Why the Government Shouldn’t Have a Say on What Women Do With Their Bodies
By Alejandra Hernandez
A leaked draft showed that the Supreme Court will possibly vote to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision which secured a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion. Presuming that the draft opinion becomes law, abortion would become inaccessible in at least 22 states that already have almost complete bans on the books.
Some of those states might still allow abortions to save the life or protect the health of a patient or when a pregnancy is the outcome of rape or incest.
Many believe that this mentality is reinforcing the idea that in order for a woman to have a right over her own body, someone else has to violate it first.
“Different women have their own reasons on why they choose to get an abortion. So, I think conditions are not needed in the first place,” said Tsering Dolkar, a Political Science major. “Women should be allowed to have an abortion. Also, no one has the right to control someone’s body and claim it as a law of the country,”
Others argue about the fundamental unfairness of women’s bodies being affected when it takes both a woman and man to make a baby. Even when women are using birth control pills, 9 out of 100 get pregnant each year. Even with IUDs (intrauterine device) or implants (Nexplanon) 1 out of 100 get pregnant in one year. Men should be required to get a vasectomy which is 100 percent effective making it equal or even better than women being on some sort of birth control.
“I think that women should be allowed to have an abortion,” said Bassam Ismail, an Accounting major. “Women are the ones who are able to birth a new person and since some people feel very empathetic for a fetus, they are usually harder on women when it comes to a fetus’ welfare.”
Ismail points out the central thought that the majority of people against abortion have which is the fetus’ welfare, and it makes me think about the hypocrisy of those people because when a family or mother is on any type of welfare aid it is looked down upon. And this is tightly connected with a race issue because many people think that Black and/or Latino families are the majority on welfare. But the reality is that white families are the biggest percentage using services like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Which is not to bash on them or any group on SNAP, it’s just to point out the hypocrisy and raise awareness. The government and pro-life supporters do not care about what happens to a child after it is born.
Another hypocritical point is if the government does not want abortions to be allowed they should be willing to see the dangers that minorities face. Black, American Indian, and Alaska Native (AI/AN) women are two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control. This could partially be avoided by allowing abortions.
The main reason for sharing my opinion is more about bringing awareness. It is not to convince you to like abortions, it’s to make you realize that women should have bodily autonomy. They should have the choice on what they would like to do with their body. You have to respect other people’s right to safe, accessible, affordable abortions.
Why can’t the government fix problems that lead to unplanned pregnancies and leave women’s bodies alone? Problems which include poor sex education problems with accessing birth control.
