What Woman's Right Will Be Taken Away Next?

Mia Bella Rodriguez

Why is the government allowed to dictate a woman’s decision regarding her body when
we live in a country considered the “land of the free”? As of June 24, 2022, the constitutional
right to an abortion guaranteed by Roe v. Wade was overturned in the United States. This caused
outrage from many people. On the other side of this world wide debate many celebrated the
overturning. As a young woman living in the United States, many of my rights as a woman are at
the hands of the government, which consists of men. A woman’s bodily autonomy is her own
business and no one else’s.

The overturning of Roe v. Wade caused major outrage all across the country. Protests erupted in
every state. Many people marched through their streets with signs, yelled chants, and even went
up against many pro-life protesters.

Pictures published in an article by CNN.com show many protesters holding up signs in the
middle of the protests they were participating in. “Old men, stop telling me what to do with my
body,” read one protester’s sign in Washington, DC. “People’s bodies are more regulated than
guns,” read another protester’s sign in Atlanta” (CNN). Those two signs perfectly show what
kinds of text will be shown on other signs during the protest. People are outraged that non-living
items, guns to be specific, have more protected rights than women do after the overturning of
Roe v. Wade.

However, on the other end of the spectrum, people have signs saying things like “Roe is
DEAD!” and “Peace out Roe”, while others are wearing shirts saying “Human beings are not
disposable. (Justice for the five.) Survivors of the abortion holocaust,” (CNN). The women and
men supporting the abortion ban are too focused on their beliefs and only their beliefs. They do
not have a clue about how badly this ruling can now affect people’s lives.

Around 62% of the American population believe that abortion should be legal in all or most
cases and that women are more likely than men to advocate that abortion should be legal. (Pew
Research). If more than half of the population thinks that abortion should be legal, why is it that
a small group of mainly men get to make decisions for the entire female population of our
country?

It is scary to think that as a sixteen-year-old woman living in the United States, I could
potentially get arrested for having a medical procedure that could help my life. If the government
forces a woman to have a child against her will, it not only ruins the woman’s life, it also
potentially ruins the child’s life too.
When a woman is not mentally or physically prepared to have a child, many aspects of her life
will change after she is forced to follow through with a pregnancy. The dreams that she had will
be wiped away and the career and life that she was working towards will now have to be
postponed for this child’s future. As for this child, do you think that they will live a picture
perfect life? The answer is most likely that they will not, as some unprepared mothers do not
have the money to provide for these children and a lot of the children will end up in the adoption
system which is already a mess.

In a study conducted by the Guttmacher Institute in 2019, they stated that “Unintended
pregnancy rates are highest among low-income women (i.e., women with incomes less than
200% of the federal poverty level), women aged 18–24, cohabiting women and women of color.
Rates tend to be lowest among higher-income women (at or above 200% of poverty), white
women, college graduates and married women,” (Guttmacher Institute). How is getting a federal
right taken away from a woman fair to her if she is not able to provide for herself and the child
she is forced to give birth to? It is not fair at all.

It is not fair that a woman, no matter how old or how young, can get her life postponed and taken
away. It is not fair for women that a male dominated government is allowed to dictate what they
can and cannot do with their own bodies. It is unfair that I, a young woman, have to be scared for
my rights and whether or not they will get taken away from me. It is also not fair for all of the
women and activists who worked and fought for the passing of Roe v. Wade in 1973.

Do you want to live in a generation where women’s rights are going backwards in time or do you
want to contribute to the change we need? We need to keep fighting for what is right and we
need to continue to provide resources to women who need proper healthcare. With all of our
voices we need to stand up for our rights and make history once again.
 Works Cited

Barton, Katherine, et al. “Unplanned Pregnancy and Subsequent Psychological Distress in

Partnered Women: a Cross-Sectional Study of the Role of Relationship Quality and Wider

Social Support - BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth.” BioMed Central, BioMed Central, 26

Jan. 2017,

bmcpregnancychildbirth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12884-017-1223-x#:~:text=

In total 32.8%(weighted,CI: 1.53, 1.95)).

Blazina, Carrie. “Key Facts about the Abortion Debate in America.” Pew Research Center, Pew

Research Center, 15 July 2022,

www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/07/15/key-facts-about-the-abortion-debate-in-americ

a/.

McCleary, Kelly, and Holly Yan. “Protests Spread across the US after the Supreme Court

Overturns the Constitutional Right to Abortion.” CNN, Cable News Network, 28 June

2022, www.cnn.com/2022/06/27/us/supreme-court-overturns-roe-v-wade-monday.

“Photos: Americans React after Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade | CNN Politics.” CNN,

Cable News Network, 28 June 2022,

www.cnn.com/2022/06/24/politics/gallery/roe-v-wade-supreme-court-reactions/index.html

“Unintended Pregnancy in the United States.” Guttmacher Institute, 24 Aug. 2022,

www.guttmacher.org/fact-sheet/unintended-pregnancy-united-states.