Op-Ed: My body, my choice (Local women respond to Supreme Court decision)
Growing up with an older brother, I spent the majority of my life with the mindset I was never going to let a boy tell me what I could and couldn’t do. Even if my brother was looking out for me, I didn’t want him to tell me what boy I couldn’t talk to or with whom I could hang out. If I am not going to let my own brother, who I love more than I love putting on warm clothes right out of the dryer, tell me what to do, then there is no way I’m going to allow old men to control my reproductive rights.
A major topic of discussion has been the attempted ban on abortion throughout the nation. I can’t log in to any social media without it popping up. Some folks are for banning abortion while others are either neutral or against it. But I question whether we should ever let old men tell women what to do with their bodies?
Abortion is never an easy choice, but sometimes it can be the right choice. The best example of this I can give is in a situation of rape. If a woman’s pregnancy is the result of a man raping her, she shouldn’t be forced to keep the baby. She might not be able to support it. Even if she can support it, the women might have emotional damage and feel regret and anger. After all, would you like to watch your own child, who might have your rapist’s face and mind, grow up?
Beyond pregnancy from rape, there are other situations where abortion should be allowed. There are cases in which fetuses have severe disorders such as anencephaly. This disorder is where the fetus has an absence in a major portion of the skull and brain, causing it to be stillborn or to die shortly after pregnancy. The main symptom of anencephaly is unconsciousness. If the baby doesn’t die in the womb, it will be born unconscious and die shortly after. The fetus is already dying, so the mother should not have to go through the pain of carrying a baby with fatal abnormalities.
An ectopic pregnancy, where a fertilized egg grows outside the uterus can lead to the mother’s death as well as the damage of nearby organs. If the mother can’t afford medical help and isn’t allowed an abortion, she could die due to the effects. There are other medical cases in which the fetus may die or be born with fatal complications. In these cases, abortion should be an option.
Women should always be able to choose what they believe is best for them. Some women can’t afford pregnancy and beyond that, they can’t afford to support their baby as he/she grows up. It is not fair for children to be impoverished, miserable and unwanted. Women know what is best for themselves and should be given the option of abortion if that is what is desired. While I am not in favor of abortion being used as a type of contraception, ultimately the decision to terminate a pregancy should be the woman’s choice.
Abortion is never an easy choice, but it should always be the women’s choice. After all, women are the ones who have to carry the baby inside them for nine months. These men sitting at their desks and making decisions for our bodies shouldn’t be able to tell us what to with our reproductive system. We are women and we are powerful. We should not let men tell us what is best for our bodies. Women should be able to have the option to choose an abortion over an awful life for their child or for their own safety.
