Iowa state Representative Bruce Hunter phrased it perfectly when he
said, “Here’s the thing about rights. They’re not supposed to be voted on.
That’s why they call them rights.” Reproductive choice is everyone’s right.
Every day, men make the decision whether or not to have a baby simply by
donning a cheap, easily accessible condom-or not. Females on the other hand, do not have it so
easy. In fact, maintaining that choice is becoming increasingly more difficult.
The
current environment indicates a giant step backward in women’s rights with
regard to reproduction which will in turn severely negatively impact the future
of our country. I take that very personally.
As a senior in high school who is about to go off on my own to
college, I have my whole future ahead of me. A future I hope will include tough
challenges and big rewards. I know that I must work hard and stay focused. I know that my parents and my university will
be expecting that of me. But I hear Representatives in our government who don’t
seem to play by the same rules. I hear misinformed politicians who base
legislation on bad information which will have a harmful impact on my life. As
someone who is also interested in science, I’m baffled by the fact that U.S.
Representative Todd Akin believes women’s bodies can “shut
down” after rape to prevent pregnancies. This is a man who sits on the Committee for
Science, Space and Technology and he is either so severely misinformed or so
distorted by his political ambitions that he’s willing to deny scientific facts
about the laws of conception. And while I’m expected to check my facts and do
my best, the example set before me by the elected officials deciding my health
care needs, are not required to do the same. So while that small comment, that
gentlemen made on some Sunday morning show to increase his awareness ratings
sounds like it’s very far from me, it’s actually all about me and my future.
Few would argue that raising a child is a demanding job with many
sacrifices. Statistically, the impact of an unwanted pregnancy impacts a female
more than a male. Therefore, women need to be able to choose when they are
going to have a baby. But instead of making contraception as available as
condoms in a drugstore are, we are defunding Planned Parenthood, requiring
sonograms and assigning personhood status to cells. We are missing the point. If
as a society, we decide to continue to gut or overturn Roe V Wade, then we must
do whatever we can to make contraception abundantly affordable and excessively
accessible. Not just for men. Not just at non-religious organizations. For both
men and women, regardless of religious affiliation.
Furthermore, if we aren’t going to make contraception available,
then we must stop denying the importance of a comprehensive sex education that
includes both the importance of abstinence as well as prevention ie
contraception. Presenting real sex
education in schools instead of abstinence prepares teenagers, especially
girls, for the realistic dangers of unprotected sex. If our country isn’t going
to provide for preventative birth control easily and it’s not going to allow
abortions, then we need to at least inform teens in a safe environment about
what being sexually active can lead to
We are becoming very
careless in our country with our reproductive rights and the impact that that
can have on our society. We are very casual about grossly incorrect information
floating around like “legitimate rape”
and pregnancies resulting from rape being “god’s will”. That kind of casualness
is dangerous because if repeated often enough, it becomes fact. If the United States begins down the
slippery slope of denying women’s reproductive rights, it is fathomable that the health of
our society will go the same way as Afghanistan and other countries where
women’s rights are heavily contested. And if America- as the leader of the free
world goes down that path- what can we
expect of the rest of the world? People in
power stay in power by keeping those below them uneducated about their rights,
so that they blindly follow the leader. I don’t want to digress in my
rights when I know so many women fought for them. When I finally have children, I want it to be
on my own terms when I have decided that it’s time for me to bring a life into
this world. I have big ambitions and goals for my life that include marriage
and a family, but I also want to go to college and learn as much as I can about
myself and about the world so I can teach my children by example. Women are
individuals and we deserve a choice and the freedom that comes along with
making our own decisions.
