The abortion restriction has been the most impactful legislation passed in 2019. With the worldwide topic being discussed it has brought up major controversy between men, women, republicans and democrats. However, the people that are sticking to the abortion ban are mostly men. The legendary rapper, philosopher and activist Tupac once said “and since a man can’t make one he has no right to tell a women when and where to create one.” With the song “Keep Ya Head Up,” the rapper once defended women and specifically women of color in a man’s world. It is now 2019 and women are still fighting for a place in today’s society.
Alabama became one of many states in the United States to pass new legislations restricting abortion rights. If the bill is signed it will become one of the most restrictive abortion legislations in the United States. Other states such as Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Dakota, along with Ohio also passed restrictions on abortions.
It was 25 white men in the state of Alabama who voted to make abortion illegal entirely, as in previous years it was illegal after 22 weeks of pregnancy. With absolutely no votes or input from women of color let alone women as a whole, the new restriction passed. The ban makes abortion illegal even in the case of rape and incest. Shaun King, a worldwide activist, reporter and columnist, stated on his instagram page that a doctor that performs an abortion will receive 99 years in prison. The women on the other hand can be incarcerated for leaving the state to obtain an abortion or for having a miscarriage, which is not preventable for some women. The problem with women being punished for having a miscarriage comes from medical officials not being able to tell the difference between natural or forced miscarriages. The disgusting reality for the sentencing of women is that women can receive more time than their actual rapist for having an abortion or miscarriage.
It is no coincidence that the state of Alabama is enforcing the abortion ban when the largest race of women in their state are black. These men in power feel the need to impose their wills, opinions, and beliefs onto the bodies of women with the intention to uphold the school-to-prison pipeline and mass incarceration. The abortion ban is nothing less than an attack on class, race, and fundamental human rights for women of color.
According to Guttmacher Institute, blacks have the highest percent of abortions, while Hispanics are the next highest percent. Therefore, the reason behind the fight for reproductive rights are beyond just the right for abortions. It’s about ensuring that people have the resources and options to thrive in whatever decision they make.
The lack of sex education in low income communities is very common and a main reason for teen pregnancy. With no education on sex, proper income, or health insurance, teens often look to local organizations for help and support. What will happen to women and teens when their only option for help – health care providers – is not allowed to perform or give them the necessary tools? Unwanted pregnancy will occur, the rate of adoption and children in foster care will rise, mental and physical hazards will become extremely common, children of color will not receive proper education or resources which will lead them to death or incarceration. Unfortunately, that is only the start to the possible problems that can occur after the abortion ban.
Republicans and politicians rationalize their banning abortions by saying they care about the children. However, if they genuinely cared about children and their future they would invest in public schools, they wouldn’t put kids in cages at the border, they wouldn’t let kids get murdered at school, they wouldn’t let families experience homelessness, they’d pay realistic living wages to accommodate working parents and their living situations. In reality the abortion ban has nothing to do with the love for children but it has everything to do with men wanting full control over women and specifically women of color.
You do not have to believe or support abortions to stand by women wanting basic and fundamental human rights for themselves. You can be pro-choice and never get an abortion, pro-choice does not necessarily mean you support and love abortions, it simply means that you support women getting to choose whatever they want to do with their own bodies.
