The United States is a country founded on freedom. Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, etc. We all have individual rights outlined in the Constitution and the amendments. The government was founded on the separation of the church and the state to allow each person to practice their own religions freely and not force conversion to a single religion.

So why, then, are members of the government voting on laws with religion in mind instead of science? This has been a problem throughout history. Slavery, denying women basic rights, trying to ban gay marriage, and now banning abortion. These all have religious defenses as to why they're deemed wrong but not everybody follows the same religion or believes the same things. People should not have to suffer at the hand of religious individuals because those individuals are bringing their beliefs into the government.

Now, I'm not saying that every religious individual should be unable to run for a government office but they should make decisions of law based off of facts given and not what their religious beliefs and tendencies. Nobody should be forced to follow an individual's religion because they have the power to make laws about it.

Abortion was already ruled a constitutional right that is now being challenged by people of the state who don't agree and are trying to take away rights that were already given to us. I know that not all non-Christian people agree with abortion but the majority of people in support with this ban are Christian. If an individual does not agree with abortion, then don't get one. But nobody should be able to take away my constitutional rights because of their religion.

My right, as a female, to vote, my right to write this article, my right to practice whatever religion I believe, my right to marry a woman, and my right to get an abortion. None of these are able to be taken away from me and yet people are trying. Trying because their, not mine, but their own religion says its wrong. Despite the fact that I don't believe in their religion, I don't follow their religion, and their religion has nothing to do with my life. I am still forced to follow their beliefs because of the abortion ban.

I understand that individuals will have their religious beliefs. It's allowed because freedom of religion is allowed. But imagine if a group of religious individuals took over a state's legislature and banned Christianity, the bill passing because almost every person believes that Christianity is bad because whatever religion they follow says so. They would be taking away a constitutional right from people to believe whatever religion they choose.

People are still going to practice their religion. A law won't stop them. This is exactly what is happening with the abortion ban. People are being stripped of a constitutional right by a law that won't be followed. If people want or need an abortion, they'll find a way to get one even if is extremely unsafe and risky. Immigrants first came to this country to be able to practice whatever religion they wanted, and the government was founded on the separation of the church and the state. Why should that change now for abortion?