The Choice is Mine
The rights of women are under attack in the United States, in a way not seen in my lifetime.
In 1973 the landmark case Roe vs. Wade was decided in the Supreme Court of the United States, which gives women and transgender men the legal right to have end a pregnancy via abortion, for whatever reason they so choose.
Before the ruling of Roe vs. Wade, abortion was illegal in this country. Doctors and other practitioners practiced back alley abortions, putting countless thousands, perhaps millions, at risk. However, if a woman or a trans man was pregnant and chose that they did not want to be, many saw an abortion as the only option.
Although the ruling of Roe vs. Wade was decided in 1973, the matter continues to be debated in public discourse, and in laws throughout the country. There are two sides to this issue:
-Pro-Life: people in this category believe abortion is wrong, perhaps even an act of murder. Many of these beliefs come from a foundation of faith or religious dogma. In some instances, pro-life people believe there should be exceptions, in the instance where a woman was impregnated via rape or incest, or when a woman's life is in danger by maintaining the pregnancy. However, in many instances, many believe there should not be any exceptions. They believe the decision regarding an abortion must be decided by a government or legislative body.
-Pro-Choice: people in this category believe in autonomy, that the decision to have an abortion or not lies with the individual, not in a government or legislative body. They believe that a woman or transgender man is the only person who should decide what is best for her in their reproductive health and in their life.
I am in the Pro-Choice category. I believe in an individual's right to choose for themselves what they want to do in their life and reproductive health. I also believe in a person's right to be either Pro-Life or Pro-Choice. However, I don't believe that a person or a government should be able to make reproductive decisions regarding others based on their personal beliefs.
Let me pose a hypothetical situation into the discussion. Imagine for a moment that I meet a man, become intimate with him, and have a night of carnal passion, which results in a pregnancy. I would then search my soul about what to do.
"What do I do? I've never wanted to have children. I don't have the financial means to raise a child. Creating life was not the end goal of that sexual encounter. Do I carry the baby to term and put it up for adoption? I myself was adopted, and I know what a blessing it can be. I don't want to be pregnant. I don't want to be a mother. Maybe I should get an abortion."
Thanks to the ruling of Roe vs. Wade, these personal, private decisions are decided by individuals, women and transgender men, not a government entity. They are making decisions that are in their own best interest, and they have the legal right to do so.
However, many states are now making it harder and harder for women and transgender men to get legal abortions. One of the tactics deployed involves closing abortion clinics, making individuals drive great distances-often times to another state-to access a safe and legal abortion.
Another tactic deployed-signing laws that ban abortions at various benchmarks of fetal development, or banning abortion absolutely. Case in point: the state of Alabama just signed a bill into law that bans abortions. Moreover, any doctor that performs an abortion could be arrested and sentenced to 99 years in prison.
https://statelaws.findlaw.com/alabama-law/alabama-abortion-laws.html
The cruel irony of the Alabama law is that it is unconstitutional and unenforceable by law because of Roe vs. Wade. Lawmakers in Alabama know this, voted on this bill, and signed it into law, knowing it is illegal. The reason they did this: to bring the issue of abortion to the court system again. They want to overturn Roe vs. Wade, to make abortions illegal again in the United States.
If Roe vs. Wade were ever overturned, it would not stop abortions from happening. It would be a return to a dark age in the reproductive health in the U.S. It would increase the risks and dangers of the procedure, just as it did before Roe vs. Wade became law. Women and transgender men would do whatever they had to do to terminate a pregnancy, as they did in the years before 1973.
As states around the United States have passed restrictive abortion bills, countless brave women have gone on social media sharing their stories of having an abortion, using the hashtag "You Know Me." They talk about their decisions in having an abortion, and the weight of making that decision.
https://www.npr.org/2019/05/19/724747932/-youknowme-twitter-users-share-abortion-experiences
https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/aclu-busy-philipps-take-on-abortion-bans-with-youknowme-ad-campaign-1203224020/
As a woman, I feel that I am in charge of my own body. If I were to ever get pregnant, it would be my choice to have the child or not. If a friend came to me and told me they were pregnant, I would not tell them what to do, to abort the child or keep it. That's their decision to make.
If you are in the Pro-Life side of this issue, I respect your opinion. If you don't believe in abortion, don't have an abortion. If you don't believe in a person's right to choose, don't choose.
I am Pro-Choice, and I believe in the individual's right to choose. I will continue to fight for the freedom and legality of every woman and transgender man to make these decisions for themselves, and to not have these decisions dictated by a government.
If I were to ever get pregnant, the choice of keeping the baby, or aborting it, is my decision, and mine alone to make. No one else gets to make that choice for me.
The choice is mine.
Resources:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/laverne-cox-trans-men-abortion-alabama_n_5ce41b48e4b075a35a2e18ed
https://www.weareplannedparenthood.org/onlineactions/HSJXEyITVkyl51olhyKFlQ2?mobileAdsTest=A
https://emilyslist.org/
https://abortionfunds.org/
In 1973 the landmark case Roe vs. Wade was decided in the Supreme Court of the United States, which gives women and transgender men the legal right to have end a pregnancy via abortion, for whatever reason they so choose.
