Facts and Opinions

Roe v. Wade

So…the Supreme Court decided to repeal the landmark case Roe v. Wade…not shocking in my opinion. Those who have uteruses are basically under attack; the right to a healthy abortion has been desecrated. Since Roe v. Wade is considered an umbrella law (not sure if that is the right term), so abortion is not the only thing that is affected here. If you wanted access to birth control or any other contraceptive, you can kiss that goodbye because that’s no longer an option. Perhaps you suffered a miscarriage and require extensive aftercare. Well, if they don’t arrest you first, you are probably going to be denied help. Maybe you want to get pregnant, as being a parent has been a dream of yours since you were a child, however, you have fibroids or ovarian cysts, which results in every pregnancy test revealing only one line instead of two. Well, maybe research some old school remedies, because IVF is not going to be on the table for you. Anything that was protected under this law can be eradicated. You’re pregnant, and you think everything is going well until your fourth doctors appointment. There are so many developmental problems present and you don’t know what to do. Well, hope for the best, because you’re delivering…even if it kills you. What’s next? Obergefell v. Hodges? Loving v. Virginia? Don’t think they aren’t considering it. There are already politicians in certain states wishing to bring back segregation. I might not be the most well versed in politics, but I’ll give Trump this…he said he was going to take America back to his so-called definition of “great” and that’s exactly what he is doing even from outside the Oval Office. I wish I could say that this was a shocking turn of events for America; how dare they infringe upon basic human rights…this surely has never happened before here, right? Unfortunately, when the draft of the potential overturning of Roe v. Wade was released, I knew that it was only a matter of time until it manifested itself into reality.

This is bad…REALLY bad, and the Supreme Court knows it, and to be quite honest, pro-lifers do too. You may see Twitter rants about how this is a good thing for the American people and YouTube videos of people with signs of bloody fetuses crying and leaping for joy over the news, but they know that things are going to get pretty dreary pretty quickly. People are going to find ways to get rid of their unwanted fetuses; whether that be botched, back alley abortions, mixing up a medical cocktail and guzzling it down like Sprite, or committing suicide, it’s going to happen. There will be babies left on doorsteps, found in dumpsters, thrown into rivers…abandoned and neglected. More children will be put into abusive and traumatizing home situations. Foster care, they retort, put them into foster care, but have you seen America’s foster care system? Have you heard the stories that have come from those who were victims of said system? That isn’t a solution! These are all things that we have been told before! You know this has nothing to do about preserving life, right? If that was the case, I would be able to purchase a reasonably priced apartment in a safe neighborhood without having to prove I make three to four times the rent. If pro-life was really a thing, people would have access to free healthcare. If pro-life was really a thing, those who have given birth would be given paid maternity leave…at minimum. Those who are against abortion and the Roe v. Wade law know that overturning it will affect black and brown people the most, which means more minorities to exploit. This is all calculated, long game racism and white supremacy. You protested wearing masks into Krogers but having bodily autonomy now is a foreign concept…give me a break.

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Facts and Opinions

The Real Life Handmaid’s Tale

I was sitting on the edge of my bath tub. I stared down at my knees and glanced up at the clock. Those three minutes seemed like three days. I had just taken a pregnancy test. I was going through the previous events that happened to me. I have told this story many times (if you really want to hear about it, it’s the first post that I’ve ever written on here). My first sexual experience was not consensual. Despite the person not necessarily going deep enough to consider what he did as penetrative, I was freaked out by the whole experience. My period was late, and the first thing that came to my mind was…oh shoot…I’m pregnant. I have since educated myself and now know the ins and outs of sex more so. I now realize that it would have been a tad hard for me to get pregnant. But I was eighteen, a freshman in college, and a complete and utter mess. I had a friend of mine buy a pack of pregnancy tests, and even though I told him that he didn’t need to stay to wait for the results, but he wanted to. He was a huge support system and I owe him the world for that. Three minutes were up. I said a quick prayer, and picked up the test. It came out negative. I was not expecting. When I tell you I had never praised the Lord as hard as I did that day! I ran down the stairs and told my friend the news. A difficult situation went over my head…but what if it hadn’t?

What if I was pregnant? What if this guy had gone deep enough? During the current abortion ban that’s going on, I’ve been thinking about this a lot. Georgia’s governor signed something called a “Heartbeat” bill recently. This bill indicates that whenever the doctor is able to detect a heartbeat, an abortion is no longer able to be performed. Women typically don’t know their pregnant until after six weeks after conception. How fair is that? And there are no exemptions….none. Incest, rape, pre-existing conditions…none. According to a few sources, a young girl in Ohio is pregnant at eleven years old. This child…emphasis on child…was taken advantage of, and now because of something that she didn’t ask for, she may have to carry out the pregnancy to term if she stays where she is. How stupid is that? Ohio isn’t the only place that reckons that this ban is a good idea for their people. Alabama, Missouri, Ohio, and Georgia are the states that have passed this legislation to ban abortions. People have babies at the age of eighteen all the time, but having a child during those circumstances would have been a disaster. I had just gone through something quite traumatic. I had just started experiencing a real taste of independence. My college career had just started. Mentally I was not ready to bring a child into this world. I live in a state that is more so liberal leaning, so abortion is still considered a fundamental right.

Imagine if abortions became obsolete. Imagine that any person who was pregnant who didn’t want to be, whether it be health reasons, rape, or just because you slipped up, would be turned away from having an abortion. If they try to get an abortion, they will face serious legal trouble. I really don’t think that legislators are thinking about this logically. Abortion may be banned, but that does not mean that it will never happen again. Ever heard of wire hangers? That method is going to become popular again. Women will resort to going to the black market to buy drugs to induce abortions. Women will be frantically searching natural home method abortions, and wonder why they are still pregnant weeks later. There will be more babies that are put into the foster system. The foster system can be quite corrupt and mentally damaging towards the children that are suffering through it. This means more children going through neglect and abuse. What if the woman who is pregnant is trying to leave domestic violence situation? Women would probably be more likely to stay in those relationships. Not to mention the psychological turmoil it would take on these women. Depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts would skyrocket.

This is scary. The fact that women (and especially women of color) aren’t seemingly seen as human beings with minds of their own is surprising only because of where we are at. Women are doctors, lawyers, business owners, whatever…and they’re still seen like all they are good for is staying in the kitchen bare foot and pregnant. This is just pure hatred towards women. Old, white, cisgendered men can not tell me what to do with my body….point blank period.

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