Women’s reproductive rights. They have been ripped out of our hands and are depriving us of the right to choose what happens to our own bodies. I’ve lost a lot of respect for our government – the system that’s supposed to give us freedom.
June 24, 2022. The day America changed women’s rights—again. Roe v. Wade was overthrown, depriving women of the right to safe abortions.
So whether you believe that as soon as a heart beats, it is a sign of life and has rights, or because the fetus is still in the womb, is up to the mother’s discretion. Regardless of your beliefs, the focus should be on women who had no choice but to conceive and are now forced to have children who are products of rape.
Source: The New York Times
A woman who is being coerced into intercourse, who is being hurt, tormented and dehumanized, is now forced to carry and give birth to a child she did not intend. In this situation, there is not a single ounce of choice. Some states have allowed exceptions for cases of rape. Missouri is not one of them.
In America, 1 in 6 is women Victim of attempted or completed rape. 1 in 6 women may have to live with a raped child for the rest of their lives.
Rape itself is traumatizing and haunts women every day. If after the event a woman happens to find out that she is pregnant, chances are she doesn’t want to keep it. There’s nothing wrong with making that choice.
Our state hates women. It can not be said otherwise.
Missouri introduced a trigger law before the overthrow, which resulted in many doctors having to exile their practices with immediate effect – the first state to do so. Women were immediately forced to continue their pregnancy to the end, whether it involved rape or not.
A little over 50 years ago, Roe v. Wade, which allowed women to have an abortion of their choice, depending on a number of factors. It was not passed to abuse the right. It was not passed on to maliciously hurt other people.
Source: The New York Times
It’s a simple concept to let women decide. If a person is against abortion, then they don’t think about the possibility of having one. If they are pro-abortion, they weigh the options and decide what is best for them.
It’s simple, respect someone’s choice even if you wouldn’t.
A look at the costs
Having a child is a life changing event that not everyone can handle. On average it costs $12,980 per year to raise a child. Not everyone can raise this money.
In the state of Missouri are annually it costs $10,041 for childcare. That works out to about $837 per month. The minimum wage in Missouri is $12 an hour, which means a 20-hour workweek would, with just a little change, cover the cost of childcare.
There are additional costs if the child has health problems. Even asthma can cost extra $3,259 per year. That’s just asthma alone, imagine what the cost of other conditions would be.
There are obvious solutions to this, including finding a job that pays better and working 20+ hours a week. However, his option is not available to every woman in the US
I haven’t even mentioned the cost of childbirth, clothing, food, education and the list goes on. There are so many costs associated with having a child and parents are expected to foot the bill.
Source: The New York Times
We need a solution to help future parents raise their children in difficult times. Although there are ways to help with that financial support When raising a child, you usually have to go through a lengthy process to be accepted for these options. Still, there is a chance that a person might be turned down for the support they need.
Birth control is not the solution
Birth control seems to be the solution and the unfortunate wave of the future, but people need to know the facts behind birth control.
For women without health insurance a single birth control package can cost almost $50. This is the cheapest form of contraception for women.
Many women do not have access to health insurance or support to help cover costs. A cost that can add up to hundreds of dollars.
An implant or an IUD is Cost $800-$1,000 for women without health insurance, and in some cases it could cost even more.
This is not a viable solution to the problem at hand.
Source: The New York Times
Taking away abortions and giving women no choice is, in some cases, depriving them of their lives. If a woman was to become pregnant through rape or incest, she is now compelled to give birth and give birth to that child.
To what extent can a human justify this as humane?
We are walking a dangerous path by depriving women of the right to abortion. The protests and outrage are justified.
At the end of the day, no matter which side of the argument you’re on, we just have to respect each other’s views. We’re already politicizing women’s bodies, and while I wish it couldn’t get worse, it can happen. So please, for the good of not just women but all people, stop going back in history and just write a new one – a better one.