Overturning Roe v. Wade: A lazy solution to a bigger problem
Isabella Tisdale ’24 shares her opinion on the recent efforts to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Isabella Tisdale ’24 shares her opinions on the recent efforts to overturn Roe v. Wade
As a teenage girl, my worries should be things like that big test in math next Friday and what I’m gonna do for college. But the reality is I am always worried about the government trying to control my body and my right to safe abortion. Roe v. Wade has been around for my whole lifetime. Access to safe and legal abortions has statistically decreased unsafe abortions. So, in light of recent legislative efforts to ban abortion, I think it is more important than ever to sustain Roe v. Wade nationally.
If Roe v. Wade is overturned it will not end abortions, it will end safe abortions. Unsafe abortions can lead to permanent damage or even death if not done by a professional. Abortions are a last-choice solution, not a usual form of birth control. So why does the republican government not give free birth control if they are so against abortions? The answer is control.
When born into poverty, money is tight. Life is stressful and the added lack of money can only add to that. Sex work is also very common among people who need the extra money. They cannot practice abstinence because the lack thereof is what is putting food on the table. Lack of money for food and an even bigger lack of money for forms of birth control commonly leads to pregnancy. A lack of education and conversation about forms of birth control also leads to an increase in unwanted pregnancies. This is shown by a 2016 study that reported over 75% of women who get abortions live under the poverty line. Further showing that the overturning of Roe V Wade would disproportionately affect impoverished populations.
Finally, even if a woman is old enough to get pregnant does not mean she is emotionally or physically ready to bear children. The expectation of a young girl to bear children simply because she has a period does not mean she will get through childbirth. Nor does it entail that she is emotionally ready to have a child when she IS a child. The average girl gets her period at age 12 and does not have a fully developed brain until the age of 25. Forcing a child to reproduce no matter the circumstance at such a young underdeveloped age is cruel and shows that anti-choicers do not really care about the kids. — Isabella Tisdale
The same people who claim to have sympathy for an unborn fetus are the people sitting outside of Emma Goldman every Thursday yelling at women. A simple drive downtown in the fall can show a person how protestors are less pro-life and more anti-choice. With no plan to help the 11.4% of the U.S living in poverty, help reform the childcare system or put laws in place to protect America’s youth, it seems as though they only care about a child until they are born.
In conclusion, the ban on safe abortion will only lead to increased unsafe abortion that can overall lead to death. With 288 abortion restrictions being enacted in states from 2009 to 2014, the increase will only grow. An overturn of Roe v. Wade also targets impoverished populations that do not get enough funding or help to get on their feet. If the government desires a country that does not have abortions, they need to care about the lives of the children after they are born. This can be done with access to birth control and other contraceptives that many teens don’t have access to. But, a country with no access to safe abortions won’t get rid of abortions, just safe ones.
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