Blog Post 3
Lucy Thompson
PS101 – Dr. Jenkins
4/14/22
Blog Post 3
One of the most controversial and political topics that surround women is the reproductive right to abortion. I will not disclose my personal opinion on whether I think women should have abortions. Roe v. Wade was a groundbreaking supreme court case that ruled in 1973 that abortion was legal. During the 1960s women were standing up for their reproductive rights and 11 states had allowed women to access abortions (Planned Parenthood). Even before abortion was legalized by states and the supreme court women were still having them by means of performing one themselves, illegally having one by a medical professional, or traveling out of the country to have one. This is to say that just because it became legal does not mean abortions were not being performed. However, there are people that are strongly against abortion and strongly in support of abortion. Even though abortion is legal, there are attempts by individual states to have restrictions placed on abortion. This can be anything from a time restriction on when the fetus must be terminated, the medical procedure itself, or the waiting time a patient is required to have to make sure they are comfortable in their decision, etc.
Abortion heavily affects the female community in several different ways. Most obviously, women are the group physically affected because biologically they are the ones that carry the fetus. Women are the ones affected when states put restrictions on abortions. For example, “In 2021, Texas, Idaho, Oklahoma, and South Carolina passed bills prohibiting abortion if a fetal heartbeat is detected. Each of these bills declare that the health care professional that performs an abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected, except in cases when the mother’s life or health is endangered or in cases of rape or incest, must face a fine and/or jail time” (USA Facts). If a woman in these states wanted an abortion she could be denied because there was a heartbeat detected. This is explicitly denying women of their reproductive rights. Women are also affected by public slander if they are found to have had or are about to have an abortion. This past month a Texas woman was arrested for murder because she self-induced an abortion (WBRZ News). While the charges have since been dropped, this Texas woman has faced extreme slander and her name is forever tarnished. Women not only are directly affected by abortion rights biologically, but they are subject to state regulations and slander.
Abortion has several different perspectives surrounding it. Politically the stereotype is that liberals are in favor of it and conservators are against it. But that is obviously not completely true. There are those that believe women should have reproductive rights including the right to have an abortion. There are those that think abortions are moral until the fetus has physically developed a certain amount (it has a heartbeat, eyes, ears, hands, feet). There are some that think abortion is immoral no matter what the circumstances are, and the woman should carry the child full-term. There are also those that think abortion is not necessary because adoption is an option. Some, if not most, people are unsure of what they think. They are in the “grey” and cannot make abortion a black and white topic. There are arguments that abortion is moral if the woman was a victim of rape or incest. There are also arguments that every fetus should have a chance to live no matter how they were conceived. There are lawmakers that want to increase state regulations to make access to abortions harder, there are those that also want to make access easier. Overall, there are so many different perspectives on abortion to me it is just one of those topics that everyone must decide for themselves what they believe. But one thing is still true: women are heavily impacted.
If I were to offer up an evidence-based solution for abortion, I would have several proposals. I will start off by saying that I believe there is no one solution that will make everyone content, so I will offer several. In favor of abortion: I would propose that abortion be a nationwide regulated practice and not leave it up to the states. It would be legal, and women could have easy access. In opposition to abortion: I would say that the Supreme Court can overturn Roe v. Wade and then abortions, at least legal ones, would not be permitted. For an approach that is neither for nor against abortion: I would say to allow it to be legal and allow states to regulate it and not be allowed to ban it. I think the best solutions are ones that have legal power behind them as in changing or enforcing federal and state laws. My evidence for these is that what laws states and the nation pass must be followed. I think that laws are the most powerful tool to be used regarding abortion. I think because abortion is such a controversial topic, we must leave it up to the government.
Sources:
https://www.wbrz.com/news/woman-faces-texas-murder-charge-after-self-induced-abortion/