Twenty-five years after the Supreme Court's infamous Roe v. Wade decision, the majority of the American public still favors the legislation of abortion. The latest New York Times/CBS Poll shows that there have been nearly 30 million abortions preformed in the last two decades. Personally, as a young woman living in the 21st century, I strongly disagree with women using abortion as a major form of birth control. But, I do support the reproductive rights of women, to make their own decisions concerning the issue of abortion. I believe this is a very personal moral issue and that the government should not be involved in our decision-making regarding these rights.
According to Carey Goldberg and Janet Elder in the New York Times article dated, January 16, 1998, "In a poll that was given in 1989, when people were asked whether a pregnant woman should be able to get a legal abortion if her pregnancy would force her to interrupt her career, 37 percent said yes and 56 percent said no; In 1998, only 25 percent said yes and 70 percent said no. Also, in 1989, 48 percent thought an interrupted education was enough to justify a teenage girl's abortion; that dropped to 42 percent in 1998"(A 1). Based on these statistics, it appears that the majority of Americans are still in favor of abortion but with limitations. I also believe it is important for a young teenage girl to have the right to continue her education and to make her own decisions regarding an unwanted pregnancy. Whereas, a young woman with a career facing similar circumstances, hopefully, would take a more responsible approach by practicing safe sex, following through the full-term pregnancy, or giving the child up for adoption. Taking responsibility should be an important expectation for either age group, but especially for those young adult career women who have more life experience, maturity and means of financial support.
