Uneasiness runs thick in the air. Emotions are high. Feelings of anxiety, resentment, hostility and disgust fill every empty thought. Everyone has a viewpoint but not all agree. No one enjoys discussing the intimate details of such highly debated issue. There is no changing one’s mind when it comes to the topic. A person is either pro-choice or pro-life.

For ages, controversy has surrounded the topic. Is it a freedom? A human right? Should the ultimate decision be up to the carrier of the unborn or should the government be able to regulate an individual’s freedoms to decide what is best for them? Should another human be able to make the final determination that will forever change a person’s life? These tough questions surround you and me each and every day. Although we are a nation that lives by our freedoms and our rights, it seems as though this is ever changing. Abortion rights are slowly being taken away. This is an injustice to every woman and man.

Who has the right to decide what is best for you and me? I support pro-choice and the efforts to maintain this freedom and the right to be able to decide.

A human life is sacred and should be cherished and adored. I do not think that a child should ever be abandoned or taken from this world, but at what point is a fetus considered to be a child? Although many people argue this detail, there is no definite scientific age that has been agreed upon. Some argue it is the day of conception. Others argue it is when a heartbeat can be heard through the Doppler instrument. Some even go as far as to say that the fetus is not considered to be a living baby until birth. The most common perception is the stage at which quickening has started. Quickening can be defined as the initial motion of the fetus in the uterus as it is perceived or felt by the pregnant woman. This stage usually starts between 13 and 16 weeks. Thus being the reason as to why most abortion facilities will perform an operation until 12 weeks of the gestational period. Legal abortions can be done until 24 weeks into the pregnancy. After this point a baby can survive with the assistance of medical attention and medical equipment in the neonatal unit.

In any such case, I believe that the carrier of the fetus/unborn child should be able to make their own determination as to what they personally believe to be the appropriate gestational period to end a pregnancy. If scientific research, doctors and professionals cannot agree upon what age a fetus is determined to be a human being, then no one but the carrier should be able to make that determination for the fetus.

There are many circumstances that can lead to an abortion. Some cases may be for personal reasons, some for the medical safety of the mother and others due to the condition of the fetus.

As of 2008, the yearly estimate of abortions was 42 million worldwide, with 1.37 million of them being done in the United States. Developed countries, such as the United States, only account for a total of 17 percent of abortions. Women under the age of 25 receive a little over 50 percent of the total in the United States. Social reasons are the leading motive for abortions with an astonishing 93 percent. Rape and incest cases only account for 1 percent and 6 percent occur because of health problems for the mother and fetus combined.

Even though these numbers may turn heads and make some people think even less of abortions, it makes me give a second thought to the issue. Can you imagine what the world population of homeless children would be? What about the hungry children, the unwanted children that receive no love and are despised by their parents or those that end up in the adoption world or never receive a permanent home and live in foster care until they are kicked out at the age of 18? What about these children? If abortions are made illegal in the United States who is going to care for the 1.37 million additional children, that for whatever reason, aren’t receiving the life that they should have.

As free Americans you and I can both form whatever viewpoint we would like. Religion and political views may even play a role in our choices. It just doesn’t seem right to force an individual to carry a fetus until birth and then force them to make a decision to either place the child up for adoption or to attempt to make a house into a home.

Is it fair to an unborn child to have a mother addicted to drugs during the gestational period because she does not have the option to have an abortion? So many circumstances, whether right or wrong, warrant an abortion. If I would ever have to face the horrible fate of being raped and conceiving a child, I would like to have to the right to make the decision to carry on with the pregnancy or have an abortion. The mental state that a woman would be forced into would be detrimental if she did not have that choice.

Currently the government is trying to pass a health care plan. As with any new governmental plan there are always pros and cons. The most recent con to the health care plan is the amendment introduced by Rep. Bart Stupak, a Michigan Democrat.

Basically, Stupak’s amendment states that any facility or physician performing legal abortions will not receive governmental subsidies. If the new health care plan passes as it currently stands, these facilities and physicians will have to rely on governmental subsidies to stay afloat.

In my opinion, the actions of Stupak are an underhanded way to oppose abortions and a new way for the government to make them nearly impossible to get. Even if this action was based solely on the attempts to get the Republicans to vote for the Democratic health care plan, they are unjust and are taking away the right of Americans to decide what is best for them and their well-being.