With all the same old regurgitated pro/anti-choice letters lately, I thought I'd take a third angle at it.

I'm pro-abortion, meaning I don't only think that there should be a choice, but that it should be done more often.

The hard-core religious right always goes on about the right to life, but what about the rights of the parents (notice not just mother) to life, liberty and namely the pursuit of happiness?

Whether the pro-life crowd is willing to admit it or not, unwanted pregnancies ruin lives, especially teen pregnancies. Kids have to drop out of school, get low-paying jobs and usually give up on their future goals to support a baby that they didn't even want. This will inevitably lead to a poorer life for the parents and probably a bad upbringing for the child.

Some studies, albeit controversial ones, have shown a correlation between the lowering of crime and the legalization of abortion.

The fact is that early on in the pregnancy, the "baby" is little more than a small cluster of cells that don't think, know anything about their world, have relationships or have any other function that really makes us "alive."

I do think that abortions should be done early, since there's no point in waiting until organs and more develop and the infamous "when does life start" argument gets really ambiguous.

Bottom line: If the parents can't take care of the child or simply don't want to, get the abortion and everyone conscious of the decision will be a lot better off.

Adam Southworth
materials science
and engineering junior