Women’s Rights

The US supreme court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has inspired passionate discussion and debate. From those discussions we can see the key difference between those who would like to see abortion criminalized and those who believe that women have the right to choose when and whether to have a family.

Abortion opponents believe that women have an overriding responsibility to bear children. If a pregnancy occurs, they expect women to put everything else in their lives on hold and carry the pregnancy to term.

There are no exceptions. It doesn’t matter if a woman is already busy raising and supporting a family. It doesn’t matter if she has health issues that could result in a high risk pregnancy. It doesn’t matter if she has a career, runs a business, or is pursuing an education. It doesn’t matter if she’s serving in the armed forces. It doesn’t matter if she is the primary caregiver for people with special needs. It doesn’t matter if she has no interest whatsoever in raising a family.

The view of anti-abortionists is that an impregnated woman needs to stop what she’s doing and carry the pregnancy to term regardless of the risks to her, to her existing family, or to her financial well-being.

Anti-abortionists defend this position with the argument that life begins at conception. It’s a widespread belief that’s supported by some religious doctrines, but a reasonable argument can be made against it.

Not all pregnancies produce life. Miscarriages and spontaneous abortions are extremely common. A fetus can die of natural causes in the womb. There are non-living births and children who die shortly after childbirth. Rates of infant and maternal mortality are shockingly high in the United States.

Conception is not the beginning of life. Conception is the beginning of a life-generating process, a process that frequently fails to produce a living being.

Women are not baby factories. They are people with lives and responsibilities, people who deserve the right to weigh the risks and rewards of a life changing event and plan accordingly. Women should never be coerced by governments, laws, intimidation, abuse, poverty, or bounty to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term.