Back in May of this year, Texas Governor, Greg Abbott, signed new legislation called the “Fetal Heartbeat Bill”. This bill bans abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which usually occurs around six weeks into pregnancy.
On September 1, the Supreme Court denied the effort to stop this Texas law, making it now illegal for women to have an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, with no exceptions in cases of rape or incest.
Many people that are pro-life believe that life begins at conception and that every life is worth living. A large group of pro-lifers are religious, following commandments like “thou must not kill.”
People who are pro-life recommend that if you cannot take care of the child, then you should go through with the pregnancy and put the child up for adoption. Putting a child up for adoption or in foster care seems like a good way to combat an unwanted pregnancy, but the foster care system has become overrun, with too many homeless children.
In states such as Texas and Virginia, there are many kids in foster care. According to AdoptUSKids, in 2019, Texas had 29,927 children in foster care. In Virginia, there were about 5,400 children in foster care. There have been many instances of abuse in the foster care system, and women might not want to put their child through such affliction.
By restricting the laws on abortion, they will not completely stop. People will just find other ways to terminate their pregnancies which is extremely dangerous for them.
Around 68,000 women die of unsafe abortions annually. Along with a high risk of death, having an unsafe abortion can lead to long-term health complications.
The life of a fully developed woman should not be put in danger for a non-developed fetus. If pro-lifers truly care about life, then they should prioritize a grown life.
Instead of forcing women to follow through with unwanted pregnancies, there should be access to safe abortions for everyone.
Along with providing access to safe abortions, there should be more education regarding contraceptives such as birth control and IUDs. Educating young people about safe sex will reduce the amount of unexpected and unwanted pregnancies which will reduce the need for abortion.
There should be a continuous discussion about the risks of having unprotected sex instead of avoiding the conversation.
For centuries, laws have been made that restrict women. There should be no legislation limiting reproductive rights on a woman. Women should have the right to choose what to do with their own bodies.
A woman has the right to choose what is in her best interest whether she can take care of a child. Some of these young women barely have enough resources to keep themselves alive, much less a child.