By illegalizing abortions a women's individual rights are being taken away because they can no longer choose for themselves what is best based upon timing and conditions. Pregnancies can often occur at a point in time when a women is not ready to bring a child into the world, whether it is because they are too young to raise a child, they are currently living under the federal poverty line and are unable to support another human being, or a child would “interfere with their education and career goals” (Lawerence). Statistics show that of those who are getting abortions, 38% of women said it would “interfere with their education and career goals”(Lawerence), 73% said they could not afford to raise a child, and 42% of them are under the federal poverty level (Guttmacher …show more content…
A woman who is living on her own becomes pregnant, she is living under the current poverty level of $12,060 a year. She is already struggling to pay her rent, pay for groceries, and cover transportation to and from her minimum wage job every day. Now because of government laws she is being held to raise a child that she knows she is not ready for, which will add to her monthly expenses, soon adding the costs of diapers, wipes, clothing, daycare, doctor visits, etc. She can not balance raising a child on her own while keeping her 40 hour work week, as a result she must cut back her hours. This brings her even further below the federal poverty level, and she is not the only one going through this because thousands of women in the United States are in need of abortions, many for this very reason. While some women are dealing with timing situations similar to this one, others need abortions because of health reasons either theirs or the child's. Abortions are often seeked out when a woman becomes pregnant as a result of incest, rape, the fetus has severe disorders that can be life threatening or nonfatal, or the mother's life is at risk if the pregnancy is followed through