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Abby Gier
Current Event Writing Assignment
HON 272 Tue/Thu 10:30-11:45
April 14, 2024

Women's equality and freedom has been a long-lasting issue for many years. The article
“Arizona Reinstates 160-Year-Old Abortion Ban” written by Jack Healy and Kellen Browning
identifies the new Arizona law prohibiting abortions and how that affects women’s safety and
freedom of choice. Gloria Anzaldúa, author of Borderlands/La Frontera, writes about her
personal experiences while living on the borderlands and shares what women of her culture
experienced regarding safety and the freedom to make their own decisions. Even though each of
these pieces were from different time periods and perspectives, they each shed light on common
ideas and themes. Women's safety and lack of freedom are key ideas presented in both Healy and
Browning’s article and Anzaldúa’s story.
Healy and Browning, the authors of “Arizona Reinstates 160-Year-Old Abortion Ban”,
argue that a complete abortion ban is not beneficial for women’s health and safety and lacks
freedom of choice for women. Based on the article, abortions have almost been made completely
illegal in the state of Arizona as of April 9, 2024. This current news has the state of Arizona
spiraling, as the text states, “The ruling immediately set off a political earthquake” (Healy and
Browning 2024). However, the ideas of women's safety is what's ultimately at question with the
current ruling. The text states, “The court’s ruling was a stinging loss for abortion-rights
supporters, who said it would put doctors in legal jeopardy, prompt clinics in Arizona to stop
providing abortions and force women to travel to nearby states like California, New Mexico or
Colorado to end their pregnancies” (Healy and Browning 2024). With making abortions illegal,
women are forced to travel outside the state of Arizona in order to end their pregnancy. Not only
that, but the prohibition of abortions only leads to unsafe abortions. With women not able to
receive proper healthcare to end their pregnancy by a clinic or provider, they may choose to
terminate their pregnancy in other ways, which can lead to serious health complications and
issues for the host. In addition to that, authors Healy and Browning focus on the idea that the ban
of abortions leaves women with no ability to make their own decisions about their bodies. The
text states, “...ripping away the right for women to make their own health care decisions” (Healy
and Browning 2024). The authors argue that banning abortions completely derives women the
right to make their own healthcare decisions. The article also states, “...called the ruling
“unconscionable and an affront to freedom”’ (Healy and Browning 2024). Healy and Browning
argue that this law insults women's freedom of choice, when this is a decision entirely up to
women individually. The decision was described as “a stain on our state” (Healy and Browning
2024), demonstrating how this action could lead to further issues with women’s freedom and is
difficult to reverse. Overall, authors Healy and Browning argue that women’s freedom of choice
is limited by not giving women the ability to make their own decisions, and therefore their safety
is compromised.
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On the other hand, some people may argue womens safety is being recognized and
induced according to the article “Arizona Reinstates 160-Year-Old Abortion Ban”. The text
states, “It outlaws abortion from the moment of conception, except when necessary to save the
life of the mother, and it makes no exceptions for rape or incest” (Healy and Browning 2024).
This is a valid argument because the law inhibits abortion when it is to protect the life of the
mother. However, it specifically includes that rape and incest are not apart of this exception. The
text says, “At a news conference on Tuesday, Dr. Atsuko Koyama, an abortion provider in
Phoenix, said she had recently provided abortions to one woman trying to flee an abusive partner
and another whose pregnancy had endangered her health. She said that the court’s ruling would
end that kind of care and that it “criminalizes me”’ (Healy and Browning 2024). Even though the
law says womens health is being protected, they are not focused on their overall safety. If a
woman is raped, they have no way of seeking assistance for an unwanted pregnancy. As the
quote states above, abortions have been provided to women whose circumstance has become
unsafe, like sexual abuse or rape. With this law, women do not have security and the feeling of
safety that they can be helped in these situations. The text states, “...which fails to protect women
even when their health is at risk or in tragic cases of rape or incest…” (Healy and Browning
