Letter to a member of the House of Representatives urging support for abortion rights

 Dear Congresswoman Veronica Escobar,

I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing to you today to advocate for the preservation and expansion of abortion rights in our country. As a representative who has shown commitment to women's health and rights, your leadership is crucial in ensuring that all individuals have the autonomy to make informed choices about their own bodies.

To illustrate the significance of this issue, I want to share a hypothetical case that reflects the reality many women face. Imagine a young woman named Sarah, who is in her early twenties and has dreams of pursuing a career in medicine. She is a dedicated student, working part-time to support herself while attending college. One day, Sarah discovers she is pregnant. This news comes as a shock, as she had plans to finish her education and establish a stable career before starting a family.

Sarah is faced with a difficult decision. She knows that bringing a child into her current circumstances would not only derail her educational aspirations, but also place an immense financial burden on her and her family. After careful consideration, she decides that terminating the pregnancy is the best choice for her future and the future she hopes to provide for any potential children. However, Sarah lives in a state where access to safe and legal abortion services is severely restricted. She encounters numerous obstacles, including long wait times, financial barriers, and the stigma surrounding her decision.

This scenario highlights the importance of preserving abortion rights. Women like Sarah should have the agency to make decisions that align with their life goals, health, and circumstances. Access to safe and legal abortion is not just a matter of personal choice; it is a fundamental aspect of women's health care that impacts their ability to participate fully in society. When we restrict access to abortion, we disproportionately affect marginalized communities, leading to greater inequality and hardship.

Furthermore, I urge you to consider the values that underpin our society—values of compassion, empathy, and respect for individual autonomy. The ability to make choices about one's body is a cornerstone of personal freedom. By supporting abortion rights, you are affirming the belief that women deserve to have control over their reproductive health and the right to make decisions that are best for them and their families. It is essential to recognize that these choices are deeply personal and often made in the context of complex and challenging circumstances.

As you continue your vital work in Congress, I hope you will advocate for policies that protect and expand access to abortion services. Together, we can ensure that all individuals, regardless of their circumstances, have the right to make informed choices about their reproductive health. Thank you for your attention to this important issue, and for your ongoing commitment to the rights and well-being of women across our nation.

Sincerely, [Student]

I didn't realize that you had a connection to west Texas or El Paso, but Congresswoman Escobar is a progressive member of the House of Representatives who would be likely to sympathize with your request.

This is an example of an issue advocacy letter, rather than advocacy for a specific bill or policy, which is fine. In this case, you are urging a progressive Democrat to advocate for women having the right to choose abortion as a form of care in reproductive health. You specifically use an example of someone who would choose abortion because a child would interfere with life plans, and not out of some need to protect her health.  This is a good example to emphasize the importance of giving women autonomy and choice over their reproductive processes. 

You use three paragraphs to set up the moral narrative of a woman whose career ambitions would be blocked if she brought a pregnancy to term, and you emphasize how restrictions on abortion would delay Sarah's ability to receive care (in Texas, where Representative Escobar lives, the abortion would be entirely illegal, and a doctor performing the abortion could be charged with a first or second degree felony and fined $100,000 as a civil penalty). 

Your appeal is mainly centered around the argument that women have rights, autonomy, and the ability to make informed moral decisions about their own pregnancies. This is likely to be well-received by a liberal or progressive Democrat, such as Representative Escobar.

You do not thank Representative Escobar for her vote in favor of House Resolution 3755, the Women's Health Protection Act of 2021. I think that recognition of what she has done already would make the letter stronger.  It would be a good idea to ask Representative Escobar to support the introduction of a similar House resolution as soon as Democrats retake the House (presumably, in January of 2027), and also urge her to support Senate candidates who would vote for such a resolution in the 2026 Senate elections held in Texas, Ohio, North Carolina, Michigan, Maine, Georgia, Iowa, Nebraska, Kanas, Kentucky, and Alaska.  I think in an issue advocacy letter, you might say something about how this particular Representative could help sway voters in some of these states, and you might ask her to become active in campaigning in Latina communities in these states. 

