Only a few years after overturning Roe v. Wade, lawmakers are now proposing bills to charge women who get abortions with homicide.
According to an article by the LA Illuminator, this type of bill, which at least eight states have considered, would classify an embryo or fetus as a “preborn child” who can be a victim of homicide.
This immediately makes me feel as though women suffering from miscarriages will be unjustly charged with homicide, seeing as these laws are being made mostly by men who don’t understand pregnancy.
The Mayo Clinic says about 10 to 20% of known pregnancies end in miscarriage; however, the number of actual miscarriages is most likely higher since many miscarriages occur early on in the first trimester before someone knows they’re pregnant.
With this amount of miscarriages, I feel like it’s inevitable that someone will be accused of having an abortion when that isn’t the case, or at the very least, will have to go through questioning to prove they didn’t get an abortion. This type of stress ultimately adds to whatever emotions someone is already dealing with due to their miscarriage.
The Mayo Clinic also says that many miscarriages occur because the fetus doesn’t properly develop, noting that despite the name, most times, it’s not due to the actions of the mother.
Miscarriages are usually an upsetting and traumatic moment in a parent’s life; they should never have to defend that they didn’t have an abortion because of stringent laws put in place.
The other blaring issue I see is that not only will many people across the country have no access to abortion care in their state, but now they could be facing homicide charges for receiving one out of state.
As most people know, making something illegal will never make it obsolete. This can be seen in history with the prohibition and today with things like guns and drugs. By making abortions inaccessible, lawmakers are putting the lives of women at risk by forcing those who see it as their only choice to get them unsafely.
According to the World Health Organization, having an unsafe abortion can lead to an incomplete abortion, which can lead to sepsis, infection or damage to the genital tract and internal organs.
Women may want an abortion for many reasons. Personally, the situations I would wish to access the option of an abortion would be if I was raped or got pregnant before I could finish high school and college.
Nevertheless, in many situations, having a baby can be harmful to a woman. For example, they may be financially inept for raising a child or even taking care of themselves.
Many people will argue that someone should put the baby up for adoption. But I think that many people who make this statement have never been pregnant, meaning that they’ve never felt the amount of stress and changes pregnancy puts on someone’s body and mind versus the minimal effects of an early-term abortion.
As a woman in the United States, I’m not surprised by this movement of bills, but it doesn’t make it hurt any less when I see laws made to restrict women’s rights even further and punish them if they try to get care elsewhere.
Kate Beske is a 22-year-old journalism senior from Destrehan, La.
