There’s something terribly wrong with older men holding the power when it comes to state abortion laws. This is clearly reflected in the recent bill passed by the North Dakota House of Representatives.
One of the most repulsive aspects of this story is that while abortion was legal at one clinic in North Dakota, there were laws already in place compelling doctors to show pregnant women ultrasound images of their fetus with the goal of personalizing what the abortion was terminating. Doctors were required to tell these women that they would be ending the life of an unborn child, which is a unique individual. This behaviour is completely inappropriate, and will only increase the terror already induced by the traumatizing circumstances of some pregnancies. Women should be respected and helped with whatever choice they make regarding their bodies and their lives, and no one should be allowed to make them feel denigrated.
The issue of abortion has several different facets: women’s rights and men’s reactions to them, religious opinions, and ethical principles. Inquiries into what it means to be a conscious human being or how to define when life begins should be explored. However, these are extensive, subjective and philosophical debates. I will not touch on the religious issues; we live in diverse countries and each person should be entitled to their own beliefs, and these beliefs should not be allowed to extend beyond the boundaries of any particular religion to affect everyone else. In my opinion, women’s views regarding a predominantly female issue are far more important than religious and ethical concerns. Women should be free to choose what to do with their bodies and lives; it is illogical and wrong to let men decide.
Given that men seem to occupy most of the powerful political positions, there is the obvious problem of whether they can even begin to understand the position of a pregnant 16-year-old. This young girl has her whole life ahead of her and although it is not going to be an easy choice to abort a baby, it is reassuring to know the choice exists. Children born when they are unwanted are unlikely to lead successful, happy lives. According to the book Freakonomics, written by Steven Levitt, there is a link between legalizing abortion and a drop in the crime rate in the United States due to the fact that fewer children are being born into unpleasant environments and, as such, more children are being raised with proper care and nurturing.
You try being pregnant, Mr. 55-year-old-state-representative, at the age of 16, giving up your dreams, and being forced to spend an important time in your young life looking after a kid you never wanted, not to mention living with the backlash from your family, and what this could mean for the future of that kid. The most important thing to reflect on is the detrimental effects on both the young mother and her child. I hope other states do not follow North Dakota’s move, as that would be a sad step backwards for American society.
[su_panel background=”#f2f2f2″ color=”#000000″ border=”0px none #ffffff” shadow=”0px 0px 0px #ffffff”]by Chloe Turner Bloom
