On January 22nd, 1973, The case of Roe v wade was ruled on by the supreme court. They ruled in favor of Roe, stating that women can choose to keep or terminate a pregnancy. This was a monumental step in the women's rights movement allowing women bodily autonomy. Then in June of 2022, the movement for equality and women's rights took a substantial hit. On June 24th, 2022, the supreme court overturned Roe v wade. Fifty years after, roe v wade had initially been ruled on. All over the country, state banns went into effect 11 states immediately started implementing bans on performing, getting, and aiding others in receiving abortions. Women throughout the country are entitled to bodily autonomy, and the restriction of abortion rights is exceptionally damaging to women's mental, physical and financial health and the well-being of their children. 

 "Louisiana woman says she was denied an abortion after the fetus developed a rare condition: "I was carrying my baby to bury my baby" (CBC news).

"Texas woman almost dies because she couldn't get an abortion" (CNN news). 

"Mom fighting abortion bans after her daughter's death points to her homeland as a cautionary tale" (NBC news). 

Throughout the country, more and more women die and suffer medical complications from being denied necessary abortions. A risky pregnancy can no longer be terminated, even if both the mother and child could die. There is a loophole in the ban that allows emergency abortions. However, women on the brink of death are being denied needed abortions because of fear. The fines and prison time a doctor can be given for performing an abortion are incredibly severe. 

"... in Texas, …punishable by up to life in prison and up to a $10,000 fine — under the state's trigger ban. In Alabama, ….up to 12 months in county jail or hard labor and a fine of up to $1,000 under the state's pre-Roe ban" (Abortion bans and penalties would vary widely by state).

These punishments intentionally cause fear, so fewer abortions are performed even when they fall under the necessary or lifesaving exceptions. This limits the extent to which health professionals can care for and fulfill their duty to their patients. Denying a necessary medical procedure and preventing doctors from providing a lifesaving procedure is significantly detrimental to the health and well-being of women throughout the country. This leaves doctors in a sticky situation where they want to do all they can for their patients. However, the procedure that would save them is banned not because it is dangerous, not because it does more harm than good, but because some believe that the possible life of an unborn child holds more value than the mother of that child.  

The new abortion banns perpetuate the financial divide in our society. Upper and middle-class women have more access to travel out of state to get abortions or the financial means to raise a baby. Lower-class women do not have the financial means to travel out of state or pay the medical bills associated with having a child. Children are expensive to raise, and many mothers or families do not have the means to raise a child.

"Based on the most recent data from the Consumer Expenditures Survey, in 2015, a family will spend approximately $12,980 annually per child in a middle-income ($59,200-$107,400), two-child, married-couple family. Middle-income, married-couple parents of a child born in 2015 may expect to spend $233,610 ($284,570 if projected inflation costs are factored in*) for food, shelter, and other necessities to raise a child through age 17" (The Cost of Raising a Child).

This example is only for middle-class and lower-class families who often live paycheck to paycheck, as adding a child to the mix significantly affects their quality of life—lower-class women with less access to healthcare and options for giving the baby up. If the pregnancy is high-risk, many women do not have the financial means to get care for complications for their health or that of their baby. 

The commonly recognized alternative to aborting an unwanted child is to put the child up for adoption. Well, this sounds like a good idea. The child will go to live with a loving family, but this is primarily not the case. Most children end up in adoption agencies or foster homes for far longer than expected. The foster system is incredibly harmful and damaging to the kids in it. Foster parents often neglect or exploit their children for money. 

"More than one in three children experience an abuse or neglect investigation before reaching adulthood, and that number is one in two for Black children. Moreover, one in nine Black children and one in seven Native American children spend part of their childhood in foster care….With as many as 70 percent of youth in the juvenile justice system having been involved with child welfare, 60 percent of sexually exploited children, and 33 percent of homeless young adults with foster care histories, changing child welfare is also part of root-cause efforts to solve other systemic national problems" (The problem). 

