My Body My Choice

By: Laisha Harris

Last Monday, Politico shared a first draft copy of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. These cases provided all women access to an abortion in all fifty states. Recent legislation, mostly proposed in Texas, will essentially outlaw abortions for women.

In 1973, a Texas statute prohibited abortions except when the abortion would save the life of the mother. Unmarried and pregnant, Roe was forced to give birth to a daughter who she would put up for adoption. The Supreme Court said forcing motherhood forces a stressful life and future, requiring one to care for the mental and physical well-being of a child. Therefore, the right of having the choice to terminate a pregnancy is a choice left to the individual, not the state.

In 1992, Pennsylvania had an Abortion Control Act, requiring informed consent 24 hours before a procedure, parental consent for minors, and exceptions for medical conditions. Casey also established a viability rule, stating that abortions can be performed before the third trimester. In 1992, the Center of Disease Control reported 1,359,145 abortions in the United States, 91,113 in Texas. 76% of those abortions were for unmarried women. In 2019, 629,898 legal abortions were performed, 57,275 in Texas. Historically, White women make up 60% of abortions nationwide, Black women representing 33%. By banning to an abortion, politicians are threatening the health and medical safety of women who lack in resources, most notably, Black women.

“They’re making it harder for Black people to survive financially, physically or mentally,” adds Vinny B. The issue is bigger than simply preserving the life of an unborn child. Politicians claim to care about unborn life, but what about the life of the already born? There are 3,378 children waiting to be adopted in Texas. Texas exceeds the national average with 19% of children living below the poverty line, 56% of Texas women living below poverty. It makes no sense to force women into childbirth without forcing additional support to ensure those children get out of the cycle of poverty. People living in poverty do not have the means to provide a quality of live necessary for themselves, let alone to raise a productive member of society.

Not only are they meddling with a woman’s right to choose, but they are jeopardizing the health of Black women who are unable to safely carry a fetus to term. “My gynecologist has made it very clear that if I get pregnant off her timeline then we would have to terminate the pregnancy. So, what other options are they giving women in these cases? Do I further endanger my life or take matters into my own hands? Either way, I’m not having a child that I don’t want,” says Britnie Price. By telling women to stop having abortions is not going to stop women from having abortions. There are about 16 clinics in Houston that provide abortions. If clinics refuse women the service of abortion, women who are desperate to not give birth may resort to unsafe practices. PhD Candidate Ce’Ne Harris tells us, “The medical, societal, and structural systems cannot sustain an influx of births, children dependent on care, and the abundance of unsafe abortions that overturning Roe v. Wade will undoubtedly cause.”

What is most perplexing to me is the audacity of men dictating what a woman can or cannot do with her body. Historically, White men have always had their nose in business that did not belong to them. Even so, these decisions are being made by men who have no realistic understanding of what it is like to be pregnant, give birth, and independently raise a child in an environment or society that sees you as not enough. White men having the authority to remove the only legal option for women to terminate a pregnancy is an inappropriate overstep of the boundaries of all women. Governor Abbott does not control my body. This November, use your vote to elect someone who acknowledges the rights of the people.