Roe V Wade is a landmark US Supreme Court case from 1973 that gives women the right to privacy and legalized abortion. However, recently the Alabama Senate voted to ban abortion at every stage of the pregnancy. Many other states have signed this bill known as "The Heartbeat Bill."
The name comes from the fact that the bill states that it will be illegal to terminate a pregnancy as early as 6 weeks when a fetal heartbeat can be detected. However, most women do not even know whether they're pregnant or not at 6 weeks, and doctors usually don't schedule to see pregnant women until 8 weeks. On top of all of this, this bill will have no exceptions for rape or incest. Under this law, a woman who is the victim of rape or incest will be charged with a felony for an abortion. And, doctors who illegally perform abortions could face up to 99 years in prison. Not only is this messed up but its extremely backward for all the progress we've made for women's rights.
Additionally, under the new Georgia Law, a woman who miscarries can be tried for second-degree murder. This makes absolutely no sense to me. In some cases, it is not the women's fault for miscarrying. It can happen naturally and it does happen often. Women who want children often miscarry as well. Not only is this law insane but it is degrading and strips a woman of her rights over her body.
Along with all of this, Ohio is trying to ban all forms of birth control. What the uneducated men that are signing these bills do not understand is that birth control has more than one purpose. There are many types of birth control that are used for various reasons. While many women do use them to prevent pregnancies, others use them to reduce pain from their menstrual cycle or to reduce acne. Because of our hormones, women's bodies are constantly going through change and in many cases, birth control can help reduce extreme changes.
I can not comprehend how a man is voting on a women's body and more importantly, a woman's choice. For a country that claims to be about freedom and the right to choose, they clearly don't seem to care about women. Throughout history, women have been fighting for equal rights and despite all of this, men still have the ability to essentially decide the fate of our lives. Women have many reasons for abortions including but not limited to: not being able to give their child a good life, not having the financial means, being victims of rape or incest and having to live with that trauma, etc. Additionally, birth control is something that women use for a variety of reasons and taking that away from us is outrageous. All of this is against Roe V Wade, however, it is sadly unlikely that our Supreme Court will do anything about it.
I am extremely heartbroken about this situation and the fact that after all these years of fighting we are back to square one. A woman's body should be her choice and not some uneducated white man's who has nothing to do with her. I hope that these bills are overturned and women across the country have their basic, human rights back.
