Wow, i'm shocked no one started screaming at me for what I said. Maybe there is hope for this board.
As far as your options, here's what I suggest doing. Take a piece of paper, and write down your three options of parenthood, abortion, and adoption. Write down the pros and cons of each one. Then try to imagine what your life will be like in each scenario...
- parenthood would mean a truckload of work, dropping out of school, early morning feedings, changing dirty diapers, screaming, little sleep, and perhaps lots of resentment from your mother, just to name a few. People may say parenthood is joyous and all, but for every minute of joy, there will be about fifteen minutes of suffering. It all depends on how much time, money, and effort you want to put into raising something that will not even be grateful of your efforts until least twenty years later. The up-side is that you would have contributed someone with your genes to the next generation.
- adoption would give you the personal satisfaction of knowing your uterus works without the burden of parenthood. However, you would not only be contributing to the overpopulation, but you would be putting the child in a situation where it may not even find a home. If your child isn't a blonde-haired blue-eyed white baby, it already has a small chance of being adopted. It may grow up never having a family, and then it'll be on its own the second it turns 18. Also, how would you feel if your child came and found you years after it got out of the foster system? They would wonder and ask (probably) why you didn't want them or why you abandoned them. Sometimes, nothing hurts more than knowing your mother did not want you.
- if you abort, you will not have to deal with either parenting or the thought of knowing you have a child somewhere out there in the world. Abortion would almost be you "get out of jail free" card. You can continue school and normal life in general, and have a baby later in life when you're more ready emotionally and financially. The only downside is you may feel something like post-partum depression and, depending on your stance (pro-life or pro-choice), you may feel robbed of the 'precious miracle of life' or get people telling you dumb things like 'omfgz u k/illd ur chyuld u evil an oin 2 hell'.
Now, before anyone dives down my throat, I am not in any way trying to tell this girl what is right and what is wrong, because the right decision isn't the right one for everyone. I am simply telling her some pros and cons (more cons than pros, though) of each scenario. But in the end it is her decision and no one else's.
To the author of the topic, may I inquire as to where the father is in this situation? Is he having any say in this?