Open Letter to Congress About Abortion

Dear American Congress and senate,

Abortion is currently illegal in 15 states, and 49 states have restrictions and laws to make getting an abortion more complicated and stressful. But, you probably already knew that, because most of you voted for those laws. These laws are passed under the guise of “concern for women's health”, but the mortality rate of medically overseen abortions is only 0.00073%. In fact, you are 10 times more likely to die from a colonoscopy. You are also more likely to die from following through with the pregnancy. There are many problems related to these laws, but for the sake of time, I’ll only address some.

The first problem is that the restrictions are not needed, don’t help anyone, and are designed to close down abortion clinics. Each state has different rules, but some of the most common ones are 72 hour waiting periods, no insurance coverage, 8 feet wide walls in abortion clinics, and a 2000 feet distance between an abortion clinic and a school. Having a 72 hour waiting period in between the first consult and procedure. can make abortions very difficult, because most states have only 1 abortion clinic. This means that most women have to drive very long distances to get to an abortion clinic, and usually, there is nowhere to stay during those 72 hours. Also, most insurance companies don’t cover abortions, so women will have to pay $300 - $950, depending on her term. Lastly, making clinics have 8 feet wide walls and a location of 2000 feet away from schools are made to target specific abortion clinics, so that they have to close down. This is just another way to make abortion impossible to get without making it completely illegal.

Because of these ridiculous laws, peoples lives have been ruined. Imagine a 13 year old, a victim of sexual assault, trying to get an abortion. She has to drive 2 days to get to the nearest hospital in San Antonio. When she gets there, the nurse has to turn her away, because their anesthesiologist doesn’t have admitting privileges at the hospital. Sadly, this actually happened. The only other way this girl could now get an abortion is to drive 7 days to new mexico, wait there for 72 hours, and pay $5000. We all know that won’t happen. You have just forced a 13 year old into motherhood. That is definitely not pro life, and it is not helping the girls health.

Another problem with abortions is that if a pregnant women is in a life-threatening condition, she can’t save herself. Most pregnancy related illnesses will be solved if the baby is aborted. If not, both the baby and mother will die. Again, this is not pro life or sustainable. If most people were faced with the choice of killing one, or two, they would choose one.

Most pro lifers think that because they wouldn’t get an abortion, no one should. This is not a reason to be anti abortion. Personally, I would never get an abortion, but I will not tell someone what to do with their body just because it is what I would do with mine. If it’s not your uterus, you don’t get a say.

In conclusion, unless you are illiterate, you can see why making abortion illegal or passing laws to restrict it is counter-productive and not good for anyone. “Pro life” is not pro life, its just anti abortion. If you were pro life, you would consider the mothers point of view as well.

Sincerely,

Nadia Pajkovski