Andi McGowen

• What are your opinions on abortion?
  • I think that abortion should be legal. I am pro-choice, so obviously I don’t think that everyone should have to do it, but I think that if a woman wants to make that decision for herself, then I think that she should be allowed to do that. And, she should have access to safe, medical ways to get it done. You know, I know that there’s a lot of people that say it’s not okay because you’re like killing a baby, and like all this stuff. The thing that people don’t understand is that if you make abortion illegal, it’s not gonna stop abortion from happening. It’s just going to be like back-alley, coat hanger abortions, and women are going to be hospitalized and die from trying to improve their lives because of a mistake that happened. I don’t think that they should have to give up everything- their education, their job, give up their hopes and dreams because they made a mistake. Or even then, it’s not always their mistake. Sometimes things just happen. Things that we hope would never happen happen to women, and it results in them getting pregnant, and they should have the option to terminate the pregnancy if they want to. No one should be forced to carry out a pregnancy if they don’t want to. I think adoption is a great thing. If you want to carry your baby to term and then give them up for adoption, that’s great, but there are women who don’t want to go through those 9 months of swollen ankles, and back pain, and morning sickness, and all of the medical bills that go with prenatal care. So, I think that what someone else does with their body is their decision, so no one has any right to tell them what they can do with it except themselves. So I think everyone should have the option and only the people that want to take advantage of it can.
• What do you think about Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton’s stance on abortion?
  • I feel like Donald Trump is such a sexist in the first place that I wouldn’t expect him to fully understand and be fully educated on the issue of abortion. Hillary Clinton obviously has a completely different vantage point from it, and I know that she is educated on the issue, and her being pro-choice obviously is a pro in my book because I want to support people that support the same things I do. So obviously I’m not going to vote for a person who is gonna take something away from me that I might use in the future. I don’t know if I am, but I want to know that if i end up in a situation where that’s what I want to do, i want to know that I’m able to do that. So, the fact that Donald Trump doesn’t even understand the issue; he’s not educated because he doesn’t care enough to know because he’s a rich white man. Why is it his business to know in the first place?
• How would you change the minds of other people who oppose abortion?
  • Well, I’ve had this conversation with people before and I’ve used the points of “It’s their body, it’s their decision at the end of the day.” It doesn’t affect you in any way, so that’s the argument for most things that people are against nowadays. If it doesn’t directly affect you, then you really shouldn’t have a say in it. I think everyone should have the decision to affect their lives whatever way they want to, and it really comes down to- I understand that there are people that think it’s wrong, and if you think it’s wrong, that’s fine. You’re allowed to have your opinion, and I’m not going to judge you because of the opinion you have. I get upset when people try to force their opinion on other people. It’s like, you don’t see me going around and telling people, “Hey you should get an abortion!” I’m not going to force my opinion on other people so they shouldn’t force their opinions on anyone else.

Emily Barrett

• What’s your opinion on abortion?
  • I feel like, in some situations, it’s necessary, like if something happens to someone that they can’t control. And I feel like if the mother’s life is in danger and it comes down to choosing the baby or the mom, and they choose the mom, I don’t feel like that’s a bad decision to make. In severe cases, if she’s going to die, basically- if either one of them are going to die I don’t feel like that should be shameful. I get where people come from where they have a stillbirth when the baby dies and they have no control over that and they’re sad about that, and of course they’re going to be opinionated and say that people shouldn’t have the option to abort. But I don’t feel like it’s technically murder, like some people say.
• Does having a baby change your opinion on this issue or has it always been the same?
  • It’s always pretty much been the same. My mom and I talked about it, when I was pregnant, if something happened if she would want to keep the baby, and I kind of agreed with her on that. But I feel like everyone is entitled to their own opinion so just because we felt like that that was what was going to happen, that doesn’t mean that somebody who chooses the other option is bad.
• So do you think there should be abortion laws in place?
  • It should be up to the state because every state is different. I don’t think there should be laws but if there are, it should be state by state because if you want to do something that your state doesn’t allow, you can go to a different state to do it.
• So do you want to change people’s opinions who disagree or are you fine with them?
  • Everyone is entitled to their own opinion so I have to follow that rule and say that I don’t really care what they think, because I’m still very opinionated in what I think is right and wrong.

Maggie McDonald

• How do you feel about abortion?
  • I think that abortion should not be allowed because a child’s choice at life should not be determined by the mother. I think it should be determined by God, and when you kill a child it’s basically like saying that they’re worthless and they’re not getting their chance at life. No one in their right mind would go around killing people for no reason, so I think that’s kind of what abortion is. It’s just like taking away a life that was not meant to be taken in the first place. I feel like they were meant to be here for a reason, and if they kill them, then it’s taking away that significance.
• How do you feel about organizations like Planned Parenthood?
  • I feel like that should not be allowed either. I understand if a family doesn’t want a child or something, but I think it would be better to give them up for adoption to a family that really wants a kid. Some parents want kids but they can’t have them, and I think that would help them out with that.
• So tying all this into the presidential race, who do you agree with then?
  • Probably Trump.
• How do you respond to people that believe in pro-choice?
  • I’m not the one that can change their decisions, but I’ll say my views against it and hope that they’ll maybe change their minds, but I’m not gonna be violent about it or hate them in any way because that’s their decision. It’s not my choice to make.

Throughout the past few years, protests and movements advocating or expressing dissent from a certain issue have become popular ways of advertising public opinion, especially when it came to large presidential campaign issues. One of such topics is the issue of abortion, which has been discussed and debated for decades since the famous Roe v. Wade court case of 1973. The presidential candidates for the 2016 election have clearly articulated their stances on abortion, with policies in plan that could either help or hurt the cause.

President-elect Donald Trump voiced his opposition to organizations such as Planned Parenthood, and is “pro-life.” This means that it would become increasingly difficult for women to get an abortion, no matter the circumstances, and government funds to pay for such operations would no longer be available. As such a big-ticket issue to the citizens of the United States, Trump’s platform on abortion is a large factor in acquiring the support of the people.

“I feel like Donald Trump is such a sexist in the first place that I wouldn’t expect him to fully understand and be fully educated on the issue of abortion,” senior Andi McGowen said. “I’m not going to want to vote for or support a person who is going to take something away from me that I might use in the future.”

However, others believe stand with Trump in agreeing that abortion should not be legal, and is considered a capital crime for taking the life of an innocent child in their minds.

“I think that abortion should not be allowed because a child’s choice at life should not be determined by the mother. I think it should be determined by God, and when you kill a child it’s basically like saying that they’re worthless and they’re not getting their chance at life,” junior Maggie McDonald said. “No one in their right mind would go around killing people for no reason, so I think that’s kind of what abortion is.”

With such divergence over the topic, questions have arisen about the effect Trump’s administration will have on those who have considered organizations such as Planned Parenthood, as well as those similar to it, beneficial to their lives.

For senior Emily Barrett, this presidential race raises some concerns for her, and the well-being of others like her.

“As a mother, I think Donald Trump just doesn’t understand; he’s not fit to make these decisions on abortion because he will never be put in a position where he will know what it feels like to have to abort a child,” Barrett said.

Though she did not terminate her pregnancy, Barrett recalls a discussion she had with her mother over what could happen if things went wrong during her pregnancy.

“My mom and I talked about it, when I was pregnant, if something happened if she would want to keep the baby, and I kind of agreed with her on that. I get where people come from in circumstances like having a stillbirth, and they have no control over that, so of course they’re going to be opinionated and say that people shouldn’t have the option to abort. But I don’t feel like it’s technically murder, like some people say,” Barrett said.