The way the letter is constructed, and the fact that you have chosen to write to an Representative in Texas (El Paso), and the odd fact that the paper suggests there would be difficulties in getting an abortion, when in fact in Texas the abortion would be completely illegal, and the fact that the letter has no personal information that would be highly relevant to this specific Representative, and the fact that the letter is soulless and vapid and lacks human voice or any personality, all convince me that the letter was generated mostly or entirely by artificial intelligence.  In fact, I submitted the letter to three different applications for detecting writing done by artificial intelligence, and all three algorithms confirmed my suspicions. The letter was written by an artificial intelligence, and not written by the student who submitted it. 

Abortion in America: An Analysis of Abortion Policy

 In 1973 the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe V. Wade ruled that abortion would be secured as legal across the United States. This meant that access to abortion would be guaranteed, no matter which state you resided in. The logic of the court was that a relationship between a doctor and patient (i.e. pregnant woman) was protected by a right to privacy, and the government had no business interfering in the medical decisions of a doctor and patient up to the point that a fetus had developed to near the point of “viability” when a premature birth could conceivably lead to a child who would survive. The idea of privacy rights was assumed based on the Constitution and documents from the time of the Constitution making it clear that the Bill of Rights in the Constitution were not a complete list of all rights enjoyed by citizens, and the unnamed rights could be assumed. As privacy was a concept that people at the time of the Constitution’s writing in the 1780s were well-aware of, and valued, it seemed to a majority of the court that the Constitution should be understood to protect abortion (at least in the first 23 weeks of gestation, until viability), and no state had any right to restrict this right. At the state level, state legislatures and governors could not overrule the federal ruling of a Supreme Court decision, so abortion was legal. In 2022 the Supreme Court overruled Roe V. Wade, bringing this decision back to the state level. Some states have their own policies on abortion, many dating back to pre–Roe V. Wade. These policies were not updated for decades because the federal ruling overruled any laws passed at the state level anyway. When Roe V. Wade was overturned June 24, 2022 in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, this put laws about abortion back into the hands of state governments, and many states had previous state level laws that came back into force. Some states had no laws preventing abortions; some states, like Michigan had archaic laws from 1931 banning all abortions no matter the reason. With the sudden overturn of Roe v Wade, Michigan was facing being forced into reverting to the prior laws. 

Abortion is a very controversial topic for many people. Some argue that it is considered murder and should be illegal. Some people believe that abortion should be legal up until 12 weeks, or 21 weeks. In some situations, it is believed to be acceptable to perform a live birth abortion. No matter the level of abortion, the topic is heated, and many people are either fiercely in favor of the right to abortion, also referred to as “pro-choice”, or against, referred to as “prolife”. 

For those who are pro-choice there are many arguments. The most common argument for choice is bodily autonomy. A person should have the right to choose what they wish to do with their own body. Many women find themselves pregnant despite their precautions. Sometimes this is due to failure of birth control; for others, it has been due to the lack of control of the situation, or consent; in other words, they are raped. Prior to Roe v. Wade, abortions were being performed “in back alleys”, or other unsafe conditions. Many times, these abortions would lead to serious complications for the woman, and commonly result in death. Making abortions illegal was not stopping them from happening, it was just forcing them to be completed in ways that were not regulated or considered safe. Another argument of many prochoice supporters is that a fetus is not viable until 24 weeks (with modern science this is closer to 21 weeks—about 5 months—now). If a baby were to be born prior to 21 weeks (about 5 months) they have slim-to-no chance of surviving. There are so many situations that lead a woman to seek abortions, and pro-choice supporters believe that it should only be up to the mother and her medical professional to decide which path is best for her situation. Abortions performed after the 18th or 19th week of gestation are almost always conducted because the fetus has a terrible health problem that will cause suffering and death within hours of birth, or because carrying the baby to term would create a strong possibility of death for the mother. 

