Hysteria erupted since a leaked draft Supreme Court decision in May predicted the demise of Roe. Today, there is more fury at the Supreme Court’s official ruling that abortion is not a guaranteed right. But let’s face it, women still have options and this is by no means the end of abortion rights in America.
For the record, I am pro-choice, not because I don’t think abortion is the ending of a life (I believe it is), but because I know some women desperate to get rid of their pregnancy will put their own bodies at risk in unregulated, unlicensed backroom procedures. It is because of them, for the sake of these women, that I have been pro-choice.
However, it’s time for us to grow up. There are many more choices today in terms of birth control than were available to women in 1973. One of the reasons many women give for having an abortion is not being in a financial or emotional position to add to the children they already care for. If that is the case, then make preparations so that you don’t get pregnant again. Abortion isn’t a right. It’s the worst possible alternative to pregnancy prevention.
Abortion isn’t a right. It’s the worst possible alternative to pregnancy prevention.
Demanding that abortion is a right that women can’t live without is just so… false. Before birth control and abortion clinics, women protected their bodies. Sex was harder to get, and men were chivalrous to get it. With the advent of the birth control pill, sex came with little consequence and today, sex is just a rite of passage. It’s almost something to get over with, like a driver license. Is it any wonder that understanding and relationship building has fallen to the wayside? Nothing is built anymore, only taken.
I have always viewed women who cry “I want an abortion and I want it now!” as petulant. We women, we’re natural planners and organizers. Why can’t we plan for not getting pregnant? If we’re having unprotected sex, why can’t we talk to our doctors about birth control? Why does abortion have to dominate the discussion for women’s rights instead of being the very last option?
Once you’re pregnant, it’s not just about you anymore. Cries for “abortion on demand,” “abortion rights now,” and “my body, my choice” never sat well with me. Abortion involves stopping a beating heart. Is it worth putting some thought into how to avoid this situation instead of taking it for granted? I think it does, and overturning Roe will force some women to do it.
Overturning Roe did not make abortion illegal. It left it to the states to decide. Half the states will likely restrict or make abortion illegal, the other half won’t. Women will still have access to abortion if they cross state lines. Sure, it will be harder, but not impossible- an inconvenience that doesn’t come close to what the fetus will go through. Given the amount of money that has already gone into protecting abortion rights, some of that money will now be funneled to make sure women have the transportation and resources they need to cross from one state to another.
Overturning Roe isn’t the end of the world, but perhaps the beginning of a dialogue for something better.
