Arguments

"Abortion in the United States: A Statistical Study." Abortion: An Eternal Social and Moral Issue. Sandra M. Alters. 2006 ed. Detroit: Gale, 2006. 37-60. Information Plus Reference Series. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 28 Oct. 2011.

"Attitudes Towards the Legalization of the Use of Marijuana." Crime and Punishment: Essential Primary Sources. Ed. K. Lerner and Brenda Lerner. Detroit: Gale, 2006. 73-75. Global Issues In Context. Web. 27 Oct. 2011.

"End the Juvenile Death Penalty." The Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2002. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. .

The first article is about abortion statistics. It shows a decreasing rate of abortions, and gives many statistics about how many women seek abortions. The article says that women normally give three reasons for choosing an abortion: "about three quarters say that having a baby would interfere with their work, school, or other responsibilities; about two thirds say they cannot afford a child; about one-half say they do not want to be a single parent or are having problems with their husband or partner."

Abortion is a hot-topic issue in America and I support it. The government should not be able to control a woman's body, keeping it illegal or unattainable would increase "back alley" abortions, and it will decrease children growing up in poor and neglected environments. In addition, some studies suggest that legal abortion leads to decreased crime rate.

The second article is about the perception of marijuana in American culture. Marijuana is a highly illegal, claimed dangerous drug that gives users a high. It was made illegal in 1970. Since that time, a good percentage of Americans supported its legalization. There are studies that claim that marijuana is carcinogenic, addicting, and dangerous. For each of these studies, there is a study claiming that marijuana is safe and non-addicting. In conclusion, it is very difficult to argue marijuana on the basis of scientific studies, but whether or not the government has the right to regulate marijuana is an issue of civil liberties.

I am in favor of legalization. Marijuana isn't more harmful than alcohol or tobacco, legalization would lead to less drug related crimes, it possesses many medical benefits, and it would provide a source of additional tax revenue. The U.S. would greatly benefit from legalizing marijuana.

The third article is about how the Supreme Court declined to reconsider a decision made 13 years ago permitting the juvenile death penalty. This shows how adamant the Supreme Court is about the decision that was made to keep the juvenile death penalty illegal. Juvenile death penalty is capital punishment on those who are under 18 years of age.

I am against the juvenile death penalty. A child who is not old enough to go to war, drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes, and even drive cannot make a decision that deems capital punishment. Capital punishment does not ward off other crimes and is ultimately ineffective. A child is not intellectually mature enough to take full responsibility for his actions. This is a legal precedent that lead to juvenile detention facilities. Allowing the juvenile death penalty is the hypocrisy of law and is illegal.