Quite recently, we all witnessed the passing of the abortion laws in Alabama, also being called the “heartbeat” bill, which makes abortion after six weeks illegal (unless it harms the mother’s chances of living), and makes the doctor performing it susceptible to being imprisoned for up to 99 years.
This entire scenario has various aspects that are so ridiculous, they’re almost funny. First, most women aren’t even aware that they’re pregnant at six weeks, let alone thinking about an abortion. Second, the punishment for the medical professional performing the abortion is unjustifiable, because in many cases, rapists, and even murderers face lesser punishment.
Third, this bill which decides whether or not a woman can make such a choice is completely in the hands of male lawmakers, which leads us to think that this is nothing more than a political move to take away a woman’s control of her own body.
Fourth, these men are coming forward and talking about how “personhood” starts at the first hint of a “heartbeat” usually at 6 weeks old. Now, according to professionals who’ve spent their entire lives studying about these things, this rhythm that they’re calling a “heartbeat “is nothing but an “electrical activity in a 3-4 millimetre long, partially organised, blob of cells” and not a cardiovascular system.
In my opinion, the word “heartbeat” is clearly an attempt to sway people away from politics and the heartlessness of the entire scenario. It seems aimed at tugging at the strings of their emotions so that they somehow rationalise in their heads and make up for the complete and utter lack of consideration and thoughtfulness in this bill towards victims of rape or incest who end up getting pregnant.
The Law Makes No Exception For Rape Or Incest Victims
Yes, the law makes no exception for rape or incest victims, and the lawmakers justify it by saying that in all of this, there is “God’s will”. This, in turn, may force a poor 11-year-old survivor of rape to carry out a full term pregnancy, putting her own entire life at risk. Further, these people go on to argue that this “person” in the womb has the right to exist. Funnily enough, I’m pretty sure if this embryo in the womb develops into a female, she’ll be really upset about the fact that she had more rights as a foetus, than she ever will as a human.
A major political motive behind this could be to overturn the Roe vs. Wade judgement of 1973. The judgement here made abortion legal all over America, and this is an attempt to slowly but surely overturn the judgement. These people are aware of the fact that the Supreme Court thinks that banning abortion is unconstitutional, hence they’re increasingly advocating draconian laws that walk towards that line. They are strategically passing laws like these which are bound to get blocked and will lead the court to re-evaluate the Roe vs. Wade judgement and then maybe overturn it. They also see it as an opportunity to win votes of the abortion opponents.
Now this issue is way larger than the state of Alabama which is the sixth state to pass laws like these. This is a question of pro-life vs. pro-choice. And also of who has the right to make this choice, the woman, or the government. Pro-lifers argue that abortion is murder, the foetus feels pain while it’s aborted, or abortion may lead to a lifelong inability to bear children. But what they don’t realise is the fact that making abortions illegal is not going to stop abortions altogether, but just deny women the right to safe abortions.
It will increase the amount of inconvenient, expensive, dangerous, back-alley abortions that will put the life of the woman at risk. It will force women to travel to other states for abortions and make them financially weaker. Pro-lifers don’t take into consideration the fact that abortion is a fundamental right, and it empowers women by giving them control of their own bodies. It further reduces the chances of mental illnesses in women, as well as the probability of them bringing into this world a child with abnormalities. It protects them from financial disadvantage and saves them from a potential death due to unsafe, illegal abortions.
In conclusion, I’d just like to say that, yes, abortion may be tragic, but it shouldn’t be considered be murder because a foetus is a possibility, unlike the woman carrying it, who is a human being with her entire life ahead of her. And this human being has every right to decide what she does with her body. At least more than a bunch of males who don’t even know what it’s like to be a woman. I guess we can all sit here and wait for Rachel from friends to come and say it to these people, or we could just tell them ourselves, “no uterus, no opinion.”
Update: Roe vs. Wade has been overturned by the Supreme Court of United States.