Not A Woman? No Opinion.

In the past couple of months, many women in America have been fighting for their rights against their state governments in order to maintain their right for a legal abortion. Many states such as Kentucky, Georgia, Mississippi, Ohio, and now Louisiana have passed the strictest abortion laws that our country has ever seen.

On Wednesday, May 29, 2019, the state of Louisiana and the Louisiana House of Representatives passed an abortion ban, based off of a 79-23 vote. This ban prohibits women from terminating any pregnancy once the fetus is said to have a heartbeat, and the heartbeat can be detected. The governor of Louisiana, John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, states that he is willing to go against his party and sign the bill immediately once it crosses his desk. He is not the only one who was quick to accept the bill without a second thought. The Senate had already approved the bill, including the amendments mentioned in the bill stating that an ultrasound is needed to certify that the fetus has a heartbeat and that separated abortions due to medical issues aren’t considered unlawful terminations.

Abortion is such a tricky topic to discuss because of individual rights. Most people who follow an organized religion are most often against abortions. One CHC student shared that, “Yes, abortions are against my religion, but every situation is different. You have to take into account that each woman or girl has a different situation. I mean if rape is in question, is it morally right to force that woman to carry out this pregnancy?” The subjects of rape and abortion were put into a bill and put in front of the House. The House ended up rejecting the bill, which would exempt women and girls who had been forcefully impregnated through rape or incestual rape.

These “trigger” laws go against Roe v. Wade, which is the landmark case based on abortion, which gave women the right to a legal and safe abortion on January 22, 1973. Another CHC student shared that, “We women worked so hard to earn this right, that we should not have to fight for, long ago. All of these new laws that are being put in place are just unwriting what the women before us wrote with their blood, sweat, and tears.” Which is true. Many women before fought tirelessly against the local, state, and national government to be able to get safe and legal abortions. This didn’t mean that women were not getting abortions before that – they were. Various ways women were performing unsafe abortions included the use of sharp implements, strong application of abdominal pressure, hot baths, and many other unsafe methods.

These laws are just going to send women back. A third CHC student shared, “This law won’t stop abortions from happening. It will stop safe abortions. If that is what the government wants, that is what they are going to get.” Now all that is left is to advocate for the women who are having their rights stripped from them, taken without any remorse, by a bunch of politicians, primarily men. We must ban together, and take back what is ours, what only we can make decisions for: our bodies.