Alabama Abortion Ban- No Uterus, No Opinion

So, this week has been a pretty major one for us ladies. If you don't know why, I will explain;

On Wednesday, 15th May, a bill was signed in Alabama which prohibits abortion in almost every circumstance possible (this is now the most restricted law in the country). This bill pretty much rules out abortion being an option, allowing rape and incest to be acceptable. The only exception which will now allow women to have an abortion is if either the woman or foetus are threatened by something that could cause fatalities. So essentially, unless you're faced with possible death from an ectopic pregnancy, abortions are a no go.

Women who attempt to have an abortion illegally under this bill, are actually exempt from criminal liability. Instead, the law targets doctors who are willing to carry out the operation, which could be punishable by 99 years imprisonment. Essentially, the aim of this is to discourage and scare doctors out of practicing abortions. Ultimately, this is going to cause women to seek illegal and dangerous abortions, which is only going to cause more harm than necessary and leave these women with no options whatsoever.

I'm sure you would also be interested to know who exactly voted for this bill in the first place, as it is completely outrageous and ignorant of what women may or may not want. Here is a picture below of the 25 Republicans who have signed this bill, which has been heavily circulated around social media since Wednesday.

Every single vote for this was from a man. Why on earth do men think they have a right over women's bodies? Or more generally speaking, why does anyone think they have the right to control anyone else's body? It is completely and utterly ridiculous. Its 2019 for god’s sake, does this make anyone else feel like we are going back in time? Women have the right over their own body and whether they decide to have a child. Why, in 2019, are we still the unequal gender? Why are we still viewed as less than these men who believe they have the right to decide that women are prohibited from having an abortion? How is this acceptable?

The fact is, its not acceptable. Women and men from across the world are all expressing their opinions of this all-over social media, many exclaiming that they think this bill is horrendous. I feel incredibly lucky to be living in the UK, where abortion is legal and most of all my choice if I ever found myself in that position.

This law is incredibly damaging; considering the women who are suffering and are victims of rape (which is hard enough to survive), are then forced to keep a child which they may not want to have as a result. This law is insensitive and intellectually stumped if you ask me. It has been created by the selfish and the naive who will never experience the pain and suffering any woman will go through.

Pro-life campaigners may believe that abortions should be banned because it is a waste of a life that is being taken away from an innocent child; I can understand that perspective, sure. However, what they do not consider is the lives of the mothers, or possible orphans, children in foster care, the poor or the abused.

The ideology comes from a very narrow-minded statement and is poorly considering those who it actually effects. How can you be Pro-life, when you only care about certain lives; the unborn child over the suffering mother.

At the end of the day, the only person who should decide whether or not to have an abortion, is the individual. The only person who has a right to an opinion on her abortion, is her. It shouldn’t be up for discussion, they need to be available in safe and accessible conditions, for those who decide they need it. If you don’t believe in abortion, don’t get one, and don’t shame others who do.

So, to sum up; the US Government should not be stripping women of their right to an abortion. As far as I’m concerned, Rachel in Friends has it right;

“No Uterus, No Opinion”.