Our Reproductive Rights Are in Danger
- It's On Us
- Sep 6, 2021
- 4 min read
On September 1, 2021, the state of Texas passed the most strict abortion laws of any state since the passing of Roe v Wade, Senate Bill 8. In a 5-4 decision, the law came into effect. Under SB8, or the Texas Heartbeat Act, no abortions will take place after six weeks, which is when fetal cardiac activity can be detected. This statement has been disputed by many medical professionals, who have stated that at just six weeks the heart has not fully formed and a heartbeat cannot truly be detected. One OBGYN states that the “heartbeat” is merely electrical impulses by cardiac tissue, not a fully developed heart.
There are many issues with this bill’s passing. At six weeks, many people do not yet know that they are pregnant. For someone getting regular periods, they would only be two weeks late. Others may not even recognize the possibility of being pregnant if they get their periods irregularly or if they are using some form of birth control that stops their periods. Two weeks maximum is not even close to the amount of time to find out you are pregnant, make a decision, schedule an appointment, and terminate the pregnancy. As of right now, the only exception to the six week abortion block is if a mother’s life is in absolute danger.
Another major issue with the passing of SB8 is that there are no exceptions for cases of rape or incest. After being sexually assaulted, it is very common for women to experience post-traumatic stress disorder. This bill will force women who do not recognize their pregnancy early enough to carry their baby to term or pay the expenses to travel out of state to get an abortion. Not only will this take a financial toll on survivors of sexual assault, but it will also revictimize them, likely raising their chances of experiencing PTSD. Carrying the fetus of your assaulter is incredibly soul-crushing and these women will now be forced to carry and support it against their will.
SB8 gives people the option to be rewarded $10,000 bounties for reporting people getting or helping with abortions. You do not have to know the person and can profit off of their situation. This is a big concern for survivors and their assailants. For example, if an assaulter knows that their victim or another victim has received an abortion, they can call it in and profit off of their horrible actions. This money would be better used helping the children who are already here and/ or providing access to alternative means of pregnancy-prevention.
In 2019, 70% of abortions were performed on Women of Color. This means that this bill will disproportionately affect WOC. Other minorities of women who will be heavily affected by this bill include women from low income neighborhoods, teenagers, and undocumented immigrants. These groups have already been targeted for the lack of necessities when it comes to prenatal care, whether it be due to financial hardship or family support, but now they are getting hit even harder. Minors need parental consent through a hearing to be granted permission for an abortion, and that cuts into the already slim window from finding out about a pregnancy to termination. Lower income families and undocumented immigrants might not have the means to find prenatal care, or even get sufficient resources when the baby is born.
Forcing someone to give birth with less than ideal conditions has long term consequences for their child. A study was done in Hungary when a similar abortion law was passed in 1974 and followed children born to people who wanted abortions through thir adult life. These women came from all types of situations but similar outcomes came from their cases. The study noticed that the children who later became adults had higher rates of teen pregnancy and unemployment as well as lower rates of higher education. They concluded that this came from the “unwantedness effect” that follows them their entire life. This is because having more children decreases the amount of resources available for everyone and increases the amount of children born in less than ideal conditions, not allowing the parent to give them what they need.
It has been proven that banning abortions does not actually decrease abortions, only rids the option of a safe abortion. If someone does not want to carry that child, they will find a way not to. So, how can abortions be reduced in a respectful and safe manner? The answers are simple-- easy access to birth control and educational sex education. The switch to these methods are sometimes controversial, but studies have been done in Colorado and California explicitly showing how these changes help prevent unwanted pregnancies. For years abstinence-only sex education has been taught, not allowing young people to learn about pregnancy and STDs. Once California switched to more educational means of sex-ed, the teen pregnancy rate dropped 50%, and when more states switched the national rate fell 37%. In Colorado, birth control was given to teens and women in poverty for free and lowered the abortion rate by 42%. Long term birth control (IUDs, implants) also had better success rates than shorter term options (pill, shot, etc), having over 4 less pregnancies per 100 people.
Reproductive rights all over the country will be in danger if action is not taken into our hands. The Supreme Court denied an emergency block on this new law and other states are not hesitating to enact similar laws. This is a crisis that targets lower income people, younger people, and people of color. This is not about pro-life, this is anti-choice. If legislation was pro-life they would fund programs to educate young adults, provide easy access to birth control, or put funding towards resources to helping mothers in need after birth. A law called the Women’s Health Protection Act is attempting to be put into legislation to protect abortion rights in the U.S. and needs more support to be enacted. Please help your fellow Americans in protecting our reproductive rights. A link to email Congress about this act is down below if you’re interested. Let’s do this before it’s too late.
It’s On Us
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