Why should I care?
Whether you don't understand why banning abortion is an issue, Or you want to understand the issue better. This is the perfect place for you. Scroll below to learn more!
Rape and/or incest victims
The group that will be the most greatly affected by a
national abortion ban is rape and incest victims. Imagine
having such a horrific violation done to your body, getting
pregnant, then being told that you cannot abort the baby,
and you now have to live with the reminder of such a
horrific event.
But much more goes into that than just having a
baby. For example, a 13-year-old girl in Mississippi was raped by a stranger. She now has an 8-month-old baby boy, nicknamed Peanut. Because Mississippi and the states surrounding have abortion banned with very few exceptions, the girl had to go through with the birth as a 13-year-old girl who now has to juggle a baby into the mix with school already being stressful. She described the birth as “painful.” Her mother says “This situation hurts the most because it was an innocent child doing what children do, playing outside, and it was my child…It still hurts, and is going to always hurt.” (ABC News)
This situation just goes to show how much rape can affect a person and on top of that being a minor and giving birth. It does not take much for a person with basic empathy to recognize that this situation is horrific. And if a minor or anybody gets raped they should have the right to choose.
The effects on children
The group of people that would be affected by a national abortion ban goes much further than just the pregnant woman. It would affect the children who are a result of denied abortions. Children born from unwanted pregnancies can likely have behavioral and psychological issues in adolescence
Women with unwanted pregnancies are more likely to “smoke, use illicit drugs, and be at greater risk for maternal anxiety and depression.” (Drexel University) Taking the use of drugs and smoking as an example. “Miscarriage, preterm labor, birth defects, stillbirth, withdrawal symptoms in the baby after birth, higher risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), poor fetal growth rate, and cognitive and behavioral problems” (Florida Health) are all just some of the effects of using drugs and smoking while pregnant. This is troubling because it's not only detrimental to the woman's health but to the child's physical and mental health.
Next, women who experience unwanted pregnancies are more likely to have postpartum depression. This postpartum depression can reflect on the children. It can reflect on the child's relationship with their mom. These mothers are more likely to influence the child's early development. Some ways that this can affect children is, “Lack of sufficient interaction between mother and child may result in insecure attachment and delay of cognitive, motor and emotional development.” (Drexel University) This goes to show that even if the mother does not use drugs or smoke during the pregancy, the child can still have effects on their relationship with their mother, and early development. Proving that a national abortion ban would not only affect the pregnant woman but the children who are a result of a denied abortion too.
Unsafe at-home abortions
Banning abortion nationwide will not completely stop it. But will bring the procedure underground instead. This can be proved with the number of annual unsafe abortion deaths. According to the National Library of Medicine, “68,000 women die of unsafe abortion annually, making it one of the leading causes of maternal mortality…women who survive unsafe abortion, 5 million will suffer long-term health complications.” This proves that banning abortion will not stop it and if people need it enough they will find a way. And in many cases the women who preform the at-home abortion will die or have long term complications.