On the other hand, pro-life supporters also have arguments. They believe the fetus has a heartbeat as early as 18 days (about 2 and a half weeks) after conception, and the baby has a right to life equal to the right enjoyed by persons who have been born, because the moment that a life becomes of concern to the state and worth protecting begins early, perhaps when the heart starts to beat. In some states people believe that once the baby is conceived, it has its own rights to have a chance of living a life. Conception is rarely defined—is conception the fertilization of the egg by the sperm (1st hour), the implantation of a blastocyst on the uterine epithelium (end of first week), or formation of the umbilical cord (end of the third week)?  These supporters believe it is not the mother’s place to decide whether the baby should be able to be born or not. Adoption is always an option for the mother. Pro-life supporters believe that a mother who does not want the pregnancy should carry out the pregnancy to full term and put the baby up for adoption. In this case, the mother would not have any legal responsibilities for the child, and the child also has a chance to live a long successful life. There are also medical risks that come with abortion for both the mother and baby. The mother knows that risks of the procedure, but the baby does not. Pro-life supporters believe it is not the place for anyone to put a child through the procedure of abortion, as this can cause pain and even lifelong consequences in the case of a failed abortion. 

With these arguments, we are left to look at the whole picture of abortion. There are many cases where abortion is performed safely and successfully ends the pregnancy. This is the best solution for some women. In other situations, there may be medical complications leaving the woman to still be pregnant and carry out a pregnancy of a baby who has serious medical defects due to the failed attempt at abortion. 

It is hard to determine when life begins. A heart may beat at 18 days (about 2 and a half weeks) after conception and the fetus still would not be viable to live outside the woman's body at that phase. Looking at these arguments, do we consider this to be the start of life? Or is the start of life when the fetus is viable outside the womb without the mother? Is it the woman's choice to decide what is best for her life and her body, or does she lose that right once she becomes pregnant because the zygote or embryo or fetus has a right to life that should take precedence over the mother’s right to choose whether to carry to term? 

To have an abortion performed one must seek medical attention. The medical provider will evaluate the situation, and in a state that allows abortions, if the gestation is prior to 24 weeks, they may proceed. Few doctors would proceed after 18 or 19 weeks gestation unless there were indications that the fetus had severe problems or the mother had health complications, as abortions used merely for birth control are usually conducted soon after a pregnancy is noticed.  The medical unit providing an abortion will make the woman partake in informed consent, which means the women will be given information about the procedure, the risks, and the benefits. Then providers also mention the alternate options. According to https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/data_stats/index.htm “93% of reported abortions in 2019 were performed at or before 13 weeks (about 3 months) of pregnancy, 6% were conducted between 14-20 weeks (about 4 and a half months) and 1% were performed at or after 21 weeks (about 5 months)”. The abortions that were performed at or after 21 weeks (about 5 months) were due to medical necessity. Many times, these abortions are performed due to some sort of medical reasoning that is usually life or death for the mother. 

TABLE 10. Number of reported abortions in 42 states, by known weeks of gestation* and reporting area of occurrence — selected reporting areas,† United States, 2019 

