The Importance of Roe vs Wade
With Amy Coney Barrett nominated for a position on the Supreme Court, there has been a lot of talk about what it would mean if Roe vs Wade were to be overturned. Amy has stated many times in her career that she is against Roe vs Wade which has caused many to worry about how she may vote on issues regarding abortion if she is given the power to.
Roe vs Wade was passed in 1973 and made access to abortion in the U.S. the law of the land. The court stated that a women's right to an abortion was rooted in privacy and freedom from government control over the rights of ones body and their health. Having the right to abortion in this country doesn't mean that anyone is forced into having one if they don’t want to, it protects women from being forced to go through with a pregnancy that they don’t want. Regardless of anyones own personal beliefs on the matter it comes down to wether or not we believe that the government has a right to make medical decisions for citizens against their will.
The times that abortion has been illegal in the U.S. women did not stop having abortions, they simply stopped having access to safe ones. Even in places today where access to abortion is difficult to find, the issue of women risking their lives in order to have an abortion hasn't stopped. No one should EVER have a say in a medical procedure that someone else is having other than the patient themselves and their doctor.
The argument that is often made by conservatives is that the fetus is a life as well and therefore needs to be protected. Regardless of when a person believes that life begins, it is a fact that in the early stages of pregnancy the clump of cells inside the woman is not a fully formed person yet, otherwise it wouldn't need to be attached inside a woman for sustainability as it grows. Once the pregnancy has moved on to the last couple of months and the fetus has formed into a functioning baby that could survive outside the womb, abortions become rare. Late term abortions are almost only ever performed because of complications that could put the mothers life in danger or if the baby is ill and has a diagnosis that would lead to a short and painful life. This decision is no doubt an extremely painful and personal decision that should not be judged or decided by anyone other than the mother herself along with her doctors help and input. Any other abortion that is not a late stage one involves a woman and a potential life. There is an important distinction.
Regardless of anyones own personal beliefs on wether or not they would ever have an abortion or whether they think its right or not, the fact that they have the right to even choose that for themselves is the point of this whole discussion. As a woman living in the U.S. I have a right to decide what happens to my body. To force anyone to go through with an unwanted pregnancy is a physical violation. Regardless of wether the woman was raped, is not financially stable, is not mentally stable, is a child themselves, or is simply not wanting to have a baby, she should always have the right to choose for herself what happens to her body and her future. No one else should get a say.
