Legal And Safe Abortion Is A Constitutional Right

Evelyn Hernandez was just 18 when she was raped and impregnated by her rapist in El Salvador. However, she was completely unaware of the fact until she went into labor and experienced a stillbirth (Justice for Evelyn). A stillbirth is the baby’s death within the uterus and subsequent delivery of a developing infant beyond 20 weeks of carrying the baby (American Pregnancy Association). After passing out in surgery due to her large blood loss, she woke up in the emergency room and was immediately arrested by the police. She was convicted of aggravated murder after suffering an obstetric emergency, many women are charged with this criminal offense due to the country’s criminalization on abortion (Justice for Evelyn). Some “Salvadoran women initially charged with the crime of abortion were convicted of “aggravated homicide” and sentenced to up to 40 years in prison(Viterna). Originally, she was supposed to serve a minimum of 30 years, however, El Salvador's attorney general appealed her acquittal. She was acquitted after nearly serving 3 years in prison. Sadly, there are still over a dozen women behind bars serving time for a crime they didn't even have a choice to commit. It is crazy to think about how one law can put you in jail for the rest of your life, for a crime that naturally occurs through mother nature.

In Roe v Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court case, made access to a legal and safe abortion a constitutional right. This is also the fourteenth amendment which states that no state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States (Constitute). This amendment protects a woman's right to do whatever she pleases with her body and the fetus in it. However, throughout the years this right has been under attack by the States. The states have constantly been pushing their laws to limit this right, so they could have control over what happens with women’s reproductive rights. States throughout the years have tried limiting Women’s reproductive rights and have attempted to control what they do. They do this so that they can have full control of women and decide what the state needs more. However, the states are not stronger than the constitution. Roe v Wade decided that women’s reproductive rights are their rights. This means they have the liberty to do whatever they please. Also, these are their given rights in the Constitution. Anything that goes against it, will only be violating their rights. Also, how can a woman not have the right to decide what happens to her fetus, which is in her body? Women’s reproductive rights have been an ongoing issue throughout time, especially in today’s world. Women are having to fight for their rights in their states, when in fact the Constitution protects these rights for women. So, the States are technically breaking the country’s Constitution when they try and enforce their laws that would be limiting women’s reproductive rights. Having to fight for their rights is simply inhumane, and against the Constitution.

Nevertheless, there will always be a contradiction to any major law passed. These people are called the “pro-life “group. Planned Parenthood states, “the only life many of them are concerned with is the life of the fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus (Planned Parenthood). This group of people believes that in no case scenario the fetus should be terminated, even if carrying the embryo puts their life in danger. Nonetheless, their beliefs are against the Constitution so it would take a whole lot to limit women’s s reproductive rights.

Moreover, it is outright inhumane to let other people control what these women do with their bodies. Women’s reproductive rights are their right, their body their choice (Fried). Being able to make your own choice with your body, is a basic human right. As it states in The Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights” (Declaration of Independence). The moment that the nation and the states turn its back on the Constitution is the day that we lose our basic rights, the day that our democracy turns into a tyranny.

Furthermore, it is against the Constitution to not let a woman decide what she wants to do with her reproductive process, however, this has not stopped states from trying to overturn Roe v Wade (Fried). At least 10 states in the United States have reason-based abortion bans. This makes it nearly impossible for women to have one. 4 states would impose criminal offenses on the woman if the fetus is killed after a certain time period. Continuing, over half of Congress is anti-choice meaning that they believe that women shouldn’t have the right to decide what they do with their bodies. Sadly enough, women’s reproductive rights have been attacked since the day they even got rights. It is tragic that people in power, really want to control what a woman can or can't do with her own body. Our president promised to nominate people who would want to return Roe v Wade (Planned Parenthood).

Although opinions may vary, violating women’s reproductive rights is simply not right. The government should not have the right to decide what a woman decides to do with her body. It is the right and humane choice to be pro-choice for women and allow them to do what they please with their reproductive process. Not having a right to do whatever they please with their reproductive system, is against the constitution and inhumane. People to this day are still fighting for Evelyn and the many more who are falsely imprisoned like Evelyn. Evelyn is one of the lucky ones, there are thousands of people across the world who can’t do anything about their situation due to their country’s laws. Gaining women’s reproductive rights was a major step forward in America and if the country takes away those rights it’ll only take America an even further step back, and down a path that will only cause harm.