Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Abortion Battle Should Push Women to the Polls


By Mildred Robertson

Most women, for most of our lives see motherhood as the fulfillment of our destiny. Even as little girls, we select the names of our imagined children and plan our journey into motherhood. For these women, there is nothing more exciting than planning and conceiving a child. But there is a flip side. An unplanned and unwanted pregnancy is gut wrenching, regardless of the circumstances under which it occurs.

There are all kinds of reasons why a woman…a family…must make the hard decision to terminate a pregnancy. The reasons are as myriad as there are women in the world to endure their consequences. There is rape, incest, an unviable fetus, danger to the health of the mother or even the emotional or financial inability to care for a child. Whatever the circumstance, It is not a decision that most women make lightly.

In Alabama, 25 men have taken it upon themselves to make that decision for all the women who live in their state. They have chosen to pass the most restrictive anti-abortion measure since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.  The legislation, House Bill 314, “Human Life Protection Act,” allows for abortion only when there is a serious health risk to the mother. Under this legislation, abortion for any reason other than to save the life of the mother, is a Class A felony that could jail a doctor performing an abortion for up to 99 years.  Attempted abortions would be reclassified to a Class C felony. The intent of the Alabama State legislature is to force the Supreme Court to revisit the abortion issue in hopes of overturning “Roe v. Wade". That means a 10-year-old rape victim would be forced to carry her rapist's child to term. 

Alabama is only one of 13 states which have launched an all-out assault on a woman’s right to choose. Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Dakota, Ohio and South Dakota have all passed legislation that restricts abortions; and Alabama, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee and Wisconsin have pending legislation restricting women’s right to reproductive health care. Discussions surrounding this emotionally charged issue have devolved into pro-life supporters accusing those who support a woman’s right to choose as supporting infanticide.

While everyone has the right to their personal beliefs as it relates to abortion, one only has that right over their own person. That means that each woman must decide for herself what is right for her and her family. Further, history will tell us that making abortion illegal will not eliminate abortion – it will only eliminate “safe” abortion.

While many legislators across the country want to deny women the opportunity to choose what they do with their  own bodies, there is nothing they can do about what women do with their vote. Women must rise up in the 2020 election and take back their power. Those legislators who fail to understand or care about women’s right should be ushered out on a “pink wave.”  Women must  coalesce around progressive candidates who understand that we are perfectly capable of making hard decisions; including those related to who walks the halls of congress, and who sits in the oval office. We must change the face of those who govern us, so that their faces look more like our own.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

I am sharing your article.

Just Sayin' said...

Thank you for sharing. Your comments are welcomed.

Anonymous said...

You are right on target with this. Thank God these men didn't write the constitution however don't vote vote vote they and their ilk will rewrite it

Anonymous said...

Right on target. This is all about white power!!!