My Body Their Choice?

Recently, what was once a woman’s choice is quickly being taken away. Since 1973, women have been able to choose if they want to bring another life into this world or not. However, in 2019 politicians are making decisions that are better off made by her and her family. New bills have been passed in a few states that make it more difficult for a woman to have an abortion or have banned it with little to no exceptions. These bills are putting a part of women's rights under lock and key and serve no justice to ‘my body, my choice’.

The issue of reproductive rights largely affects women. After collecting three different sources about the recent abortion laws, there are several perspectives on this issue. One story by “The Washington Post” explains the recent laws on abortion. Alabama recently posted the strictest abortion ban in the country. Performing the procedure is illegal in any circumstances unless it puts the mother at risk. The patient doesn’t face any legal action however the doctors who perform to the procedure could face 99 years in prison. I disagree with this law because this law takes away from the women who are victims to incest and rape pregnancies. By the news source “The Hill,” Ohio, Mississippi, and Georgia, have passed a ‘heartbeat bill’. This event means that once you can detect the fetus’s heartbeat around six weeks in the pregnancy, the patient can no longer have the procedure. While North Dakota and Indiana banned Dilation and evacuation abortions; this event takes place during the second trimester. However, a woman usually doesn’t detect a pregnancy until six to eight weeks and should have the time to decide if she should have the baby even if that decision takes into the second trimester. Finally, a news article by “AP,” talks about the hundreds of people that showed up to the recent marches that promote ‘my body my choice’. The CEO and president of Planned Parenthood, Staci Fox spoke up and said, “Banning abortion does not stop abortion. It stops safe abortion.” I believe women shouldn't resort to a DIY abortion.

Even though I haven't been in this position or understand the stress of making a decision like abortion, I know I would want the free choice to make it. Having the pressure to bring another life into the world is a scary decision. From a perspective of someone who disagrees, abortion is considered to be murder. According to an article by “Parents” at eighteen weeks, a fetus is the size of a sweet-potato and has now developed its fingerprints. The governor of Alabama, Kay Ivey said “To the bill’s many supporters, this legislation stands as a powerful testament to Alabamians’ deeply held belief that every life is precious and that every life is a sacred gift from God.” after signing the ban on abortion. Whatever your belief is whether it's religious or based of science there are some loose ends to the heartbeat bill. From the passage, Genesis 2:7 in the Bible, “Then the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”  this event suggests that life is detected at first breath and not the heartbeat. Furthermore, from the news source “Wired” A Obstetrician-gynecologist, Jennifer Kerns speaks more about specific requireds of the six-week heartbeat bill. She says, “is a group of cells with electrical activity. That’s what the heartbeat is at that stage of gestation … We are in no way talking about any kind of cardiovascular system.” This tells us that a fetus’s heart isn't well enough developed at six-weeks to have a beating heart however, are picking up the electrical activity during a sonogram.

The women who choose to have an abortion have to make a difficult decision. They struggle with the acceptance of their family members and friends who don’t support with their decision and see them in a negative light because of it. They also have to accept their own decision to go through with the procedure. An article by Theresa Burke explains the after effect of terminating a pregnancy.  An abortion can lead to a form of depression called PASS which stands for post abortion stress syndrome. Some symptoms are anxiety, guilt, depression, flashbacks, and possible suicidal thoughts. Many pro-lifers say that the reason they feel guilty is for “violating your own moral code” which is the case for some people but for many women the reason they feel guilty is due to a lack of acceptance from the people close to them. Some women fear that they will not be able to get pregnant again from the possible scar tissue from the procedure.

These new laws are taking a big part of a woman’s rights away. Making abortion illegal will slow down the rate of safe abortions but won’t stop women from getting the procedure. The women that are denied an abortion will most likely resort to an unsafe DIY abortion. Having to go as far as doing it yourself can be damaging for not only your body but your metal health. So as to prevent more laws to be passes across the US, the ultimate support that can be given is by participating in marches and making your voice heard.