Rebecca Davidson: A perilous year for abortion rights

Rebecca Davidson, 5B, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/20/opinion/a-perilous-year-for-abortion-rights.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

The editorial that I read was written by the New York Times editorial board, and was about the negative impact that the rapid increase of restrictions on abortion have had and will continue to have on the United States. They explain that in the past four years there have been 231 new restrictive laws, which is more than the total in the entire decade before that, and that Congress is getting ready to enact even more due to the control that Republicans have over the House and Senate. Their main argument is that these restrictions are bad for the general population of women, as the right of women to control their own reproductive lives and make their own decisions is essential to health, careers, and equality.

One significant piece of evidence that they used was that six bills have already been introduced, including one that denies any organizations that provide abortion options funds for family planning. Restrictions like this are mostly targeting organizations like this, which damages access to birth control, breast and cervical cancer screening, and abortion services for millions of low-income women. They also state that today, Thursday January 22, 2015, the House will vote on the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. This act will prohibit almost all abortions from taking place twenty weeks after fertilization, with no exceptions to protect women’s health (except in life jeopardizing situations), rapes, or incest crimes. That means that women would be forced to make a decision to have an abortion or not before being aware of any abnormalities or serious health risks, leading to fatal birthing accidents.

I agree with the editorial board on this issue. It is a basic human right to make your own decisions about your own body, and it is especially important when the decision is life changing or even jeopardizing. The article mentioned how some judges are willingly trying to block or at least minimize the passing of these unconstitutional restrictive laws. I believe these actions need to continue and increase throughout the country in order to protect the rights of women to make their own decisions and as well as their health and lives.