As I heard the news that South Carolina removed the exceptions on rape and incest to their abortion law I could not help but be filled with anger, confusion and tears. How could the country that I live in deny autonomy to the lives of so many women?
The “Fetal Heartbeat Protection from Abortion Act,” will make it illegal for an abortion to occur once a heartbeat is detected despite if the women was raped or involved in incestial affairs in South Carolina.
The Senate Medical Affairs Committee voted 9-6 to approve the bill on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.
The abortion law will make it highly unlikely for any woman, whether victim or not, to successfully receive an abortion.
Men should never decide what a woman can or cannot do with her body.
What this does is add fuel to the fire, creating an even bigger population within the foster care system and allowing for unsafe abortions.
The continued issue with tightening abortion laws is the fact that men are making this decision without understanding a woman’s situation that may require them to personally decide whether to keep their child or not, and what to do in the unfortunate case of being raped and getting pregnant.
Men do not know what it is like to have their bodily anatomy scrutinized, where laws are being made without their consent.
Men cannot possibly understand what it feels like emotionally and physically to carry a baby to term that only reminds them of their rapist or abuser.
The laws being discussed are unjust to society as a whole because they are letting down all women across the nation.
This choice is not one for a male to make.
The fact remains that these lawmakers will never undergo pregnancy, nor will they ever be forced to carry a child to term after being raped.
There are numerous problems with the structure of the foster care system that bring no benefit to the child, nor society.
If these lawmakers are so concerned with the future generations thriving, they should be looking at how to improve the foster care system instead of trying to control the rights of women.
Laws that allow little room for women to receive abortions create a bigger movement to receive unsafe abortions that can potentially harm the woman.
If women are not allowed access to abortions those who are desperate will be forced to have one at the cost of their health, and possibly even their life, instead.
There has been numerous research regarding the correlation between mental health and abortions.
Women who have been denied an abortion were found to suffer from higher levels of stress, anxiety, depression, suicidal ideologies and lack of self-esteem, according to Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health.
Men cannot continue to create laws that violate a woman’s bodily autonomy.
Women have been able to make their own choices since the beginning of time, they are capable of making decisions regarding their own body.
The exception is being a woman. When these laws are made they take away the dignity women uphold.
These laws continue to regress the rights of women and let down the mothers, daughters, aunts and grandmothers of the world.
Erica Rae Sanchez, a senior journalism major, is social media editor for the Campus Times. She can be reached by email at erica.sanchez2@laverne.edu.
I think God feels the opposite..
I sure don’t want an abortion on my soul when i die.
Just a thought.
not everyone believes in god, greg.
just a thought
I will pray for those who do not believe in God and miss out on the joy of his love.
And I will pray for you Jordan
I’m a satanist, Greg. I appreciate the thought but, I don’t need your prayers. Believe what you want but your personal beliefs have no business in other peoples’ lives.
My 19-year-old sister is already pregnant, and she would like the child to be aborted since she’s not yet ready both emotionally and financially. I agree with you that these lawmakers will never go through pregnancy, nor they’ll be obligated to carry a child, therefore, they will never understand the struggle. I am on my sister’s side, and I just wish that we’ll be able to find an abortion clinic right away.