According tom guttmacher.org, in their work titled “New Report Highlights Worldwide Variations in Abortion Incidence and Safety”, “In parts of the world where abortion is illegal, botched abortions still cause about 8 to 11 percent of all maternal deaths, or about 30,000 each year”. In other words, many women die because of how unsafe abortion is. This information is significant because it shows that since women don’t have much access to abortion clinics they seek unsafe ways to end the pregnancy. Additionally, according to amnesty.org, in their work titled “Abortion laws in the US — things you need to know”,“When carried out with the assistance of a trained health-care provider in sanitary conditions, abortions are one of the safest medical procedures available. But when abortions are restricted or criminalized, people are forced to seek unsafe ways to end pregnancies”. This information is significant because it explains how abortion is one of the safest medical procedures.Overall, this data shows that having abortion illegal or non-accessible can lead to more harm to the person giving birth and this is important because it shows how unsafe it for unsafe abortions and why abortion should be legal everywhere.
Furthermore, Our country does not offer proper care to young, vulnerable mothers and minorities. To give some context on this issue women who are younger and are minorities have a harder time getting abortions. Imagine if you are a teen and you accidentally get pregnant, instead of telling your parents wouldn’t the “easier” option just to try and do an in home abortion. According to NCBI, in their work titled “Unsafe Abortion: Unnecessary Maternal Mortality”, “African-American women are three or four times more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth than white women in the US, and this shameful inequality will likely be entrenched by new laws making pregnancy more dangerous”.This means that minorities are more likely to die during child birth. This information is significant because it shows how minorities aren’t as well taken care of in the us when it comes to abortion. Additionally, according to guttmacher.org, in their work titled “Adolescents’ Need for and Use of Abortion Services In Developing Countries”, “Taken as a whole, these studies show that compared with older women, adolescents have a greater tendency to seek abortions from untrained providers or to self-induce. As a result, adolescents more frequently make multiple attempts to end their pregnancies, instead of having one safe, effective procedure.” This information is significant because it shows how younger women like teens feel ashamed and just try to self induce a abortion which can lead to harm. Overall, this data shows younger women and minorities feel ashamed to get abortions so they decide to self induce abortions instead which could lead to death and it is important because it shows how unfair it is for the minorities and how we should work to make this issue more equal.
Some might argue that abortion is murder. According to news.gallup.com 48% of US adults are pro-life. However, it is also true that if having a child puts you in danger you should put yourself before anyone else. Just picture if the doctor had told you that if you have a child there is a high chance of you dying, what would you do, save yourself or the child. Therefore, even though many people see abortion as murder you should always put yourself before anything else if it puts you in danger.
Therefore, I implore you to start to consider being pro-choice. Throughout my letter I have talked about the dangers of in home abortion and how difficult, inconvenient and troublesome it is for mothers that are teenagers or that are minorities.This will make a difference because it will give people less guilt when they think about their options when they get pregnant. It is also showing another side of the story you may have not considered before.
Thank you,
Kiely Madrid
