Abortion needs to be legal and safely accessible to all women in the United States.
Women have been told for years that our bodies do not belong to us and that we should not have any say in terms of our bodies.
Access to safe and legal abortions should go without saying but, unfortunately, a lot of people do not agree. All of these decisions about banning abortion have been made by men who could not even fathom the idea of what a woman goes through during pregnancy and motherhood.
The debate about women’s reproductive rights has been ongoing and very controversial for the longest time.
If the United States bans abortion, it would not prevent them from happening. Abortion would still be practiced, but just very unsafely. Women would try to perform abortions themselves or go to someone who is highly unethical in order to follow through with this procedure.
Amnesty International states that “in places where abortion is stigmatized, criminalized or restricted, people are forced to resort to unsafe abortions. It is estimated that 25 million unsafe abortions take place every year.”
In a world where access to abortion is illegal, there would be more harm than good.
Forcing women to go through with unwanted pregnancies does not help the woman in any way. Forcing someone to be a parent who does not want to raise a child will not benefit the parent or the child.
Lauren Hoffman states in her article that legalized abortions allowed more women to attend college. Hoffman states that “one study found that access to abortion for women facing early, undesired pregnancies increased the probability of their entering college by 41 percent and completing college by 71 percent.”
Giving women the right to choose is better for their careers and their wellbeing.
Due to the fact that there would be more risks to a woman’s life if she could not access a safe abortion, we need to make sure that her reproductive rights are her choice and not controlled by the government.
A way we can prevent abortions being illegal is to vote. Voting makes such a big impact when it comes to your rights and what laws will be enforced under certain presidential candidates or state legislatures. If you want to keep your reproductive rights then you need to vote. If you agree with what I have to say but cannot vote, you can use your voice and speak up about the importance of being pro-choice to inform those who are uneducated. By doing so, we can hopefully have safe and accessible abortions for every person in need of one.
So, please, use your voice.
I am a 16-year-old junior at Centralia High School who is very passionate about being pro-choice. I want for every woman in America to have access to safe abortions, and it has been something I have been passionate about for many years now.
Samantha Falkner
Centralia High School student
