Abortion Is A Human Right
Pregnancy is scary and sometimes deadly.
I don’t think people realize just how terrifying it can be to get pregnant, even if you want to. You’re carrying another human being. You may be experiencing the negative symptoms of pregnancy—nausea, depression, hormonal changes, and other unpleasant side effects.
You’re doing something medically dangerous. Maternal mortality rates are a medical health issue, and those rates are even higher for Black and Hispanic women. Medically-induced abortion has been proven safer than childbirth.
Even after you give birth, there can be negative effects.
One in eight women develops postpartum depression, which negatively affects not only the parent but also the child. Not every woman who gives birth can take care of a child or even wants to have a child. In extreme cases, women forced to bear a child may be more likely to abuse their children.
There is no reason for someone to be forced to give birth when we know how to perform medically safe abortions.
Parenting a child is an enormous responsibility, one that, unfortunately, not everyone can do well. it’s also a full-time job that none of us are taught how to do, and none of us are compensated for.
Not everyone can take care of a child or wants to take care of a child, and that’s okay. That’s why we should ensure everyone has reproductive rights—including abortion.
A woman should terminate a pregnancy if she knows she can’t or won’t be able to care for a child for whatever reason. There are too many children in the foster care system. Too many children are being abused by people who are supposed to care for them. Too many unwanted children worldwide.
Forcing someone to care for a child because they had sex is absurd. There are ways to prevent pregnancy without abstinence. We know those methods aren’t perfect and aren’t used correctly all the time, but that’s why we have more options available—including abortion.
Abortion is a human right, but it often isn’t treated as one. The overturning of Roe vs. Wade shows that.
You don’t have to like abortion or the idea of it. Ideally, someone who doesn’t want to get pregnant won’t. But realistically speaking, that doesn’t always happen because life is not black and white; it’s messy. Even if a woman wants to get pregnant, she may need to terminate her pregnancy for health reasons or other perfectly valid reasons.
Everyone has different circumstances. For some women, carrying a pregnancy full term makes the most sense; for others, terminating the pregnancy makes the most sense. Whatever choice women make, it’s their choice, and no one has the right to take that decision away.
We do not know the circumstances women are in when they decide to terminate pregnancies, and that’s because we can’t know the circumstances. They are individualistic to the woman and their needs. We don’t need to understand why the decision was best for them. It’s none of our business. What we do need to do is make sure abortion is accessible for everyone.
The Supreme Court has declared that bodily autonomy—for women—is not a constitutional right. Abortion may not be illegal in every state, but it’s no longer constitutionally protected. But it should be because it’s a human right. The fact that it isn’t speaks volumes to how dystopian and misogynistic our society is and continues to become.
What’s happening in the country regarding reproductive rights is horrific. Women’s freedom and rights are being stripped away. Rights women have fought, suffered, and even died for.
Abortion is a medical procedure. It is a medical decision, and, like most medical decisions, it must be made by the person affected by it.
Abortion is a human right. It always has been and always will be. And that’s why I will continue to fight for the right for all women to have access to safe abortions.