Abortion is and always will be a touchy subject in our society. There will never be a time when we can unanimously agree as to whether or not abortion of an unborn child, or for the sake of not sounding so cruel- a fetus, is right or wrong. No matter where you are or what circumstances are affecting your environment some people will feel that it is cruel to bring a child into the world given their potential living circumstances or possible birth defects as a result of the life style or health of the parent, and there will always be others that see abortion as a cruel, murderous act and decide to look no further; but the truth remains that many of us are never forced to or electively choose to consider making this decision.

A few, uneducated and unexperienced years ago, I was strongly against the idea of abortion. I saw it as cruel, I saw it as murder, and I couldn’t even imagine it. To be honest, if the decision were ever forced into my life I don’t think that I could personally choose to make the decision to abort a fetus however, as I said above, many of us have never been in a situation where we have needed to choose and it could change if our situation were changed. There’s no way to know.

Many people when defending the right to abort will use the example of if a woman is raped. Of course, if a woman is raped we see no problem in allowing her to abort the child. Sure, there are still many that see this as murder, but often we will feel more sorry for a woman that was raped than for a woman that was in a relationship and then chose to have sex. Understandable.

I was in the tenth grade when I realised just how close the concept of abortion could be to me. Everyone had just returned from summer break and although terrible depressed to be back at school, everyone was happy to see each other again. Everyone except for one of my close friends, whom I will call Jane for this article. I asked Jane after class one day what was wrong. Anything was possible; death of a family member, a friendship or relationship ending, etc. Rather than saying nothing, rather than breaking down, Jane just asked me to speak with her after class, and so I went completely unprepared for what she was about to tell me.

Keep in mind as I explain this story to you that we were only fourteen at the time. I met Jane after school and she began by explaining that she was having an amazing summer. She had spent the summer spending time with her boyfriend and with his family. I was unsure as to where the story was going. Jane continued and informed me that she had shared her first sexual experience over the summer with her boyfriend and that somehow she found herself pregnant. I was shocked and just listened in silence to the story of my friend. Jane explained, as tears filled her eyes, that she had decided to have an abortion because she was not ready to be a mother.

If Jane did not have the right to make that decision, where could that child be right now, and where might Jane be? Jane acknowledges that she made a stupid decision, and yes, she suffers almost everyday wondering who that child could have been, but she knows she made the right decision. Jane went on to have at least three or four more boyfriends throughout high school, she studied and managed to get into the University of her choice and she continued playing all of the sports that she wanted to play.

Jane explained to me that she knew that she could never support the child, she was working at the movie theatres making just minimum wage, the thought of the child was destroying her relationship with her boyfriend, her family was starting to want nothing to do with her, and she had so much of a future ahead of her. Sure, Jane wanted children eventually, but she was not ready at fourteen-years-old.

I know, I know- many of you are wondering why she did not decide to have the child and then put the child up for adoption. Perhaps you are even furious. I was at first as well. Jane however, explained to me that she chose not to have child be adopted because if the child were born she did not think that she could have it taken away from her, and if she did, she couldn’t imagine living her life ignoring the fact that she brought a child into the world and just gave it away. To Jane, this was not the right thing to do. She didn’t feel that a life without it’s biological parents was right for the child.

I won’t tell you not to be outraged by the concept of abortion. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions however when it comes to the concept of abortion we need to consider the possible life that the child could be living. Some people that end up pregnant cannot support a child. Would we rather abort a child or see a child fending for him/herself on the streets? This is your decision, but I hope that you are never placed in a situation where you are forced to make it, but if you do think it, consider it in this manner; No life or a life that is horrible for the child.