Right to Our Bodies: Why Women Are Entitled to Abortion

Photo+Courtesy+of+The+Update%3A+La+Chats+Student+Newspaper+

Photo Courtesy of The Update: La Chat’s Student Newspaper

Emily Persaud and Sierra Daniels

Modern politics have been plagued with the argument of whether or not women should have the right to abort their children. Those who believe that abortion is a constitutional right have coined the name “Pro-Choicers,” while those who do not support abortion are “Pro-Lifers.” Recently, the debate has become more popular and people’s opinions have become very prominent. So prominent that many women are shamed or harmed because of their choices over their body.

Women were given the right to an abortion through numerous historic Supreme Court cases; therefore, those rights should not be infringed upon at any cost. The most well-known Supreme Court case  Roe v. Wade,  basically says that the “right of privacy” in the due process clause of the 14th Amendment extends to a woman’s right to have an abortion. Other cases such as Doe v. Bolton and Planned Parenthood v. Casey reinforced the Roe v. Wade decision.

“I honestly don’t see how it’s even a debate. A woman should have full control over her body. Unless the people who are trying to force her to carry the child and care for it are willing to take her spot they should keep their opinions to themselves,” said junior Thomas McElveen.

People argue that a woman should know what she is getting into when she engages in sexual intercourse and shouldn’t avoid responsibility for her actions by getting an abortion. However, if a woman knows that she is incapable of raising a child properly, it is more responsible for the woman to not have the baby. If a mother cannot financially support her child or has no desire to raise it, then forcing her to give birth could add to the many abused and neglected children in the world.

“There are people who are very responsible if they are having sex. They use condoms and take birth control. However, there still is the slim chance pregnancy can happen,” said senior Mia Rios. “It is not fair for the child to be born into the arms of a mother who cannot care for or does not want a baby. There are also much more serious cases, like when a woman gets raped. Nobody should be forced to have a baby they don’t want, especially if it’s their rapist’s baby.”

People defend abortion by saying that there are other options, specifically adoption. The problem is there is anywhere from 438,000 to 687,000 in the foster care system currently. A woman should not feel pressured to add to the growing amount of kids up for adoption when she could just terminate her pregnancy before she impacts an actual human being’s life. The foster care system is an extremely toxic organization where children are often left abandoned and abused.

All in all, women should always have the right to an abortion because of the many complications that can arise if a mother is forced to keep or raise a baby that she does not want.