Before the ruling of Roe vs. Wade, abortion was illegal in this country. Doctors and other practitioners practiced back alley abortions, putting countless thousands, perhaps millions, at risk. However, if a woman or a trans man was pregnant and chose that they did not want to be, many saw an abortion as the only option.
Although the ruling of Roe vs. Wade was decided in 1973, the matter continues to be debated in public discourse, and in laws throughout the country. There are two sides to this issue:
-Pro-Life: people in this category believe abortion is wrong, perhaps even an act of murder. Many of these beliefs come from a foundation of faith or religious dogma. In some instances, pro-life people believe there should be exceptions, in the instance where a woman was impregnated via rape or incest, or when a woman's life is in danger by maintaining the pregnancy. However, in many instances, many believe there should not be any exceptions. They believe the decision regarding an abortion must be decided by a government or legislative body.
-Pro-Choice: people in this category believe in autonomy, that the decision to have an abortion or not lies with the individual, not in a government or legislative body. They believe that a woman or transgender man is the only person who should decide what is best for her in their reproductive health and in their life.
I am in the Pro-Choice category. I believe in an individual's right to choose for themselves what they want to do in their life and reproductive health. I also believe in a person's right to be either Pro-Life or Pro-Choice. However, I don't believe that a person or a government should be able to make reproductive decisions regarding others based on their personal beliefs.
Let me pose a hypothetical situation into the discussion. Imagine for a moment that I meet a man, become intimate with him, and have a night of carnal passion, which results in a pregnancy. I would then search my soul about what to do.
"What do I do? I've never wanted to have children. I don't have the financial means to raise a child. Creating life was not the end goal of that sexual encounter. Do I carry the baby to term and put it up for adoption? I myself was adopted, and I know what a blessing it can be. I don't want to be pregnant. I don't want to be a mother. Maybe I should get an abortion."
Thanks to the ruling of Roe vs. Wade, these personal, private decisions are decided by individuals, women and transgender men, not a government entity. They are making decisions that are in their own best interest, and they have the legal right to do so.
However, many states are now making it harder and harder for women and transgender men to get legal abortions. One of the tactics deployed involves closing abortion clinics, making individuals drive great distances-often times to another state-to access a safe and legal abortion.
Another tactic deployed-signing laws that ban abortions at various benchmarks of fetal development, or banning abortion absolutely. Case in point: the state of Alabama just signed a bill into law that bans abortions. Moreover, any doctor that performs an abortion could be arrested and sentenced to 99 years in prison.
https://statelaws.findlaw.com/alabama-law/alabama-abortion-laws.html
The cruel irony of the Alabama law is that it is unconstitutional and unenforceable by law because of Roe vs. Wade. Lawmakers in Alabama know this, voted on this bill, and signed it into law, knowing it is illegal. The reason they did this: to bring the issue of abortion to the court system again. They want to overturn Roe vs. Wade, to make abortions illegal again in the United States.
If Roe vs. Wade were ever overturned, it would not stop abortions from happening. It would be a return to a dark age in the reproductive health in the U.S. It would increase the risks and dangers of the procedure, just as it did before Roe vs. Wade became law. Women and transgender men would do whatever they had to do to terminate a pregnancy, as they did in the years before 1973.
As states around the United States have passed restrictive abortion bills, countless brave women have gone on social media sharing their stories of having an abortion, using the hashtag "You Know Me." They talk about their decisions in having an abortion, and the weight of making that decision.
https://www.npr.org/2019/05/19/724747932/-youknowme-twitter-users-share-abortion-experiences
https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/aclu-busy-philipps-take-on-abortion-bans-with-youknowme-ad-campaign-1203224020/
As a woman, I feel that I am in charge of my own body. If I were to ever get pregnant, it would be my choice to have the child or not. If a friend came to me and told me they were pregnant, I would not tell them what to do, to abort the child or keep it. That's their decision to make.
If you are in the Pro-Life side of this issue, I respect your opinion. If you don't believe in abortion, don't have an abortion. If you don't believe in a person's right to choose, don't choose.
I am Pro-Choice, and I believe in the individual's right to choose. I will continue to fight for the freedom and legality of every woman and transgender man to make these decisions for themselves, and to not have these decisions dictated by a government.
If I were to ever get pregnant, the choice of keeping the baby, or aborting it, is my decision, and mine alone to make. No one else gets to make that choice for me.
The choice is mine.
©Esperanza Habla All Rights Reserved
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/laverne-cox-trans-men-abortion-alabama_n_5ce41b48e4b075a35a2e18ed
https://www.weareplannedparenthood.org/onlineactions/HSJXEyITVkyl51olhyKFlQ2?mobileAdsTest=A
https://emilyslist.org/
https://abortionfunds.org/
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