Roe v Wade must not go

People+on+Tik+Tok+voice+their+stories+and+opinions+about+overturning+Roe+v.+Wade+with+the+hashtag+Keep+your+laws+off+my+body.

Image by Rae Weinstein

People on Tik Tok voice their stories and opinions about overturning Roe v. Wade with the hashtag “Keep your laws off my body.”

Roe v Wade: a precedent that has been in place for almost 50 years, protecting our right of privacy that most notably allows women the choice to have an abortion. Now, with a court that is a majority conservative, this precedent is in danger.

On May 2, Politico published a leaked draft of an opinion from the Supreme Court to overrule Roe v Wade. Immediately, people responded with outrage, myself included. Who is the government, consisting of a majority of white, old, Christian men, to tell me what to do with my own body?

These men have no idea what women go through, they have no right to tell us what to do. Women have to make sure they walk in groups, carry pepper spray, and run to their cars for fear of getting raped. Outlawing abortion would add even more fear to women’s lives. Having to carry a rapist’s child is a big concern for women, but not the only important one when it comes to abortion.

Having an abortion is never an easy choice, and women have them for different reasons: maybe they aren’t ready to have a child, maybe they were assaulted, maybe their life is in danger, and maybe the child isn’t compatible with life. Whatever the reason, making women felons for having a medical procedure is cruel.

In addition, outlawing abortions won’t stop them, they will just stop safe abortions, which is extrememly dangerous for women. This is why I despise the pro-life argument of conservatives. If they are so pro-life, we should have better gun laws so mass amounts of people aren’t dying everyday. We should be training the police better, and punishing those who kill unarmed Black people. By making abortion illegal, some women’s health isn’t being taken into account. The pro-life argument isn’t about saving life at all, but rather, controling women’s bodies. 

Besides controlling women, it is also controlling people based on their beliefs. Another main argument from conservatives is that Bible says abortion is murder. If that is what you believe, fine, you can live your life that way, but it is not OK to force others to live that way. Not everyone is Christian and follows the Bible, so laws shouldn’t be based on the Bible. 

 

Overturning the Roe v Wade precedent is an absolute outrage and yet another example of misogyny in the United States government.