So, if you have been following the news
at all lately or been on any type of social
media in the past week, I am sure that you
are aware of the wave of anti-abortion
agendas that has taken over the United
States of America in the last week. Nor-
mally, this is when I would begin my rant
about how wrong this is and how we need
to change the world one mind at a time,
but today, I just want to educate you (and
myself, in the process) about what is happening vis-à-vis abortions in the United
States.
Here is a quick timeline. In 1973, in
a landmark decision of the US Supreme
Court, Roe v. Wade, the court ruled that
the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution protects a pregnant woman’s right to choose if she wants to have
an abortion or not. However, this right
was ruled to be not absolute, meaning,
the government’s interest lies in protecting the health of the pregnant woman,
and protecting the life of the foetus. Over
forty years later, on May 7, 2019, Georgia
Governor Brian Kemp signed a “heartbeat
bill”. As the name suggests, the heartbeat
bill prevents pregnant women from getting an abortion once the doctor can detect a fetal heartbeat in the womb, which
usually happens around the sixth week of
pregnancy. This is especially strict considering most women do not even know that
they are pregnant at six weeks. But, in an
even stricter move, Alabama proposed to
completely criminalize abortions, except
for when the pregnant women’s life is at
risk. Not even incest or rape are exempt
from the proposed law. Sixteen states in
the U.S. have passed or are trying to pass
bans on abortion after a heartbeat can be
detected in the womb.
The pro-life school of thought has ex-
isted for years. The reason that the Roe
v. Wade ruling is trying to be overturned
now is because the pro-life agenda gained
momentum with Donald Trump’s appointment of two conservative judges to
the U.S. Supreme court. And while the
abortion has not been outlawed yet, there
is cause for concern.
There are rape victims out there who are
not in a position to raise another life right
now. There are people who were failed by
contraceptives. There are also people who
simply choose to not bring another living
person into this world. How is this still a
point of argument? People who need to
make this decision for themselves are the
people who should be responsible for the
decision. It does not get any simpler than
that.
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