As as young woman I’ve grown up with my reproductive freedom in tact. I’ve have always had access to legal abortions, contraception and quality health and pregnancy care.
However, as the election heats up and religious-right attacks on women’s reproductive freedom continue it seems that a generation of women are forgetting (and forgoing) their rights. Here is a quick primer on reproductive freedom and what it means for you.
What is Reproductive Freedom?
Reproductive Freedom is the right to to choose freely and responsibly the spacing and timing of your children. It is the right to choose whether or not you have children and it is the right to safe and quality reproductive health care including safe and legal abortions, contraception and pregnancy care.
In the U.S. we have seen our reproductive rights challenged from abortion to the most recent firestorm surrounding contraception and health care providers obligation to provide birth control. It’s scary to think that something we’ve always had is teetering on the edge of being taken away.
For so many of us, our rights are something we don’t even think about. “Of course, we’ll have access to insurance subsidized birth control, abortion will always be legal” Maybe not. Can you imagine a world where women aren’t allowed to decide when and how to raise a family?
Exercising our freedom, as women, to choose our life’s path, whether that path includes children and how many children, is our birthright and we should be aware of the issues surrounding our most precious right.
Stats on Reproductive Rights
Even if you’ve never had an abortion (or wouldn’t get one) there are millions of women worldwide who deserve access to this legal and safe procedure.
And if you take birth control pills and use other contraceptive you may soon find that access restricted as well. Here are some stats on reproductive health worldwide:
- One in three American women will have an abortion by the time she is age 45
- 58% of women having abortions in the US are in their twenties.
- Of women having abortions, 61% have one or more children; 85% are unmarried; 69% are economically disadvantaged
- In addition to preventing pregnancy, birth control helps reduce the risk for endometrial and ovarian cancers
- The use and access to affordable contraception helps lower the need for abortions
- 5.1% percent of women 15-44 have been treated for Pelvic Inflammatory Disease ; a disease that can be prevented by the use of oral contraceptives
- 1000 women die a day worldwide from pregnancy and childbirth related complications
Attacks on our Reproductive Rights
Even with the major need for access to reproductive care, government has placed multiple restrictions on our access to abortions and contraception.
- Texas has instituted a Sonogram Law that requires women to have a sonogram 24 hours before having an abortion
- Blunt Amendment allows employers to object to specific insurance coverage for religious reasons
- In 2009, Dr. George Tiller was murdered inside a clinic in Kansas. He was killed because he performed abortion services.
- The 2003 Federal Abortion Ban outlawed second trimester abortions and does not provide exception depending on a woman’s health condition.
- 15 states have unconstitutional bans on near-total abortions with some states having case-exceptions like rape or health
- The Hyde Amendment denies abortion services to Medicaid recipients; 33 states have similar laws restricting low-income women’s access to abortions
- Most states don’t have enforcement birth control laws, meaning pharmacies can refuse to fill your prescription
What are your thoughts on the war on women’s reproductive freedom?
At the risk of going on a novel-length rant, I feel that it’s crazy how male politicians can sit around and determine what reproductive rights a woman should have. How can a man possibly know what’s it’s like to get pregnant and be pregnant?? Forget the fact that there are women (like myself!) who took birth control for other medical reasons, such as helping with out of control menstrual cycles. They obviously don’t see that.
I’m a firm believer in a clear separation of church and state and banning something solely on the basis of moral beliefs is absurd! I personally would never have an abortion, however, I feel that in the end it’s a woman’s choice and a choice that she alone will live with. If we had more women in politics and in those decision making chairs, trust me, we would not be having this discussion.
Okay, I’m getting off my soap box now!
I believe you are absolutely right!
I respect religion and have nothing against it until it starts to step on my rights as a human being and as a woman.
If we cut out legal abortions and restrict access to birth control think about how much more of taxpayers’ money would be spent supporting these children that maybe the parents weren’t prepared for and don’t have the means to support by themselves. But it does feel kind of wrong to think of a child on a monetary level. I’m not even getting started on the birth control for health reasons or terminating a pregnancy because of a severe complication that’s potentially life-threatening to the mother.
This wouldn’t really effect me as I live in Canada, but it’s hard for me to sit by while my fellow females struggle with something like this.
I agree with MJ that it is ultimately the woman’s choice, also that religion and politics should be kept separate and there needs to be more estrogen flowing in the White House.
Phew.
I think that it’s sickening that this debate is happening in a first world country such as the U.S. I am so so fortunate to be Canadian and on way way to becoming a European where these basic rights have never been questioned. Where state and religion are absolutely completely separate. I don’t even want to imagine a U.S. run by a bunch of religious rights groups. What bothers me the most is the racism that goes on by these very people against other religious groups and yet their behavior and influence over the world has the power to create the worst destruction. Taking away women’s rights is destructive. How many woman will start dying because of poor quality illegal abortions if these laws are passed? Abortions will not stop, just the safety of them!