Texas’s recent decision to almost entirely ban abortion, known as Senate Bill 8, has a nation on the edge of their seats wondering if other states plan to follow suit. The bill has yet to be decided on by The Supreme Court, who have not yet responded to an emergency appeal to block the law from going into place.
The bill is the most restrictive of its kind to be passed, making no exceptions for victims of incest or rape, and banning abortions six weeks into pregnancy. Opposers of the bill are arguing that six weeks is normally not enough for most women to even be aware that they’re pregnant. If the Supreme Court does not rule against it, this action will overturn all that Roe v. Wade sought to achieve, taking away the right for women to choose what they do with their bodies.
Abortion is a tricky topic, but the outright refusal for women to have the right to decide over a choice that will quite literally affect their entire lives is un-constitutional. Forcing victims of rape to carry their abusers’ children and put their lives on hold for a choice that was never theirs in the first place cannot ever be seen as good. Outlawing abortion places women in poverty, and creates a large divide within classes, causing many to sink lower and lower into impoverishment. The effects of this will soon be seen, as the women who bear children will have to depend on food stamps and other social programs to get by.
If Texas truly wanted to stop abortion, they would place funds into organizations that actually prevent it. Invest in sex education, contraceptives and programs that support victims of rape and domestic violence.
Taking away one’s choice is not the best way to go about this, for abortions will still happen, they will just be unsafe. In basements, bathrooms, and alleyways. Deaths from unsafe abortions will still occur, as well as women facing serious medical issues from botched procedures.
The Texas bill matters to everyone, especially if other states are considering following in their footsteps. In 2020, Idaho passed Senate Bill 1385, a bill that outlaws most abortions. The law will not come into affect unless the US Supreme Court or the US Constitution restores the states their individual authority to ban abortion, but it is still very much a possibility. Given the 6-3 ratio of judges within the Supreme Court who have conservative views on abortion, Roe v. Wade is being brought into question.
As we wait to hear the Supreme Courts’ response, we must be aware of the fact that women’s bodily autonomy is swinging in the balance. This bill will have a ripple effect, and consequences that will radiate most in low-income communities. We will be raising a generation of children whose parents were forced into labor and who are not well equipped to raise children. Not everyone is meant to be a mother. Let’s be wary of what this bill will bring to women and communities everywhere.