Recently, a bright spotlight has been placed on new abortion laws that are threatening the possible overthrow of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that established a woman’s right to an abortion. In addition to a new draconian law passed in Georgia, 16 other states are moving to pass new laws, and the prospect is frightening to abortion advocates. The Georgia law, signed by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp on May 7, 2019 has been dubbed the “heartbeat bill.” In essence, the bill outlaws abortion if a doctor can detect a fetal heartbeat. This usually occurs by the sixth week, a period in which many women may not be aware that they are pregnant. Due to the makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court, there is a great possibility that these new laws will face a friendly court and thus turn back the clock on abortion rights.
Regarding abortion, most Americans are split into two camps: Pro-Life and Pro-Choice. The Pro-Lifers are anti-abortion allegedly due to a desire to preserve the life of the unborn. They profess to protect the fetus in the womb, which is ironic, because many of these same individuals support legislation that threatens the life and well-being of the babies who were once the same fetuses that they allegedly wanted to protect. Pro-Choice individuals, on the other hand, are advocates of a woman’s right to choose the abortion option.
Intrinsically, the abortion issue is not just one of aborting or not aborting a fetus; it is a fight for a woman to do whatever she wills with her own body. This issue is not one that should be decided by men. There are many Pro-Choice advocates who may not necessarily believe in abortion, but believe it is a woman’s right to determine if she is to go that route or not. Because of this, this new abortion rights struggle is increasingly being seen as one of an initial salvo in a war on women!
The abortion issue is basically a philosophical one wherein the truth will not be determined until more is known about the mysteries of the beginning of life. For example, the heartbeat law belies a belief that a fetus is alive at six weeks. Some metaphysical observers aver that the fetus does not become a living individual until sometime very late in the pregnancy, and some when the first breath is taken at birth. Actually, if logically assessed, life occurs at the very moment that the sperm fertilizes the egg. All of the genetic properties that will manifest in the new entity post-birth are in the fetus pre-birth. Actually, if logically assessed, life can be seen to occur at the very moment the sperm fertilizes the egg. When looked at in this light, it could very well be presumed that abortion constitutes murder. This position, understandably, is very controversial.
Some people are saying that the birth dearth evident in the dwindling white population is the reasoning behind the push by white men to embrace draconian anti-abortion measures. The problem with this logic is that the stats allegedly point to more abortions being had by Blacks. However, when considering the numbers, there are more white people who reside in the U.S., and therefore, proportionately they stand to lose greater numbers.
Back to the war on women; the laws that have been, and are being passed, against abortion rights are being done by men. Some of the new laws, especially the one in Alabama, do not make exceptions for rape or incest. Women and their physicians can be imprisoned, and in one potential law in Texas, capital punishment for women is on the table. This is ridiculous, and points to the imbalance in rights accorded to women. A woman can endure rape and incest, and when she decides to abort, she and her physician are punished, but not the men who committed the rape or incest.
With that said, ultimately, there are actually three positions that can be taken regarding abortion rights. Pro-Life and Pro-choice as described earlier, and Informed Choice. Informed Choice is when a woman seeks to protect herself before she becomes pregnant so that she won’t be faced with the need for an abortion. Hopefully, Informed Choice will play a major role in future discussions about abortion without curtailing a woman’s right to control what happens to her body. A Luta Continua.
