The Truth About Why We Need Abortion

I know the New York abortion law that allows abortions past 24 weeks for specific reasons came out about a month ago, but I am still seeing talk about it on Facebook every day. I have seen people say that abortion is not okay in cases of rape, incest, when the mother is in danger, when the baby is not viable, or when the mother simply wants the choice available to her. It hurts me to see people saying things like this because it sounds like they value fetuses’ lives over a grown woman’s life. There are many reasons why abortion should not be made illegal but, here are my top 3 reasons.

1. Women’s health and safety. If abortions are made illegal that will not stop abortions, back-alley abortions will come back into the light. Women could risk injury and even death because they are being denied access to safe abortions. Forcing a woman to carry out a pregnancy no matter the circumstances is inhumane. Mental health needs to be considered with these issues. The trauma from being raped affects your mental health greatly and no woman should ever be forced to go the trauma of carrying out the pregnancy that could result from it. It is also said that women who receive abortions are less likely to suffer mental health issues than women who are denied them. Reproductive rights are human rights!
2. Gender Equality. In Michael Schwalbe’s book The Sociologically Examined Life he makes a point that if abortions are made illegal then it is unlikely that women will ever be considered equal to men. It will hinder the progress they could be making in their career, or the woman could be left in poverty because she is unable to support a baby at the time. Forcing women to carry out unwanted pregnancies brings back the old idea that being a mother is a woman’s main role in life. As Donald Trump has stated, “pregnancy is a wonderful thing for the woman, a wonderful thing for the husband, it’s certainly an inconvenience for a person that is running a business”. Pregnancy is not always a wonderful thing, nor is it always inside of a marriage, and it should not be considered an inconvenience to anyone whose body it is not affecting!
3. Healthy Families. Pregnancy is something that a woman needs to have planned and be completely ready for so that she can offer her baby the best life possible. Prohibiting abortion would not only raise teen pregnancy rates but the foster care systems would be inundated with kids. Children should not come into the world unwanted just to be moved around foster homes their whole childhood. It’s great that women have the option to put their unwanted babies into the foster care system, but children need attachment with a parent to develop!

Photo by Giacomo Ferroni on Unsplash

Being pro-choice is not about wanting the choice to murder your baby out of convenience. Being pro-choice is about basic human rights and ensuring that every born baby is loved and wanted.