by Cynthia Sherman

Created on: May 16, 2008

Women of today should be allowed the right to an abortion. This is the year 2008, not the Stone Ages. Women no longer have to listen and obey every word that a man tells them. Women should be able to have control over what they do and not do with their own bodies. After all they are the one that have to battle morning sickness, weight gain, heartburn, two o'clock feedings, and the responsibly of the upbringing of a child.

While I personally do not believe in abortion, with the exception of rape, or severe birth defects, I do believe that women have the right to choose what happens to their body. Having a child is a huge responsibility, one that should not be taken lightly. In an ideal world, a baby would have a mother and a father to depend upon. Sadly this is not always the case. Sex in today's society does not carry the importance that it did maybe fifty years ago. Women saved themselves for marriage. Today women are more career oriented and marriage is not the first priority. This is true of having a baby.

Accidents happen and women need to be prepared for the consequences. Abortion can weigh very heavily upon a woman's conscious. Women need to think long and hard if this decision is right for them. If they decide that having a baby at this time in their life is not possible, and adoption is not an option, then they have the right to decide if they will abort. The government should not tell a woman that they have to raise a baby even if it is not wanted. This may result in the child not being cared for properly, abused, or abandoned. In the old days, women went to back street doctors to have illegal abortions. How many of those women survived or sustained permanent damage? Do we really want women to resort to this barbaric behavior again? I think not. We need to ensure that this procedure is in a clean, and sterile environment. Face it, even if many people disagree with aborting a fetus that is growing, getting bigger everyday, and is alive, women will still want abortions. If we want less deaths to occur, we need to allow safe and proper procedures of abortions to occur.

The woman agreeing to the abortion will have to live with this decision for the rest of her life. But, it will be her decision. Not the government, lawmakers, or the public. This decision is hers and hers alone. We have come a long way in women's rights. Let's not take a step backwards.

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