Toughest Abortion Ban

Estephanie Anaya
Gendered Violence
Published in
4 min readMar 28, 2018

Mississippi’s governor Phil Bryant has signed a new bill, which is now the nation’s toughest abortion ban. The Governor’s words were, “we are saving more of the unborn than any state in America and what better thing can we do?”

This House Bill 1510 bans most abortions after 15 weeks of gestation. The only exceptions are if the fetus has extreme health issues. This includes incompatibility with life either inside the womb or after birth, or if the mother’s life is at risk. This does not include rape or incest. Within an hour the state’s only abortion clinic sued in federal court. They argue that the law violates other federal court rulings. Legal experts say a change in law is unlikely unless The US Supreme Court changes by favoring abortion opponents.

Over the past years there has always been the common debate on abortion. Just not so long ago President Trump decided to go again Planned Parenthood and cutting their funding. Many americans agree with such movements, while others do not. One of the biggest reasons on why they do not agree is rape. Abortion is an option for young women who have been raped and due to it became pregnant. They tend to abort babies coming from unknown man and arsh memories such as rape. Rape alone cause fear in women. Now knowing that they no longer have the option to abort something coming from rape causes more fear and pain in their lives.

Sharon Marcus wrote in “Fighting Bodies, Fighting Words: A Theory and Politics of Rape Prevention,”

“Various theories have recognized that rape causes fear, but have ignored the other half of

the vicious circle that often rapes succeed as a result of women’s fears. In The Female Fear Margaret T. Gordon and Stephanie Riger have argued that the distribution of fear corresponds to the other unequal distributions of privilege in U.S. society.2 0 Even though women in fact are neither the sole objects of sexual violence nor the most likely targets of violent crimes, women constitute the majority of fearful subjects…”

Women all across the globe need the protection they deserve and abortion can make them feel such way. Some are not ready to be mothers some are scared and having a backup plan can provide comfort. In average one out of six American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. An estimate of 32,101 pregnancies result from rape each year.

This is 32,101 unwanted children from criminals who abused unprotected women. With laws such as the one Mississippi just took action on, or the funding cutting on major health care sites such as Planned Parenthood, women do not have the option to eliminate the effects of such rapes.

Adding to a women’s comfort and security the US Supreme court has declared abortion to be a “fundamental right” guaranteed by the US Constitution. Having this choice whether to abort or not empowers women by giving them the control they want over their bodies. This choice which should only be taken by the women who was impregnated, not rich men who think they know what is best for women. It is in their right to do as they please with their bodies. Everyone has this right, from eating junk food , to having tattoos. Sure pregnancy deals with a human life but it also takes another one to make it, the mother’s life.

Women all across the country feel threatened by such laws and government behaviours. Issues like these have the tendency to grow in popularity over social media. Not only does this affect elderly women, but also the younger generations. They are becoming more and more aware of these issues due to the easy access they have to them with their electronic devices. This meaning younger generations will begin to take stand for their own bodies and decisions. Why keep letting the older generations decide for the younger one’s future? The only ones who should decide to make laws over someone’s life is the person who is living such said life. Young girls should grow up to have options for themselves and not feel like monsters when they decide to do what is best for them, regardless of their choices.

Regardless on how many laws or changes the government wants to implement over women, there will constantly be battles against it. Planned Parenthood has been receiving financial help and support from current members as well as celebrities stars like Ariana Grande and Mark Ruffalo. As stated before Mississippi’s only abortion clinic sued the state. Men and women know the rights that all citizens deserve, especially women. Sure there are certain ones trying to stop these rights, but there will continue to be support from those in favor of women’s rights.

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