When I was 18, I was diagnosed with a blood clotting disorder that makes my blood clot too much. I was also told at this time there is a good chance I’ll never be able to give birth to children because of this diagnosis. I’ve seen the protests of those who are pro-life, crying out in front of women’s health clinics, holding signs that have pictures of mangled fetuses and posters that say abortions are wasting precious lives.
I don’t see things this way though. Even though I may not be able to have the choice of whether to give birth or not, I still believe women should be able to have a choice. No woman should be dictated what she can and can’t do with her body by the government.
When I attended the University of Akron a couple years ago, I took a Women’s Studies class. This class was extremely fascinating and informative about how women have had to really fight for their rights from the beginning of time. One subject we covered in that class was abortion. We talked extensively on how unsafe abortions were in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Women were dying because of infections, blood loss and consumption of dangerous chemicals to get rid of what was growing in their uteruses. For some women, death was better than giving birth, and since it was illegal, they had no other option than “home remedies.”
So why is Ohio stepping back into the 19th century by creating such an antiquated law?
Many people are outraged by the so-called “Heartbeat Bill” that recently passed in Ohio; a bill that is set to make the cut-off time for a woman to have a legal abortion six weeks. Not only is that an impossibly small window, as a good number of women don’t even know they’re pregnant until eight weeks, but it prohibits abortion in all situations. So under this bill, if a woman is a victim of rape or incest and she doesn’t know she’s pregnant until eight weeks gestation, she is legally not allowed to have an abortion. Not only does this seem so morally wrong to me, but medically it could greatly impact the health and well being of both mom and baby.
Who are politicians to say that what we as women can do with our bodies? Ohio State Senator Charleta Tavares told CNN in an article about the bill, "I believe everyone has a right to their own body […] We allowed a good bill that protects the health and safety of our children to be bastardized into a government takeover of women's wombs."
While my uterus may not be able to produce a baby naturally, I want that choice for other women. I’ve often heard (and seen in angry Facebook comments) the argument of: “If you don’t want the baby, why don’t you just put it up for adoption?” That isn’t necessarily a better option if you ask me. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in the United States as of June 2016 there are 62,378 children in the system waiting to be adopted. Even more astounding, there are 427,910 children in the foster care system.
Is it really helping anyone if a woman is forced to give birth to a child that there is simply nowhere for it to go?
