In recent events, a 10 year old rape victim from Ohio who was impregnated by her 27 year old rapist. She had to travel to another state to get an abortion. Ohio did not allow abortions to occur after the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Because of this decision young impregnated teens would have to drop out of school to take care of their children. Women who live in conservative states will have to go to prison for up to 15 years for getting an abortion and taking care of herself. We should not make anyone, especially a rape victim and a child, go through motherhood without their consent.
In Texas 1969, “Jane Roe”, or Norma McCorvey, wanted to get an abortion for an unwanted pregnancy. Texas at the time did allow abortions but only when a pregnancy risked a woman’s life, so Roe didn’t have legal grounds. Roe was given two attorneys for attempting illegal abortion and she sued federal court. Henry Wade, the district attorney of Texas, defended abortion laws. On June 22, 1971, the court case was heard by the Supreme Court of the United States. On June 23, 1973, the US Supreme Court legalized abortions.
Devastating news hit on June 24th, 2022, when the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. I am deeply disappointed, frustrated, hopeless, and I do not have enough words to explain how angry I am. Americans went into shock because the US Supreme Court went against America’s wishes. How did it come to this? How did it come to at least 9 states making safe abortions illegal? How did it come to where prison sentences for rape and sexual abuse are shorter than that for abortion? How did it come to where guns are more protected than women? This isn’t right. Women should have the choice and right to be able to get an abortion. It goes against human and women rights. More specifically, the fourth amendment that states the rights of privacy.
Why is an unborn fetus’ life more important than that of the carrier? Christian conservatives may believe that “Abortion is murder” and “You’ll be killing a doctor who will cure cancer.” That is entirely wrong. If a woman is not allowed to terminate her pregnancy, there may be worse consequences. Women who do get abortions are women who do not want children, have been raped, are under the age of 18, are at the risk of death, are too poor to raise the child — the list goes on. It has been reported that 1 out of 6 American women get sexually assaulted and about 90% of women who do get sexually assaulted, gets raped. So, why restrict abortion? How can I stop this? It’s not just an “I” situation, it’s a “we”. We have to work together for our rights. We can protest, vote, support and speak out for our rights as women. Protesting and speaking out about our opinions, let the government acknowledge that this choice that they have made for America is not correct. We can vote for mayors, governors, presidents, to lead us to what is right. There are charities and companies, like Planned Parenthood, helping women go through challenges. These challenges include preventing pregnancy and needing money to travel out of Conservative states to get an abortion. We have the ability to change the world’s future generations.
If decisions like overturning Roe v. Wade continue, who knows how America will turn out? We, Americans, are reliving the dead past. Abortion should not be illegal in the USA. An abortion that is a constitutional right so we should not prevent a woman’s rights and safety for an abortion. Every woman in this world is strong and we will be stronger together.
Aye Mya Mon – The Latin School of Chicago – DMSF Class of 2026
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