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Adrian Mancilla

Professor Rachel Newlon

May11, 2020

English 121

Argument Experience

The Pro-Choice Movement

Today, women's health is under attack more than ever since the case of Roe v.

Wade first made abortions legal. In that case,the Supreme Court ruled women had a right

to an abortion under some circumstances under the Due Process clause of the 14th

amendment. The ruling established a woman’s right to a safe abortion as U.S. citizens

without discrimination. ,Currently, there are many efforts to restrict the legality of

abortion and make it illegal in almost all circumstances. President Trump has appointed

two Pro-Life judges to the Supreme Court, bringing the Supreme Court close to

establishing a Pro-Life majority and jeopardizing the ​Roe v. Wade​ decision. Under the

current administration, access to an abortion is more at a risk than it has ever been since

Roe v. Wade​ since the majority of our federal government is controled by Pro-life leaders.

Safe and legal abortions can easily become a procedure of the past. Abortion Access

rights must be protected under the Constituion of the United States of America seeing

they have the right to privacy. In some states women's rights are already suffering these

days because of these loss of resources women no longer have access too. Especially

women of color are at most danger because of the fact that women of color are
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dispatoritnetly affected by the federal law seeing that the majority of women depend on

Medicaid. What does this mean exactly? Women's healthcare is in jeopardy, including

resources for sexual health such as birth control and routine exams.

The fact that the Senate, President and Supreme Court are all led by a majority of

Pro-Life conservatives this has put the legality of abortions at risk, and many barriers

have been put into place. “In September [2017], Trump himself wrote a letter to

supporters promising that if elected, he would sign a nationwide ban on abortions after 20

weeks, defund Planned Parenthood, make permanent the Hyde Amendment.” (Pro Quest

Central) States such as Texas and Alabama have put the most restrictions in place,

making it very hard to have a legal safe abortion. Although abortions are legal in the U.S.

because of ​Roe v. Wade​, states themselves can put into place many restrictions to make it

extremely difficult to receive an abortion.

President Donald Trump has prevented and restricted abortions in favor of the Pro-Life

movement. Trying to make the Hyde Amendment permanent on top of shifting the

Supreme Court to be in favor of the Pro-Life movement this has put access to legal safe

abortions at risk. “ABORTION is one of the most pressing issues in today's political

arena, especially in light of the election of Pres. Donald Trump and the shifting

ideological balance on the Supreme Court” (USA Today). Trump has promised to make

the Hyde Amendment permanent, putting thousands of women’s lives in jeopardy. If the

Hyde Amendment becomes permanent then there could be more amendments and
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national laws to overturn ​Roe v Wade.​ Because of the climate of the Supreme Court,

they would only need to evaluate a new abortion civil case to possibly overturn the

legality of ​Roe v.s Wade.​ It is critical that the U.S residents come together to protect

abortion rights.

Women have the legal right to abortion access and should not feel belittled for wanting

an abortion. Fighting for women's rights is needed in this day in age in light of the

climate of the government and the power of the Pro-Life movement. ​Roe v. Wade​ and

the right to have an abortion must be protected for both physical and mental well being.

In ​Roe v. Wade,​ the right to an abortion are legal in the first trimester, “The 7-2 ​Roe v.

Wade​ decision was the first to grant women the right to an abortion based on a trimester

framework. During the first trimester or first three months of pregnancy, the state could

not enact any laws regulating abortion.” (USA Today) Abortion acccess is an important

part of a woman's Constitutional Right to Privacy in the United States of America. Now,

the Trump administration and the Pro-Life movement is attempting to overturn this

national law. This can be done through restrictive state laws in more conservative states

such as the ones in the deep south and midwest.

Pro-Choice movements need to be fought within our own state governments through our

state legislators. States such as Georgia have made it even more challenging for women

by adding roadblocks to to get an abortion, “In Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill in

early May prohibiting abortion in cases where a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can be
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as early as six weeks of pregnancy. Georgia's maternal death rate in 2018 was 46.2 for

every 100,000 live births, the highest rate among 48 states studied.” (Johnson) Women in

Georgia have one of the highest maternal death rates in the country, which is a direct

correlation to the fact that women in Georgia find it extremely challenging to have an

abortion because of all of the roadblocks Governor Kemp has put into place. Abortion

restrictions contribute to this high maternal death rate.

Women have a constitutional right to an abortion, and when there are many barriers to

receiving an abortion, states see negative effects for the infant' and mother, including

fatalities. Pro-Life states in the deep south and midwest are seeing these effects.

“Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio--all of which have

enacted tighter restrictions on abortion--similarly rank higher than the national average in

rates of pre-term births, low birth weight, and neonatal deaths after the first 28 days.