State/Area	Weeks of gestation							Total abortions reported by known gestational age
	≤6	7–9	10–13	14–15	16–17	18–20	≥21
	No. (%)§	No. (%)	No. (%)	No. (%)	No. (%)	No. (%)	No. (%)	No. (% of all reported abortions)¶
Alabama**	1,280 (21.3)	2,807 (46.8)	1,257 (20.9)	317 (5.3)	163 (2.7)	133 (2.2)	46 (0.8)	6,003 (99.9)
Alaska	292 (23.0)	639 (50.4)	271 (21.4)	64 (5.0)	—††	—††	0 (—)	1,269 (99.9)
Arizona	3,863 (29.5)	5,985 (45.7)	2,079 (15.9)	496 (3.8)	261 (2.0)	245 (1.9)	168 (1.3)	13,097 (100.0)
Arkansas**	479 (16.2)	1,265 (42.7)	862 (29.1)	150 (5.1)	82 (2.8)	97 (3.3)	28 (0.9)	2,963 (100.0)
Colorado	3,639 (40.4)	3,666 (40.7)	1,062 (11.8)	198 (2.2)	150 (1.7)	110 (1.2)	173 (1.9)	8,998 (100.0)
Connecticut	4,046 (45.7)	3,155 (35.7)	947 (10.7)	263 (3.0)	175 (2.0)	164 (1.9)	95 (1.1)	8,845 (96.1)
Delaware	536 (26.3)	1,071 (52.5)	328 (16.1)	73 (3.6)	16 (0.8)	6 (0.3)	9 (0.4)	2,039 (99.9)
Florida	52,850 (73.5)	11,641 (16.2)	4,843 (6.7)	973 (1.4)	691 (1.0)	699 (1.0)	217 (0.3)	71,914 (100.0)
Georgia	16,086 (43.6)	13,864 (37.6)	4,396 (11.9)	927 (2.5)	653 (1.8)	752 (2.0)	229 (0.6)	36,907 (100.0)
Hawaii	678 (33.9)	861 (43.0)	268 (13.4)	80 (4.0)	43 (2.1)	49 (2.4)	22 (1.1)	2,001 (99.9)
Idaho	493 (32.9)	707 (47.1)	257 (17.1)	37 (2.5)	—††	—††	—††	1,500 (99.1)
Indiana	1,924 (25.2)	4,055 (53.1)	1,618 (21.2)	9 (0.1)	8 (0.1)	17 (0.2)	6 (0.1)	7,637 (100.0)
Iowa	1,652 (46.3)	1,305 (36.6)	412 (11.6)	68 (1.9)	58 (1.6)	54 (1.5)	17 (0.5)	3,566 (100.0)
Kansas	2,761 (40.0)	2,722 (39.5)	921 (13.4)	195 (2.8)	121 (1.8)	137 (2.0)	37 (0.5)	6,894 (100.0)
Kentucky	1,302 (35.5)	1,493 (40.7)	550 (15.0)	116 (3.2)	65 (1.8)	109 (3.0)	29 (0.8)	3,664 (100.0)
Louisiana	2,815 (34.6)	3,567 (43.8)	1,274 (15.7)	273 (3.4)	173 (2.1)	38 (0.5)	0 (—)	8,140 (100.0)
Maine	595 (29.5)	996 (49.3)	317 (15.7)	48 (2.4)	33 (1.6)	31 (1.5)	0 (—)	2,020 (100.0)
Michigan	9,016 (33.0)	11,496 (42.1)	4,055 (14.9)	1,110 (4.1)	667 (2.4)	584 (2.1)	353 (1.3)	27,281 (99.8)
Minnesota	3,597 (36.7)	3,845 (39.2)	1,381 (14.1)	379 (3.9)	194 (2.0)	216 (2.2)	187 (1.9)	9,799 (98.6)
Mississippi	1,117 (35.0)	1,421 (44.5)	468 (14.7)	171 (5.4)	16 (0.5)	—††	—††	3,194 (100.0)
Missouri	86 (5.8)	496 (33.7)	505 (34.3)	130 (8.8)	87 (5.9)	112 (7.6)	55 (3.7)	1,471 (100.0)