The foster system exposes children to dangerous environments. The banning of abortions forces more children into the system, intensifying neglect, exploitation, or abusive environments. This is especially damaging to lower-class people who are more at risk, to begin with, than to be put in the system only makes the problem worse. Is it better to subject children to an abusive and unsafe environment for 18 years than let women save their potential child from this fate?

Many say that abortions cause extreme mental damage to women and are unsafe. The idea that the mental health damage caused by abortion is more dangerous than the mental damage caused by a forced pregnancy and birth is one of the many arguments the pro-life movement perpetuates. However, this is simply untrue, 

"It's important for folks to know that abortion does not cause mental health problems," said Debra Mollen, Ph.D., a professor of counseling psychology at Texas Woman's University, who studies abortion and reproductive rights. "What's harmful are the stigma surrounding abortion, the lack of knowledge about it, and the lack of access" (The facts about abortion and mental health).

Denying and stigmatizing abortions causes more and more women to feel trapped and have to go through their pregnancy even though they should be allowed to make their own decisions. More mental distress comes from denying and preventing women from ending a dangerous, unplanned, or otherwise unwanted pregnancy, which causes more anxiety, stress, and even depression.  

Whether you are a man, woman, or other, the well-being of you, your future or current children, and the future of this country is negatively impacted by the governmental regulation of a needed medical procedure and women's bodies. The government's ability to take away rights we thought were set in stone so quickly and with no repercussions leads me to ask you, 

How confident are you that the rights you have that seem to be basic human rights cant be taken away in a blink of an eye? 

How confident are you that you have control over your own body?

How confident are you in your government to protect and support your rights?

If the answers to any of these questions are no, I encourage you to stand up in support of 

reproductive rights and fight to get abortion rights solidified in law. You are not just fighting for women's rights; you are fighting for all whose rights fall in the hands of the supreme court and are not written into the constitution. 

Work Cited

“Abortion Bans and Penalties Would Vary Widely by State.” POLITICO, politico.com/news/2022/05/06/potential-abortion-bans-and-penalties-by-state-00030572.

Cohen, Elizabeth, and John Bonifield. “Texas Woman Almost Dies Because She Couldn't Get an Abortion.” CNN, Cable News Network, 17 Nov. 2022, cnn.com/2022/11/16/health/abortion-texas-sepsis.

“The Facts about Abortion and Mental Health.” Monitor on Psychology, American Psychological Association, apa.org/monitor/2022/09/news-facts-abortion-mental-health.

Huey-Burns, Caitlin. “Louisiana Woman Says She Was Denied an Abortion after Fetus Developed Rare Condition: ‘I Was Carrying My Baby to Bury My Baby.’” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 28 Aug. 2022, cbsnews.com/news/louisiana-woman-nancy-davis-denied-an-abortion-after-fetus-develops-rare-condition/.

Lino, Posted by Mark. “The Cost of Raising a Child.” USDA, 18 Feb. 2020, usda.gov/media/blog/2017/01/13/cost-raising-child.

Parenthood, Planned. “Abortion in U.S. History.” Planned Parenthood Action Fund, plannedparenthoodaction.org/issues/abortion/abortion-central-history-reproductive-health-care-america.

President, Julia Cusick Vice, et al. “State Abortion Bans Will Harm Women and Families' Economic Security across the US.” Center for American Progress, 31 Oct. 2022, americanprogress.org/article/state-abortion-bans-will-harm-women-and-families-economic-security-across-the-us/#:~:text=The%20Institute%20for%20Women's%20Policy,15%20to%2044%20years%20old.

“The Problem.” Foster America, foster-america.org/the-problem#:~:text=For%20families%E2%80%94especially%20low%2Dincome,in%20two%20for%20Black%20children.

“The Turnaway Study.” ANSIRH, 15 Aug. 2022, ansirh.org/research/ongoing/turnaway-study.