Columns, Opinion

American Protest: The New York abortion legislation is a win for women and their health

Abortion is a subject that has faced much controversy and debate over whether or not it is morally correct, when it should be done and how available it should be. Some people believe no one should abort a child under any circumstances, and others believe it is the choice of the person carrying the child.

Frankly, the only opinions that should matter about abortions are those of the people capable of having abortions. No one gets an abortion for fun or enjoys the process. It is an extremely difficult decision that can be traumatic and horrible, but sometimes it is necessary.

New York recently passed a law that allows a woman to have an abortion after 24 weeks of pregnancy if the fetus is not viable or if it is necessary to protect the mother’s life. Additionally, it removes abortion from the state’s criminal code, so those performing abortions are no longer at risk of criminal prosecution.

After signing the act, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said, “With the signing of this bill, we are sending a clear message that whatever happens in Washington, women in New York will always have the fundamental right to control their own body.”

This should be the case in every state. A woman’s body is her own, and no legislator should be able to control what she does with it.

Some people are under the impression that women love to have abortions and take joy in the process of killing a fetus. That is extremely incorrect, especially in regard to the new legislation. This law allows abortions for women in their third trimester in the case that they or their baby will die. No woman should be forced to have a child if it will kill them.

New York’s new legislation was not created with the intent to harm anyone, but rather to give a woman the right to her body and sometimes even the right to her own life. No one should be denied that right, and if you think someone should, then maybe you are the one with some moral issues that need sorting out.

Unfortunately, there are still some who do not value a woman’s life as much as I do and, therefore, have extreme opposition to this legislation. Charlie Daniels, a country singer, tweeted, “The NY legislature has created a new Auschiwitz dedicated to the execution of a whole segment of defenseless citizens. Satan is smiling.

This statement is possibly one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard, and I listen to a lot of speeches from President Donald Trump.

First of all, an abortion is in no way comparable to the Holocaust. Millions of people of all ages were murdered due to extreme bigotry. A fetus that will be born dead, or kill its mother by being born, is nowhere near equivalent to a Jewish child, man or woman being murdered in a gas chamber.

Second of all, Daniels will never have to choose whether or not to have an abortion in his life. He will never know what it is like to carry a child for six months only to realize it has no chance to live. He will never understand the fear a mother has for her own life if the pregnancy has a strong potential to kill her.

People like Daniels need to start valuing the lives of women much more.

If they were truly so concerned about a fetus surviving birth, then they would be much more enraged that the infant mortality rates in American are about 71 percent higher than other comparable countries — and the infant mortality rate does not include abortions.

They would also be more upset about all of the children stuck in the foster system or born into families who cannot afford to have the baby and are, as a result, at risk. I do not hear them complaining about these aspects of a child’s life, though. Therefore, the objection to abortions must revolve around their desire to control a woman and her body.

The notion that women choose to get abortions recklessly and without any thought needs to disappear. That is not the case, especially when the woman is in her third trimester. Anyone who has had an abortion late in the pregnancy can tell you it was the most difficult decision of her life, and she is still dealing with the pain and grieving her lost baby.

No woman should have to sacrifice her life, though, and anyone who says otherwise disgusts me. I will do what I want with my body, as will every other female, and no legislator or man has the right to tell me otherwise.

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