Montana	599 (38.2)	628 (40.1)	211 (13.5)	51 (3.3)	34 (2.2)	34 (2.2)	11 (0.7)	1,568 (100.0)
Nebraska	976 (47.2)	683 (33.0)	284 (13.7)	62 (3.0)	46 (2.2)	16 (0.8)	0 (—)	2,067 (100.0)
Nevada	3,214 (38.6)	3,510 (42.1)	1,078 (12.9)	250 (3.0)	142 (1.7)	89 (1.1)	52 (0.6)	8,335 (99.1)
New Jersey§§	8,513 (39.3)	7,499 (34.6)	2,923 (13.5)	961 (4.4)	638 (2.9)	613 (2.8)	514 (2.4)	21,661 (97.7)
New Mexico	1,487 (42.7)	957 (27.5)	381 (10.9)	80 (2.3)	73 (2.1)	101 (2.9)	406 (11.6)	3,485 (88.4)
New York City	22,364 (44.9)	17,579 (35.3)	5,579 (11.2)	1,335 (2.7)	897 (1.8)	934 (1.9)	1,096 (2.2)	49,784 (100.0)
North Carolina	9,598 (33.9)	12,098 (42.8)	4,432 (15.7)	982 (3.5)	672 (2.4)	484 (1.7)	15 (0.1)	28,281 (99.4)
North Dakota	435 (38.8)	447 (39.9)	180 (16.1)	42 (3.7)	17 (1.5)	0 (—)	0 (—)	1,121 (100.0)
Ohio	5,523 (27.5)	9,070 (45.1)	3,558 (17.7)	848 (4.2)	531 (2.6)	477 (2.4)	95 (0.5)	20,102 (100.0)
Oklahoma	2,177 (43.6)	1,835 (36.8)	710 (14.2)	125 (2.5)	64 (1.3)	64 (1.3)	16 (0.3)	4,991 (99.9)
Oregon	4,064 (47.2)	2,924 (33.9)	949 (11.0)	241 (2.8)	129 (1.5)	149 (1.7)	160 (1.9)	8,616 (99.2)
Rhode Island	929 (44.4)	705 (33.7)	270 (12.9)	90 (4.3)	52 (2.5)	32 (1.5)	13 (0.6)	2,091 (99.6)
South Carolina**	1,063 (20.8)	1,970 (38.6)	1,740 (34.1)	298 (5.8)	8 (0.2)	13 (0.3)	9 (0.2)	5,101 (100.0)
South Dakota	64 (15.6)	224 (54.8)	—††	—††	0 (—)	—††	7 (1.7)	409 (98.8)
Tennessee	1,836 (18.9)	4,939 (50.9)	2,188 (22.5)	436 (4.5)	176 (1.8)	119 (1.2)	9 (0.1)	9,703 (99.8)
Texas**	22,356 (39.0)	22,721 (39.7)	8,232 (14.4)	1,870 (3.3)	957 (1.7)	838 (1.5)	301 (0.5)	57,275 (100.0)
Utah	1,018 (34.8)	1,185 (40.6)	478 (16.4)	92 (3.1)	51 (1.7)	67 (2.3)	31 (1.1)	2,922 (100.0)
Vermont	550 (46.0)	423 (35.4)	129 (10.8)	32 (2.7)	21 (1.8)	22 (1.8)	18 (1.5)	1,195 (100.0)
Virginia	7,917 (50.8)	5,215 (33.5)	1,938 (12.4)	121 (0.8)	131 (0.8)	170 (1.1)	90 (0.6)	15,582 (99.9)
Washington	7,046 (41.0)	6,768 (39.4)	2,061 (12.0)	420 (2.4)	265 (1.5)	273 (1.6)	363 (2.1)	17,196 (99.6)
West Virginia	325 (27.5)	536 (45.3)	235 (19.9)	58 (4.9)	18 (1.5)	—††	—††	1,183 (100.0)
Wyoming	18 (58.1)	12 (38.7)	—††	—††	0 (—)	0 (—)	0 (—)	31 (100.0)
Total	211,179 (42.9)	178,985 (36.4)	65,739 (13.4)	14,471 (2.9)	8,581 (1.7)	8,064 (1.6)	4,882 (1.0)	491,901 (99.6)¶¶