I'm stealling Nealy's idea of posting my Writer's Craft
This thing is long so I understand if you don't read it all, but you have to at least read the last 2 paragraphs...enjoy
P.S. sorry if it offends any pro-life supporters
Abortion
Abortion was legalized in the United States on January 22, 1973, as a result of the Roe vs. Wade case. It has been legal ever since, but has remained a hot topic of debate. The two sides on this issue are pro-life, the belief that abortion should be outlawed, and pro-choice, the belief that abortion should remain legal. I am pro-choice for several different reasons all connected by a common theme; my belief that church and state should remain separate. This theme is significance because those who are pro-life generally chose this side based upon their own religious morals. I think that it is wrong to let ones own religious morals inflict their political opinion, especially in a country like the United States of America where religious freedom is a founding principal.
Women who are most likely to have an abortion are between the ages of 15 and 25. Women at this stage in life should be working to excel in life independently. If a baby was thrown into the picture all illusions of success would be expunged and a horrific new reality of spending most of their energy and time in support of the child would become their entire life. Not that I believe they would be too selfish expend their energy on a child, just that it’s unnatural at this stage of life to surrender the luxury of time to support another. Moreover, view the situation from the baby’s perspective; they are a malfunction, a mistake, a weight dragging their mother and father, if he’s even present which is often not the case, further away from the life they aspired to live. It isn’t healthy for a child to feel responsible for the problems of their parents, but it’s enviable for any unwanted child to feel this way; it is the harsh reality they are faced with. Despite the fact that young pregnancy creates a profound affliction for both mother and child, there are some who believe they are ready for a child, or who oppose abortion because of religious morals. The beauty of America is that these women can choose to not have an abortion while the rest of the women can have the abortions they desire.
Another beauty of the America way of life is the justice system; innocent until proven guilty. In relation to abortion this is how we, the people, must treat a pregnant woman, considering abortion. It must be assumed that she is the most innocent type of criminal; that she took every necessary precaution before engaging in sex yet was unfortunate and still became pregnant. The assumption that she is a careless abuser of sex, who should be punished for her actions, should never be made. If the “criminal” is always understood to be the “innocent” type, how is it fair to punish her for the rest of her life because of one mistake? It isn’t fair. Even if the woman was truly the “guilty” type she shouldn’t be punished because in America we are all created equal, therefore she has the same rights as the “innocent” type of woman. Also, believing that this woman is “guilty” is can only be determined by morality. Abusing sex is considered a sin in some religions, especially if before marriage, but again that’s all religion and church and state are suppose to have a wall of separation between them.
I cannot comprehend the motivation behind pro-choice supporters; perhaps because I don’t see abortion as an immoral act or murder. Yet they have the choice to receive an abortion or not, it isn’t illegal to not receive an abortion. I have no problem with religious morals being the deciding factor in the choice of abortion. What I do have a problem with is pro-choice supporters forcing their beliefs of abortion being immoral onto others who don’t share these beliefs. Not everyone views abortion as murder, and believes it to be sinful, I don’t. I view pro-life supporters as discriminatory, intolerant, and narrow-minded enough to believe their way is the correct way. I think they are trying to save us from sin which is considerate, but, please let me decide what is and isn’t sinful for myself. Moreover, the pro-choice supporters are in fact hypocrites, for they live in America, a country founded by colonists who were seeking to escape the religious oppression in Europe. They can’t even justify their motivation for seeking to illegalize abortion because it goes against their countries foundation. They are the unethical ones, guilty of being hypocritical, prejudiced, and denying their countries principals; who’s the sinner now?
The legalization of abortion shouldn’t be a debated subject in America, because every argument against it is driven by religious moral reasoning and America was founded with the idea that church and state should be separate. Yet, abortion is one of the most controversial topics today, 31 years after it was legalized. I think that this issue is more than a termination of pregnancy; it represents the freedom of choice that Americans hold in such high esteem. If abortion was illegalized it would lead me to question what is happening to our country. Where did our principals go? What happened to choice? Where is the religious freedom that was once so important? I would lose faith in those who are running my country, because obviously they are corrupt enough to allow their own morals to effect their political decisions. People who display this corruption aren’t fit to be running a country where the citizens are an eclectic group, all from different religions. Justice can never be achieved if religious morals influence political decisions, I can only hope that Americans will see this and hinder it from determining the important decisions they make as a country on issues such as abortion.