One of the most debated topics these days is abortion; should it be legal or illegal? I, myself, am pro-choice.

Before you even say or think it: I am not a murderer.

The term pro-choice does not automatically mean that I want everyone to have an abortion, but that I want women and couples to be able to decide what happens for themselves freely.

I believe that it should be legal to have an abortion if desired. They have been around for decades and shouldn't just go away overnight. Besides, if it became illegal, that would only raise the number of unsafe abortions rather than stopping them altogether, not to mention a spike in women's deaths.

When people think of abortion, they generally gravitate to the thought that a woman is selfish and doesn't want to care for a kid, which is why I genuinely believe that most pro-life advocates don't know all of the reasons why someone would go through this willingly.

Firstly, it is sometimes very crucial to the health of both parties. The baby could be having complications and won't even make it to full term, the mother could be in danger if she continues to carry her child, or the mother could have serious illnesses or cancer that would put her life and the babies at risk.

Another reason why this topic is so debated is the new law passed in New York. Many pro-life supporters believe that this law is making late abortions legal in general; however, that is not the case. This law states that long-term abortions can exist if there is a risk or medical emergency involved during the third trimester. Along with this, laws were passed to ensure that women who have to have a late abortion receive insurance coverage and that any employee that discriminates another over reproductive health-care decisions is banned from the workplace. Upon creating these laws, the Senate Majority Leader stated that "in New York, women's health matters, women's lives matter, and women's decisions matter."

Yes, there is the standing argument that "if you don't want a baby, have protected sex," but that isn't going to stop pregnancy either. According to Planned Parenthood, safe sex isn't so safe. Male condoms are only 82% effective, while female condoms are only 79% effective. Even if you were using them with any other form of birth control- such as the pill, an IUD, the shot, a patch, etc.- you still have a chance of getting pregnant. So, in other words, having "protected sex" does not automatically mean that pregnancy is ruled out.

Bottom line, abortions aren't just a convenient way to "get rid of" your unborn baby. They are very crucial and necessary in lots of cases. Taking away that option from women who need it, is disturbing, to say the least. Women could lose their lives along with the child's and banning the act will only result in a higher number of dangerous and unsafe abortions.

Don't take that right away from the women who need it.