“In high school, I noticed the cliques and all that, but fortunately I did not let the cliques bother me. I was nice to people who were nice to themselves.”
—Terica, 20, TN
Two Teen Girls Debate the Abortion Issue
Originally Published: Aug 11, 2004
Revised: May 21, 2007
To choose or not to choose abortion—that is the question. Last year marked the 30th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision to legalize abortion, yet debates about abortion still continue.
Jenna Levy, 17, who believes abortion should remain legal, and Marianne Perez, 18, who believes abortion should be illegal, touch on some of the arguments for and against legalized abortion.
Both are teen editors for Sex, Etc. Their opinions highlight the reasons why our country remains divided on this highly politicized and gut-wrenching issue. —Editors
Why I'm Pro-Choice
By Jenna Levy, 17
I am a firm believer in a woman's right to choose whether or not to have an abortion. Our society benefits from the availability of choices, and abortion is one of them.
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Jenna Levy
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Most teen mothers are not prepared to bring a child into this world, and although some choose not to have an abortion, it is comforting to know that the choice exists, especially in cases of rape or incest. Should a woman have to live with the pain of seeing the features of her attacker every day of her life?
What about the times when a woman's health is at risk, when her pregnancy poses a threat to her life? If abortion were made illegal except if the woman's life is at stake, though, who would decide which is more important: the life of the mother or the life of the fetus? Would there be exceptions to who is and is not allowed to have the procedure? Who decides?
The United States still has the highest teen birth rates of all industrialized countries. Men and women should be using protection against pregnancy, but if a woman becomes pregnant, she should have the option to terminate the pregnancy.
Keep in mind, not everyone who is pro-choice believes that abortion should be used in every case. I believe that most teens who have an abortion do so not because they wanted one, but because they felt it was the best choice for their situation.
If abortion was illegal, the results could be devastating. Many women may resort to visiting inexperienced doctors in unhygienic settings, despite risks to their bodies.
A 2002 National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy report states: "If more children in this country were born to parents who are ready and able to care for them, we would see a significant reduction in a host of social problems, from school failure and crime to child abuse and neglect." I then ask: Is it fair to bring a child into the world if it's not wanted or if its needs cannot be fulfilled?
The main reason I am pro-choice is because I don't think it should be within the power of the government to regulate what a woman does with her own body. What a woman wants to do with her body should be her decision, not the president's!
Why I'm Pro-Life
By Marianne Perez, 18
As a Catholic and a firm believer in human rights, I vehemently oppose abortion. I believe in God and his Ten Commandments, especially "thou shall not kill." That commandment makes it clear, so I don't think twice about whether or not abortion is wrong.
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| Marianne Perez "Abortion is an erasure" |
I believe everyone has the right to live. Aborted babies will never have the chance to make their mark in the world. Women who choose to have an abortion are scared and confused about pregnancy, or, simply put, they just don't care and having an abortion is their "mistake eraser."
When you have sex, there is a possibility of pregnancy. Having sex is a conscious decision you make. Therefore, if you get pregnant, you're responsible and having the child is your responsibility.
I believe abortion is never a solution for an unplanned pregnancy, regardless of how the pregnancy came about—whether through sex before you're ready to raise a child, rape, or incest. These are not exceptions.
Some women who are raped claim that having the baby would "only bring back painful memories," and I ask, "But is it the baby's fault? Should the child suffer or be punished because his/her father is a rapist and is, therefore, a product of rape?"
I try to imagine being raped, becoming pregnant, and choosing between keeping my baby or aborting it. I believe it would be highly immoral and irresponsible of me to make an innocent baby suffer because of someone else's wrongdoing.
Those who favor abortion identify themselves as "pro-choice." I believe a person has the freedom of choice when it comes to choosing what to eat for lunch, what kind of car to drive, or who to date. This freedom reaches its limit when it comes to choosing whether or not another human being can live or die.
No one should have the power to choose life or death, especially when adoption is another option. Do not deny a human being the right to live.
Editors' Note:
Some helpful Web sites for pregnant teens are www.momdadimpregnant.com and www.menandabortion.com.
