The annual March for Life rally took place on Jan. 19 and President Donald Trump gave a speech. He proclaimed support for the Pain-Capable bill to “end painful, late-term abortions nationwide.” Trump fails to consider the consequences this will have on women. Late-term abortions are not common, but when they are given, it is often because the mother’s health or life is being threatened.
Without the ruling on Roe v. Wade, women’s rights would continue being violated to this day. The controversial topic of pro-life versus pro-choice has been a rising debate for decades. People have constantly judged women for wanting the choice to abort a fetus they do not want to have. For years, laws and policies were put in place to ban abortions from even being options.
Being pro-choice opens one’s mind to the future of a pregnant woman. Despite the circumstances, pro-choicers are not okay with “killing babies” yet we are understanding of the mother’s needs.
It is true abortion takes a toll on a woman physically and emotionally. Why should society make it worse on her by saying she has committed murder? Those who judge women in this situation are closed-minded and selfish. They do not consider the long-term effects of what could possibly happen to the future child or the life of the mother.
Many of those who are pro-life stand behind the argument of abortion being murder, but their thinking is narrow-minded. The choice behind a woman getting such a procedure is complicated. Women receive abortions for many different reasons. Some have fallen into unfortunate circumstances like rape, sexual assault or health complications. Some women are not ready for a child or do not want to raise a child with the current father. Regardless of the circumstance, we as a society should not judge these women. Rather, we should help bring more awareness to contraception and safe sex.
“One fatal flaw with the pro-life movement is that the same people who want to ban abortion also support legislation that restricts access to birth control and defunds programs that provide the education and contraceptive access that lead to lower rates of abortion,” said Annie Reneau, a blogger on ScaryMommy.com.
At the March for Life, Trump brought a woman named Marianne to the stage, who became pregnant at 17 years old. Luckily, her parents still loved and supported her after she became pregnant. What about the women who aren’t given that same support? Marianne created a charity to take care of homeless pregnant women. Instead of Trump trying to sign a bill to stop late abortions, he should use tax dollars to help women with childcare and medical expenses like Marianne has done in her community.
Trump also wants to take Medicaid funding away from abortion clinics. Trump talks about his support of the pro-life campaign and the mission to end abortion, but never once does he give a solution to support women going through unwanted or unsafe pregnancies. America needs to open its eyes and stop being selfish in regard to women’s rights. Every woman should have the right to do what she pleases with her body.
Kiana Naquin is a 20-year-old English sophomore from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.