Despite being in the twenty-first century, a woman’s bodily autonomy is still being violated.
Roe v Wade passed on January 22, 1973, and guaranteed a constitutional right to abortion. It was June 24, 2022, when the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, leaving the legality of abortion up to the states. According to MedlinePlus, abortion can be defined as a procedure to end a pregnancy, either medically or surgically.
It was also June 24, 2022, when the lives of millions of women would be impacted forever.
According to the American Progress, researchers have found that if abortion is banned throughout the United States, the number of maternal deaths would increase by 24%. The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit news organization that covers statewide issues. Authors for the Texas Tribune, Cassandra Jaramillo and Kavitha Surana, acknowledge that only ten days after Texas banned abortion, a mother died after doctors delayed treating her miscarriage for forty hours. WMC Senior Keira Gallagher says, “Some people value the life of the fetus over the life of a woman who already has a developed soul.”
According to Rebecca Boone who is an associated press for MyPlainview news, Jennifer Akins was denied a medically necessary abortion in Idaho and had to frantically try to find a clinic in Utah that was affordable and not already all booked. She had to choose between her unborn child or herself and the family she already has with her toddler and husband. She is the only one who gets to make that decision.
In addition, Boone also explains that if Kayla Smith had not gone out of state for an abortion, she could have died from complications with preeclampsia. She would be leaving her daughter without a mother and her husband without a wife.
As stated by ABC News, a thirteen-year-old girl was forced to give birth after she was impregnated by a stranger and was denied an abortion in Mississippi. The nearest abortion clinic in Chicago was too expensive for her mother to afford. That is a child giving birth to a child. Although this is a perspective that many have, that thirteen-year-old girl will be scarred for the rest of her life.
Issues about abortion have been igniting since the mid-1800s. Currently, the biggest conflict between pro-life and pro-choice people is the idea of the unborn and what is considered a human. What is a known fact, however, is the woman carrying the baby is already a living human being who has a soul.
A common argument is that abortion can be allowed during instances of incest or rape. From the perspective of a woman, this argument is essentially saying a woman must be violated in order to have the right to safely protect herself and her body.
Women seeking an abortion have already encountered past, present, and future subjective experiences. The fetus has not employed first-person subjective experiences. In other words, the woman can comprehend what is occurring within her own body. The woman is able to embody the idea of time as she lives. When she is denied access to abortion care, she is compelled to continue the pregnancy against her will despite the various risks.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a famous advocate for women’s rights. She became the second woman and first Jewish woman to serve on the Supreme Court. During her legacy, she believed “A woman’s right to choose an abortion is something central to a woman’s life, to her dignity… And when the government controls that decision for her, she’s being treated as less than a full adult human being responsible for her own choices.” Ginsburg is essentially saying that the ability to choose whether to have an abortion is fundamental to a woman’s identity and freedom. When the government interferes with abortion, it undermines a woman’s autonomy.
