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<title> We have to preserve the right to free abortion </title>
In 1992 there was a case of abortion in Ireland that attracted a lot of attention. A fourteen-year-old girl, who was raped by the father of one of her friends, got pregnant. Since abortion is not allowed in strictly Catholic Ireland she had to fight for a long time, and even threaten to commit suicide, before the Supreme Court established the right for her to go to England and have the abortion there. I wonder how this girl was supposed to give birth to a child under those circumstances. For the rest of her life the child would remind her of the terrible abuse she had been the victim of. In this specific case the situation was even more traumatic because the girl was so young she would not have had a chance to bring up and care for the baby the way a mother is expected to. I feel strongly about these issues and in this essay I will try to explain why the right to free abortion is one of the most important rights for a woman. 
	Women have always chosen if they want to give birth to a child or not. The question is what social, economic and medical risks that should have to be involved. The answer is of course minimal risks. Despite this obvious answer 200 000 women are killed every year due to the fact that illegal, and in most cases risky, abortions still are common all over the world. This inconceivable number corresponds to one jet plane of women crashing... every day! For these women's sake, especially those in the developing countries, we have to prevent risky abortions by information and supply of contraceptives. In addition we have to fight for a legalisation of abortion in more countries.
As mentioned above the use of contraceptives is a way of preventing abortions. Some people may think that abortion is used as or instead of protection, but I seriously doubt that. The reason for my doubt is that a decision about abortion is never easy to make. It contains many feelings such as pain and guilt. Therefore it is hardly likely that anyone would want to go through this unless it is absolutely necessary. And besides, you can use protection and still get pregnant, because it is never 100 per cent safe unless you get sterilised. 
	In addition to the medical outlook there are many arguments about ethics and morals that are often used by "pro-life" supporters. They claim that abortion is murder. I wonder how we are supposed to know when a collection of cells becomes a human being with human rights. The majority of all abortions take place in the first twelve weeks of pregnancy. Obviously we can not know if the embryo feels anything at that age but to me it is not very likely. 
	My most important argument for free abortion is the woman's right to decide over her own body and consequently her own life. As I have mentioned abortion is often a question of morals, but is it really morally correct to carry a baby for nine months and then give birth to it when you know in advance that you will not be able to give the child what it needs and deserves? In these cases it is of course possible to have the baby adopted. But unfortunately there are already a lot more unwanted children and orphans than couples who want to adopt. My point is: should we bring children into the world even when we know that they are doomed to a life in misery from the beginning. 
Finally I would like to make clear that I defend abortion neither if the reason is that the baby will be disabled nor if it is used instead of contraceptives. Nevertheless, it is important that we keep the right to free abortion, which have been legislated in Sweden since 1975, and that we never restrict it. 
 	In conclusion: the issue of abortion is a typical woman's right issue. It is also one of the most important. A woman should never have to risk her life while having an abortion. Therefore it is important to legalise it and to fight against those who oppose women's right to decide over their own bodies. I do not condemn the "pro-life" supporters but I can not understand their arguments, whether they are based on religion or morals.
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