I am very strongly pro-choice. If you take away the option of a legal abortion, there would be even more illegal abortions done. More people would throw themselves down stairs, have a friend punch them in the stomach, or heavily use drugs in hopes to miscarry. These methods aren’t always effective, and if the fetus survives, are likely to cause permanent, and severe, damage. If we, as a society, didn’t condemn abortion like we do, there would be less crack babies, children born with fetal alcohol syndrome, and children born with less brain damage.

While placing a child up for adoption is an available option, there already aren’t enough people willing to adopt a child. Most adoptions are of children under the age of three. After that, they are more likely to spend the rest of their childhood in the system; many getting shipped from foster home to foster home and some in state institutions. The adult life of children raised in the system is grim; 27% of males and 10% of females end up in prison, 50% remain unemployed, 37% never finish high school, and 19% of females end up getting pregnant. This is all within a year and a half. If you had a child you couldn’t take care of, is this the future you want for them? source

Adoption has many other negatives as well. If a child doesn’t get love from a parent within the first year of life, it often looses it’s will to survive. Many children who weren’t adopted within their first year of life attempt suicide at least once and develop various mental illnesses.

Now, this isn’t to say that adoption is a terrible solution, just to show why I don’t see it to be better than abortion.

Contrary to popular belief, suicide is not something done by teens out of angst. While there are some who would “attempt” suicide, rates actually increase with age. Teens are the second least likely to commit suicide (with children under twelve being the least likely). This is not to say that teens and younger children do not kill themselves, only that adult suicide and geriatric suicide are far more common. However, if a parent commits suicide, one in three children will follow suit, but teens killing themselves out of angst is a sad mistake.source

The main reason why teens are least likely to kill themselves is because of one simple fact; healthy people don't kill themselves. Mental illnesses are usually at a minimal in the teenage years (unless on improper medication which can speed the development of one) and progressively worsen as a person ages. Terminal illnesses may cause a person to also commit suicide, but again, those generally increase with age.

I’m sure that there is an abundance of people who believe that suicide is a selfish act. While that might be true for some, there are cases where others were the reason for the suicide. If a man sacrifices himself to save his family, is he selfish? Also, when I asked an older gentleman who had attempted suicide why he did so, this is what he told me, “I thought it would be better for my children if they didn’t have to deal with my mental illness.” That doesn’t sound like “woe is me, I should end my life”.

Depending on the quality of life a person has and their reasons for attempting suicide, I do find it understandable. It’s seems ridiculous to me to expect a person suffering so greatly to continue for your own selfish will.

True love to me is something that cannot be faked. It is impossible to fabricate, and comes from within. Patience, trust, hope, affection, and the like can all be false. For me, there is one definition of love. To love is to sacrifice, as you cannot sacrifice without loving first.

It is impossible for any human to forsake all that they know for one person if they do not completely love them. No man could willingly give himself to any other person unless he knew that he could not survive without them. There are few who will argue that sacrifice alone is not love, but allow me to give an example from my life as it is the easiest way to explain.

I was 15 at the time that my mother had her first ECT treatment (its shocks to the brain, if you didn't know). The after effect of the treatment left her virtually a potato for upwards of a month. At this time, should could do basic things, such as sleep, eat, and relieve herself without assistance. However, she couldn't prepare her food, look after herself, or bathe alone. Her comprehension level was nonexistent. It was as if she were an Alzheimer's patient.

At an age where my friends and schooling were my life, I was not prepared to take on the role of care giver in the slightest. Yet the moment she came home, my life was no longer my own. Every action and choice within that time was for her, to make sure that she survived. I gave all I could for her care with only the thought of her getting better as my reward.

Some would say that I'm just selfless, and I must say, that is the farthest from the truth as possible. The fact is that I love my mother and would give up everything to make sure that she was alive and well. I learned from that short period that I'm not going into care giving as a profession, however if my mother or my husband need that type of care, I wouldn't think twice about it.

Sacrifice is the only way I can describe love. When you give every last comfort for someone else, you know that they hold a deep place within your heart. Too many people in this world are great actors; they can fake the emotions and actions that many associate with love. However, when it comes to the time where they must give all of themselves for the other, they are no where to be found. If the love is true, they are willing to put themselves through hell for the person they love.

Marijuana is one of the best narcotics there are. It has vast medical benefits with very mild side effects. It truly is a miracle of nature. It not only can help with reducing pain, it also increases the appetite, helps to calm nausea, and relaxes the mind. Marijuana can be a wonderful thing to those suffering from illnesses such as insomnia, anorexia, chronic pain, cancer, HIV/AIDs, and many more.

Tetrahydrocannabinol, or better known as THC, is the psychoactive chemical in marijuana. To be frank, there's only one side effect from THC and it is the same with most narcotics; you get high. Physically, there are no known dangers of taking marijuana in pill form. Smoking it may lead to some risks, but depending upon the illness it's treating, the benefits outweigh this.

With this knowledge, one can only conclude that the only reason why medicinal marijuana is not legalized is based upon one thing; money. If it were legalized, more than half of the current medication would cease instantly. With the cannabis plant being particularly easy to grow, there would be nearly no need for the pharmaceutical companies; thus, running them into the ground.

While some may argue the dangers of marijuana, and it's mentally addicting nature; they seem to forget that this is the same for all drugs, legal or not. Marijuana pure of any other substance is perhaps the safest drug on the planet. It seems a bit silly to restrict the usage of a relatively safe substance but allow much harsher substances to be obtained as easily as driving to the nearest Walgreens.

Even with the vast advantages marijuana would have in the medical field, it is doubtful that it will be legalized for the majority of the country, even for extreme cases, any time soon. The reason being is that the companies would loose far too much profit. Also, it would become rather difficult to control the usage and growth of the substance.

So far, there are twelve states that have realized the benefit of legalizing medicinal marijuana: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.

The federal government has no jurisdiction on what a state chooses to legalize. Even with the backing of the "War on Drugs", the states that choose to legalize medicinal marijuana are within their rights.

It's a shame that something natural with far less harm than it synthetic counterparts would be banned and outlawed. After all, isn't the code of ethics for the medical industry to help others and save lives, or is that just for doctors and nurses? Why keep something banned when it can do so much wonderful things?