Abortions: Should Women Have the Right?
By Donna R. Turner, MPH, CHES, HSMI
Currently, a Court ruling is underway that could ultimately extinguish the right of
every female in the U.S., regardless of age or circumstance, to decide whether to
risk her own health and even her own life, to birth an unwanted child into the world.
Many years ago when I was 25 years old, my mother confessed to me that she tried
to have me aborted…twice. In and of itself, this fact may not qualify me as an
expert on the hot topic of abortion today, but perhaps combining that fact with
being a woman, a mother of two daughters, and a grandmother of a teen
granddaughter, at least qualifies me to express a well-thought-out opinion on the
subject.
Naturally, people are divided in their thoughts and feelings about whether
abortions should be permitted. Some say yes. Some say no, because life begins at
conception. But that’s not exactly accurate. Not only is the sperm cell already
alive, but it can live 12 days or so after the male dies. It is also said that if left
outside the body, that the sperm cell will turn into a living, crab-like creature,
known as crabs or pubic lice (I have found no reputable source to support this). As
for the female egg, not only has it proven its strength and vitality by fighting other
mature eggs and winning the right to sit in the fallopian tube to await fertilization;
it also decides which sperm it will allow to fertilize it. So, technically, long before
the two merge, if they ever merge at all, life itself, already exists.
During my lifetime, I have had a couple of simple, “routine” medical procedures.
Each time I was told that I was required to sign a release statement, acknowledging
that, as routine as the procedures were, I could die from complications during or
after the procedure. I was given a choice: either sign the consent papers or no
procedure. Every pregnancy poses a risk to the health of the pregnant female
which are far greater than those I faced by having routine procedures. Yet today,
women are at risk of having the choice to proceed or not, taken away. According to
Amnesty International, in the U.S. alone, approximately one-third of all women who
get pregnant, suffer some level of serious, medical complication that has an
adverse effect on their health. Although only 700 deaths are officially recorded per
year in the United States, that number appears to be under reported. Most states
now adhere to the 42-day death rule, meaning that if a woman dies within 42 days
of childbirth, that death gets recorded as a maternal fatality. However, if a woman
dies 43 days after childbirth (which does happen), or months later, then officially,
another cause is assigned to her death; despite the obvious. In 2020, the CDC
reported that an estimated 3,922 women died from pregnancy and childbirth
related issues, and another 275,000 came close to death.
Supposedly, we live in a free society. Of course, even in this free society, we must
have some rules, otherwise, lack of civility could make for a very dangerous and
chaotic society. Having said that, how can we have a free society, if we vote to have
our choices taken away, simply because we don’t like someone else’s choice? How
can freedom exist, without choices? Women make up 51% of the U.S. population,
and many of us are, or have been in relationships with men. Some of us are in
relationships with powerful men who will ultimately determine whether women
have a right to decide to take a pregnancy to term, or to end that pregnancy; and
some of us are in positions of power ourselves.
In my humble opinion, the issue of abortion rights is much bigger than just abortion
rights alone. If we insist on focusing solely on the issue at hand, then we blind
ourselves to the horrific possibilities of going backwards as we enter the future.
Since time immemorial, the suppression of women has been justified, often by
referencing Eve for bringing sin into the world. “That woman you gave me,” said
Adam, and as recently as November, 2021, British politician Nick Fletcher blamed
women for the increase in crime, as so many women are cast for what he believes
should be male, acting roles. If the Court is successful in overturning Roe vs.
Wade, then a precedent will be set for overturning other rights as well, including
but not limited to, women’s right to own property (1848), women’s right to vote
(1920), women’s right to have a credit card (1974), women’s right to keep their jobs
after pregnancy (1978). Ladies; we don’t need to agree on whether abortion is right
or wrong. What we need, is to stand in solidarity on having a VOICE; which also
means, having a choice; even if we don’t like the choices others make.
If the Court takes away a woman’s choice to have an abortion, it will open the door
that allows men who prefer to keep women underfoot, to take away other freedoms
as well. For the moment, women who date or are married to men in power, also
have power. Let’s remember that unlike men, women have sex for a variety of
reasons, none of which include pain, discomfort, or “implosion” from lack of
spermatozoa release. Hopefully, there is still time, but it may already be too late to
stop the momentum of this current battle. If so, then let’s also remember that if we
do lose this battle to have a voice, we can still win the “war” by choosing to say
“no” to having the sex that causes us to become pregnant in the first place; that is,
until division allows us to vote that choice away as well.
Never more than today does this old cliché hold true: Together we stand, divided
we fall. Therefore, my sisters, regardless of your race, ethnicity, religion, or creed;
whether we agree or disagree on the issue of abortion rights, when it comes to
having choices, let us band together, stand together, grow together, and succeed
triumphantly. Together.
