Illegal Abortion Becaue Of Roe V Wade
In 1973, a woman named Jane Roe, was ganged raped and became pregnant. During this time, abortion was illegal. Consequently, she went to the Supreme Court and won her lawsuit to make abortion legal. This case was called Roe v. Wade. Today, many people support women in the freedom to have an abortion. Yet, currently, many states are thinking of restricting abortion again or making it illegal again. In this regard, America is in a divide again about : “Whose humanity should we focus on an unborn child or a woman?” (Hagel). Regardless of the division the fact remains that making abortion illegal is cruel because it oppresses women.
In America, the criminalization of abortion stems from sexism because women’s bodies are constantly being controlled. Cultural Anthropology even claims that “[i]n the age of Donald Trump, women’s reproductive bodies have become even more public and regulated canvases for moral narratives of women’s worth as humans and for the state’s claim to their bodies” (Sufrin).Women must go through many obstacles to receive birth control as teenagers or to get their tubes tied as grown women. For example, a woman's physician can deny her being able to get her tubes tied because they feel she might regret it later, her spouse does not agree, or she does not have enough children. Nevertheless, women’s rights have come so far, the argument for the reversal of Roe v. Wade is regressive.
On the other hand, Pro-lifers, who believe in the regression of Roe v. Wade, argue to make abortion illegal again for many reasons. For example, some pro-lifers bring up the question, “What happens if the man wants to keep the baby?”, because they believe the male’s position matters. The practical response is that if a man wants a child, he should find a woman who wants one as well. Additionally, pro-lifers believe it is immoral to abort a fetus because they believe life begins at conception. The science on when life begins still has some uncertainty. Nonetheless, a potential human is not more vital to defend than a living woman. In short, the pro-life point of view is based on personal opinions that cannot be imposed on everyone.
American society has treated women like property instead of people, but America is trying to reverse that treatment. Making abortion illegal again will simply verify to women that their rights are non-essential.Therefore, potential development of sexism and misogyny is enough of a motive to keep abortion legal.
Work Cited
- Hagel, Alisa Von, and Daniela Mansbach. “Love Them Both: Pro-Life Is Pro-Women.” Reproductive Rights in the Age of Human Rights, 20 Apr. 2016, pp. 87–140., doi:10.1057/978-1-137-53952-6_3
- Sufrin, Carolyn. “When the Punishment Is Pregnancy: Carceral Restriction of Abortion in the United States.” Cultural Anthropology, vol. 34, no. 1, 2019, pp. 34–40., doi:10.14506/ca34.1.06.
