As a woman, there are a lot of social pressures that you have to deal with. Having your outfit look just right, making sure your body is virtually hairless, and of course, trying to stay away from the dreaded “resting bitch face.” Sure, there is definitely pressure from society for women to keep up with these things, but there are not any laws prohibiting a woman from not shaving her legs. And there are not any politicians pushing any sort of laws regarding it either. But there is one thing regarding women that politicians cannot seem to stay away from: women’s rights to reproductive health, better known as contraceptive and abortion. The thing is, politicians should not have any say in the personal matter of birth control and abortion, and here is why.
Methods of contraception have been around since 3000 B.C. Condoms, spermicides, and diaphragms are not something you think about when you think of early humans, but they had these resources and they utilized them for thousands of years. But then something happened in the 1870s. A law was enacted which prohibited advertisements and distribution of birth control -- and also outlawed abortion. It even allowed birth control methods sent in the mail to be confiscated by postal service workers. This was eventually outlawed. Now it is legal for contraceptives to be advertised, sold, and used, as well as abortion being legal. However, there is a noticeable a trend of Big Time politicians pushing for abortion to be illegal, and for contraceptive to be difficult to obtain.
In 2012, vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan was very adamant about outlawing abortion, even in cases of rape which resulted in pregnancy. And it doesn’t stop there; Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush, Donald Trump, Rand Paul, and of course, Ted Cruz, are all against the legality of abortion. Ted Cruz, a current presidential candidate for the republican party, is known for (if not his possible status as the Zodiac Killer) his plan to eliminate federal funding for Planned Parenthood. Not only does cutting funding for Planned Parenthood diminish a woman’s options to terminate her pregnancy, but it could also mean women who need it, would not be able to easily and affordably obtain a contraceptive.
The list in the previous paragraph makes an important statement: all are men. As of 2014, there are 1,159,053 men in federal government positions compared to a mere 886,253 women. So the majority of people making these big decisions are men. This is crucial to take note of because there are men making decisions about things that concern a woman’s body. This is not okay because men do not get "slut shamed" if they impregnate a woman out of wedlock at a young age. Men do not have to worry about carrying the child of their rapist for nine months, then possibly raising it for eighteen years. Men do not have to face the possibility of dying from complications during childbirth due to longstanding medical issues. But these are all things that could be prevalent issues for women with an unplanned pregnancy. Still, here are these men, sitting on their high horses discussing what is best for a population that they are not a part of.
It is understandable that everyone has their own personal beliefs regarding this very controversial and sensitive topic, but these opinions should not influence what happens on Capitol Hill. If a bunch of politicians are making decisions about women's issues, the results will not benefit womankind. Cutting funding for organizations like Planned Parenthood and outlawing abortion will not only be detrimental for many women throughout the country, but also revert the United States back to a time filled with unsafe methods to obtain contraception and possible deadly abortion procedures. These topics should not at all be discussed in the way they are currently being discussed in politics, and that is that.
