Gabrielle R. Michigan

Abortion

Women in need of abortion are struggling with being provided a safe, healthy procedure.

Dear Future president,

23. According to the New York Times, that number represents the number out of 50 states who have passed laws in attempt to undermine women's constitutional right to abortion. Due to these laws, clinics have restrictions that are simply unnecessary health regulations that have the purpose of presenting an obstacle to women seeking abortion. Although abortion is legal, we should recognize that due to the state laws and and clinics banning and preventing abortion, women are struggling with being provided a safe, healthy abortion.

There are a few different opinions on abortion. One side thinks that women should be free to do what they choose with their own bodies. They know that even though they might not like the idea of abortion , they are aware that the woman’s body is her own, which means they have no say in her final decision even if they disagree with it. This is called pro-choice. Some people who are pro-choice are fully supportive of abortion, and some are not. I , personally, am pro-choice. The other side is called pro-life. This means they reject the idea of abortion completely. They favor the outlaw of abortion. Many people throw around the term, “abortion is murder”. Some alternate options they recommend is adoption. This would be a good alternate - if orphanages and foster systems weren’t already filled to the brim with children. 1. 3 million children are homeless, and all children who aren't adopted by the age of 18 are thrown out.

In the past, there have been many issues with the process of abortion procedure. If a women is wanting an abortion, there is a good chance she will have to travel further for the procedure than she did for counseling. There are many other issues such as time regulations, waiting periods, and money complications. Women’s health weekly states that 77% of women out of 3,618 (2,793), returned for abortion procedure, in under the 72-hour law, compared to the 2,513 of 3,130( 80%) in the previous year. 307 women were surveyed, and 63% reported more that 7 days between signing their consent form and their procedure. 62% reported that the 72-hour wait affected them negatively in some way. For example, 47% they lost wage of needing to take extra time off work, 30% had increased transportation cost, 27% lost wages from family and friends , and 33% said they had to disclose their abortion to someone they would not have told without the waiting period. These percentages are alarming. Waiting periods should be shorter , more regulated and more strict. These things can cause stress on the woman and fetus, which can be dangerous and painful.

Another issue is women being rejected from clinics in general . Many women who are rejected by clinics will have to travel further, frequently even out of state. This can be perplexing and disarrange a woman's daily schedule, working schedule, and take more money from her wallet. A survey in the journal Obstetrics and gynecology in 2011 found that 97% of Obstetricians/gynecologists nationwide had encountered a patient seeking abortion care but only 40% of them provided the service. According to the United States Department of Labor there are 20,090 employed OB/GYNs currently. In 2011 the Ohio State University College of medicine department of obstetrics and gynecology stated there were 36,858 OB/GYNs employed. This means that out of the 36,858, 35,753 OB/GYNs encountered a patient seeking an abortion, but only 5,005 of those OB/GYNs provided this service. This also means at least 29,674 (83%) of these were rejected and not provided service. That is assuming that each OB/GYN only encountered one woman. The lack of provided service can lead to many complications and some women are forced to bring the child into the world. If a woman is getting an abortion it was most likely because she know she won't be able to raise a child properly, whether it's financially ,emotionally, she doesn't want to child he or she doesn't have the time. Forcing a woman to bring a child out into the world under the circumstances where the child cannot be raised properly is dangerous and risky both for the mother and the child.

A solution to these issues is to one, keep abortion legal, two, pass a law requiring abortion to anyone needing it.It's not that simple though. Women four months or less into the pregnancy should have the right to an abortion under any circumstances. The safest time for an abortion is between eight to twelve weeks, any past that or before is more complicated and can be dangerous. Any past five months should have strong reasoning, and perhaps even approval by the doctors. I do understand that some OB/GYN's do not like performing abortions,so I recommending 3 doctors for every 5 clinics in each state that are willing to do abortion procedures.

In the end, this is all up to you. Thank you for taking the time to read this letter.