2024). Ultimately, women’s safety is not being recognized within this reinstated law.
Similar to the ideas of Healy and Browning, Anzaldúa, author of Borderlands/La
Frontera, argues that women’s safety is not prioritized and women are not given the ability to
make their own decisions. Anzaldúa shows the history of women in her culture regarding safety
when the text states, “...doesn’t feed her for days or let her go to the bathroom. Often he rapes
her or sells her into prostitution” (Anzaldúa 1987, 12). Women of this culture were heavily
mistreated and abused, and they did not have the ability to stand up for themselves. The text also
states, “...living with as many as fifteen people in one room, the mexicana suffers serious health
problems” (Anzaldúa 1987, 12). These women lived in terrible environments and conditions,
which led them to have numerous health complications. However, they were unable to receive
healthcare due to a language barrier, deteriorating their health issues even more. Lastly, the text
says, “Not only does she have to contend with sexual violence, but like all women, she is prey to
a sense of physical helplessness” (Anzaldúa 1987, 12). Women of this culture were preyed on by
men and caused many of them to end up in unsafe circumstances and conditions. They were
unable to receive help or care, which led them to encounter many health problems. Overall, these
women constantly lived in a hazardous state. Adding onto that, Anzaldúa describes the limited
freedom women in her culture dealt with as the text states, “Women are at the bottom of the
ladder one rung above the deviants” (Anzaldúa 1987, 18). Starting off, Anzaldúa describes how
these women of her culture were inferior to the rest of society. They were not a priority within
the community. The text also says, “For a woman of my culture there used to be only three
directions she could turn: to the Church as a nun, to the streets as a prostitute, or to the home as a
mother” (Anzaldúa 1987, 17). From this quote, we see that women of this culture were faced
with limited choices they could pursue, and they did not have the ability to choose any career
path freely. Not only that, but if a woman wanted to receive an education, the text states,
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“Educated or not, the onus is still on woman to be a wife/mother” (Anzaldúa 1987 17). No
matter whether a woman wanted to become educated or not, they were still expected to become a
wife and mother. This shows how women in this culture were objectified and not prioritized.
They did not have the freedom of choice to make their own decisions, similar to Healy and
Browning’s argument. Overall, Anzaldúa showcases women’s lack of safety and freedom of
choice to make their own personal and health related choices.
In conclusion, “Arizona Reinstates 160-Year-Old Abortion Ban” by Jack Healy and
Kellen Browning and Borderlands/La Frontera by Gloria Anzaldúa both highlight the idea of
women’s lack of safety and freedom to choose. Authors Healy and Browning identify that
completely banning abortions leads to the production of unsafe abortions and an increase in
health issues for women. The authors argue that women's safety is not being recognized with a
complete ban of abortions because it doesn’t account for tragic cases of rape or incest. Healy and
Browning argue that women don’t have the freedom to make their own decisions for their own
body. Similar to the ideas from Healy and Browning, Anzaldúa argues that women of her culture
suffered severe neglect and torture, in which they lived in constant danger and unhealthy
environments. This led to many women suffering with health issues, but fixing this was out of
their control. Anzaldúa explains how women of her culture were extremely limited in their
careers, but more importantly their ability to choose their own path. Women were not given the
freedom to choose, just like women are not able to make a personal choice with a complete
abortion ban. Both of these texts highlight the key ideas of women’s safety and freedom of
choice, and how these things have yet to be fully implemented. Ultimately, both Healy and
Browning and Anzaldúa aim for the audience to educate themselves and gain awareness. It is
clear that both authors strive for a world where health, safety, and freedom of choice is
prioritized and given equally to everyone.
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Bibliography

Anzaldúa, G. 1987. Borderlands/La Frontera. The New Mestiza. San Francisco: Aunt Lute
Books.

Healy, J. and Browning, K. 2024. “Arizona Reinstates 160-Year-Old Abortion Ban.” New York
Times. Accessed April 10, 2024.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/09/us/arizona-abortion-ban.html