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Your Comments
pro-choice
Posted by: starship on Jun 29th, 2008 10:26pm
When you think about it the 'baby' isn't considered a baby
till its three months old. The law prevents the death of a
accual human being. An abortion is only to fetus' who are
NOT considered human beings. So is it really murder?
pro-choice
Posted by: uncertainfreak on Apr 24th, 2008 7:39pm
i am pro-choice. God does not have anything to do with it.
(thats the only reason why the girl is pro-life). I believe
in, well two things, either reincarnation (the kid could
have a better life with someone else) or when you die, youre
dead nothing else happens. Therefore, i am sorry for people
would must choose. Religion, rebirth, ect. do have a part in
this. And it sucks that someone would have to choose.
i see what u saim pro-life
Posted by: flaca_7 on Apr 16th, 2008 11:31am
i understand what the first girl is saying but i take both
sides!!! y would a girl so young want to have a baby and
ruin her life and her education!!!! its not right!!!! so u
should have an abortion!!!! but if you have your beliefs you
should go gor them!!!! it may be a mistake if u opend your
legs but u shoukdnt always get an abortion!!! its not the
babys fault!!! thats why i m pro-life!!!
As for the pro-choice.
Posted by: Fangora on Apr 12th, 2008 1:32am
I'm in the middle. In cases of rape, incest, and risk to the
mother's health/life, I think an abortion should be legal,
but not in any other case. But for the pro-choice argument,
if teens having sex no longer have the option of having an
abortion don't you think that they will be more careful?
They can no longer thing, "Well, if I get pregnant, I can
just have an abortion." It won't be an option so they won't
be so careless.
Personally... I'm Pro-Choice
Posted by: willowxwilliamfan on Mar 13th, 2008 1:34am
I only say I'm pro-choice because I take a look around at
the town I'm living in.There are teenaged girls who are
going to wreck their lives by having a kid at 13.That along
with incest, isn't incest a BIG no-no in the bible?I'm for
abortion for one other reason. What if there's a unborn
child that is going to be a vegitble?Is it fair to that kid
to never beable to live and just exist? It seems to me that
'aborting' that child would be mercyful, and not having
doctors play god keeping it alive?
wow
Posted by: pro-life22 on Mar 12th, 2008 8:46pm
ok...i can see the point both girls raise.. it's not fair
that a girl is raped...BUT is it that babies choice? no its
not!!! the girl can always give the baby up for
adoption..and sometimes when it comes down to it the girl
falls in love with THEIR child and wants to keep it...God
didn't create sex for fornication and he didn't create free
will for murder...
What if?
Posted by: Think bout it 515 on Feb 6th, 2008 8:58pm
ok u say that abortion has nothing to do with faith, but evn
if u want hard core facts, the life stars once the heart
starts to beat, so ur ARE KILLING A REAL HUMAN BEING (they
are just younger then you)
now this next statment is a
little over the top but it put it in perspective for
me:
what if your mom decided to kill you? i mean you are HER
child and your her RESPONSIBILITY til ur 18 years old and
even then your still HER son or daughter. (nd not evry baby
grows up 2 b a murderer)
Good Read
Posted by: emma on Jan 22nd, 2008 1:19am
This is kind of random, but to all you debaters on abortion,
read the book titled UNWIND by Neal Shusterman. It's kind of
twisted, but interesting. It's completely about the issue of
abortion.
Coming from an Agnostic...
Posted by: emma on Jan 22nd, 2008 1:15am
This is a moral issue anyway and has nothing to do with God.
It does, however, have to do with the government trying to
put restrictions on the way a person lives their life. I am
Pro-Choise, but i would never get an abortion. As far as
being raped goes, she never made that choice to become
pregnant. I can understand whenever people complain that
it's murder(this is why it goes against my morals)but the
baby is living inside the WOMAN's body. Therefore it should
be the WOMAN's choice
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pro-choice
Posted by: Penguin-girl on Aug 25th, 2008 3:43pm
personally, i'm pro-choice but im pro-life for my OWN body,
no one elses. also, someone said that if abortions were
illegal teens would be more careful, BULL. think about how
many teens out there still have sex despite not having any
form of contraceptive, if the teens are determined, they
will have sex. also, i think if i got pregnant now i would
have an abortion because it wouldn't be fair to any child to
be raised by a 17yr old whose bf is 7 hours away