(Johnson). These states have higher than average babies with low birth weight, which can

lead the baby to malnourishment. Premature birth can be fatal for not only the mother but

the infant as well. If women in Alabama, Arkansas, and these other states could easily

have an abortion if necessary, some of these health problems could be avoided. Women

could have the opportunity to fix any pre-existing health conditions in order to carry a

baby to full term so it does not see the effects of low birth weight or possibly death.
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Poor women and women of color are disproportionately affected by current Pro-Life

efforts. These rights are in jeopardy and must be protected. Regardless of socioeconomic

status, women deserve to have the right to have an abortion. “All pledge to leave no one

behind. All are committed to universal health coverage. But women with an unwanted

pregnancy are omitted from these visions, disbarred, invisibilized.” (Horton) Women

should not be discriminated against based on their income, however federal funding

cannot be used to support abortions.

Because of the fact that poor women and women of color are the majority of the people

on Medicaid, those who are likely to be in the most need do not have the same access as

wealthier women who might be able to pay for an abortion. Women should not be

discriminated against, “We must all step up the fight to reduce the mostly preventable 2.6

million stillbirths that occur every year. Women want these children. They and their

families suffer terribly and often undisclosed anguish at the loss of their child. (Horton).

If abortion was easily accessible throughout the country and women did not have to jump

through hurdles we could prevent women from the 2.6 million babies who are stillborn.

This would save heartache not to mention this would benefit the mother's mental well

being. If she never experienced stillbirth she would not be left with the trauma of losing a

child. Women need abortion access.

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Women of color are disproportionately affected by lack of access to health care because

they often cannot afford private health insurance and are dependent on federal programs

like Medicaid. Since federal dollars can not be used for abortions then people who are on

Medicaid can not afford abortions, “SGM [Sexual and Gender Minority] patients of

color frequently have worse health outcomes than either white SGM or heterosexual

patients of color.” (Tan, Baig, and Chin) This is because people of color have been a

minority since the U.S. was founded and they continuously have to fight for their own

rights. Women's rights are being violated because they are too poor to afford private

health insurance, and they have limited access to safe and legal abortions through

Medicaid.

The Trump administration is attempting to end abortion access for all women in violation

of the 14th Amendment and a woman’s right to privacys. “My Body My Choice, as

thousands of women have said, is true. Women benefit from having a choice and access

to safe, legal abortions both mentally and physically. In this day and age, we need to fight

for women to have access to abortions, which is a vital part of women’s healthcare.
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Works Cited

Horton, Richard. "Offline: Access to Safe Abortion and Ending

Stillbirths--Together."​The Lancet,​ vol. 387, no. 10034, 2016, pp. 2186​. ProQuest​,

https://arapahoecc.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.arapahoecc

.idm.oclc.org/docview/1794314572?accountid=39001,

doi:​http://dx.doi.org.arapahoecc.idm.oclc.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30622-5​.

Date Accessed April 29, 2020

Feleder, Florencia, et al. "LIFE AND DEATH IN THE WOMB."​ USA Today​, vol. 147,

no. 2886, 03, 2019, pp. 12-13​. ProQuest,​

https://arapahoecc.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.arapahoecc

.idm.oclc.org/docview/2206155682?accountid=39001​. Date Accessed April 29,

2020

Steven, Ross J. "Abortion Restrictions Spark Concern Over Access to Maternal Health

Services."​ Modern Healthcare,​ vol. 49, no. 22, 2019, pp. 8​. ProQuest​,

https://arapahoecc.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.arapahoecc

.idm.oclc.org/docview/2235724269?accountid=39001​. Date Accessed April 29,

2020
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Tan, Judy Y., Arshiya A. Baig, and Marshall H. Chin. "High Stakes for the Health of

Sexual and Gender Minority Patients of Color."​ Journal of General Internal

Medicine​, vol. 32, no. 12, 2017, pp. 1390-1395​. ProQuest,​

https://arapahoecc.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.arapahoecc

.idm.oclc.org/docview/2001391227?accountid=39001,

doi:​http://dx.doi.org.arapahoecc.idm.oclc.org/10.1007/s11606-017-4138-3​. Date

Accessed April 29, 2020

Traister, Rebecca. “Warning: Abortion's Deadly Diy Past Could Soon Become Its

Future.” ​New York,​ vol. 50, no. 3, 2017

https://acc.on.worldcat.org/search?sortKey=BEST_MATCH&databaseList=1708

%2C638%2C283%2C2626&queryString=DIY+Abortions+&changedFacet=form

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uage=all#/oclc/6933211372​. Date Accessed April 29, 2020