To the Kansas Legislature: Women should have the right to abortion before the third trimester

Growing up as a female in America has always been a struggle. Women have fought for our right to vote, to work and are still fighting for equality. But our ability and ambition to fight is being tested again, it seems. Kansas state legislature is reviewing their original abortion ruling and are divided on the best strategy to overcome the existing KS Supreme Court ruling that guarantees a right to abortion.

On the topic of abortion, I identify as pro-choice, meaning I advocate for legal access for induced abortion services — up to the third trimester of pregnancy. Without diving into specific details, I support the right for women to choose what they can and want to do with their bodies. 

If a woman wants to have a job, she should be able to have a job. If a woman wants to get married, she should be be able to get married. The same goes with abortion. Let women dictate their own lives, not white men sitting in offices in Topeka. A state legislature shouldn’t rule differently on subject matter like this, which would take away the right for me to control my body and the bodies of all women in Kansas.

States such as Missouri, Kentucky, Ohio, Louisiana, Mississippi and Georgia have banned abortion at 6-8 weeks — which is considered the time of “heartbeat.” Alabama has banned abortion altogether, except in the case that a woman’s health is at risk. 

Women need to maintain the right of having access to abortions the safe way. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 25 million unsafe abortions occur each year. Women use techniques like inserting sharp wires into their bodies or pumping toxic mixtures in the direction of the fetus. This is unsafe for women and the statistics are concerning. The Guttmacher Institute reported that in parts of the world where abortion remains illegal, botched abortions — abortions that have gone wrong — cause about 8-11% of all maternal deaths. This is about 30,000 a year.  

There are many factors that play a role in what prompts a woman to consider if a pregnancy is unwanted — financial inability to support a child, whether the birth would bring harm to the mother or if conception was rape. A woman who is physically assaulted shouldn’t have to carry her assailant’s baby. What is she going to tell her daughter every time she asks about her father?

A baby is considered “full-term” at 39 weeks, meaning the fetus is developed to a point where doctors will not perform an abortion, except in the case of a critical health situation for the mother. Many pro-life advocates argue that abortion, no matter the development of the fetus, is murder. But it should be the decision of the mother to decide whether the cluster of cells in her uterus should become a baby — not anyone else’s. 

According to National Child & Maternal Health Education Program, during the second trimester, the baby is only at 14-26 weeks. What states like Utah and Arkansas — who’ve banned abortion at 18-22 weeks — don’t seem to understand is how long it may take a woman to make her decision.  

Personally I know that if I was faced with the option of having an abortion, I would turn it down. I would always wonder what my kid would’ve been like and would have personally regretted not knowing who they could’ve become. Saying that, I still believe in the right for each and every women to be able to have and make that decision. I can be pro-choice and I can also not want to have an abortion.

We have pushed for women to become independent and not rely on men when it comes to income, education and more. However, men have continued to give their constant opinion over what happens to our bodies. In May 2019, 25 male politicians in Alabama voted to ban abortion within the state. Men who have continued to give their constant opinion on what happens to our bodies. They voted for abortion to be illegal in any state of pregnancy for women — but how is that fair? It isn’t.

Women in the past have built their lives around affording the American women of the future the rights they deserve. The KS legislature shouldn’t be allowed to waive those efforts. We’re still struggling with discrimination and a fairly allocated wage — controlling our own bodies and the difficult situations it could present shouldn’t be added to that list. If men can’t have children then why should they force women to.