Abortion is a human right and basic healthcare needed by millions of women and girls.
Are you free when you can’t make choices with your own body? Are you free when you can’t decide your future? No, if you have other people deciding what you can and can’t do with your body then that’s violating the 14th amendment. According to 2024 Encyclopædia Britannica, “The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States granted citizenship and equal civil and legal rights to anyone born in the United States or who became a citizen of the country.”
Denying women and young girls access to abortion is a form of discrimination and jeopardizes a range of human rights. In an article titled Abortion is a Human Right, Jose Luis Magana wrote, “United Nations human rights treaty bodies regularly call for governments to decriminalize abortion in all cases and to ensure access to safe, legal abortion in certain circumstances at a minimum.”
Some may say that babies are babies no matter how old they are, but according to “My Body My Rights”, “the fetus becomes a neonate or newborn at birth. Embryos have no capacity for sentience alone consciousness, whereas a late-term fetus has basic capacities for processing stimuli from the external world.” This means that during the time abortions are available the fetus has no idea because they are not conscious of what is happening and are not babies.
Legal restrictions on abortion often result in more illegal abortions. According to a source titled World Health Organization (WHO), complications from pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death for girls and young women ages 15 to 19, and children ages 10 to 14 have a higher risk of health complications and death from pregnancy than adults. Abortion restrictions do not prevent abortions. Research has shown that when abortion is banned or restricted, the number of abortions does not decrease. Abortions just move underground in less steral and more dangerous situations, performed by nontrained professionals. This alone increases the risk of unsafe procedures and deaths.
Giving birth is one of the most painful things you can do as a woman, sadly resulting in many women losing their lives while giving birth. The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate in the world, shameful proof of how little women’s lives and health are valued in America. Women in the US are more than three times as likely to die during pregnancy or childbirth than Canadian women,
Anyone and everyone should be able to decide what they want to do with their own bodies and if they want to risk their lives to have a child. When talking about abortions many people think it’s just about the fact that it’s our bodies and our choice and while that is a massive factor involved, the biggest aspect is our ability to live. Laws that limit access to birth control, emergency contraception, and abortion are risking our lives and limiting our free will. Women need a safe spot where they know they won’t be judged for helping their health and their lives.