Abortion ban does not diminish women’s rights

Editor,

Speaking for the body of pro-lifers, we do not condemn nor hate women who have abortions or who believe in abortion. I am a woman, among many, who fights for the right that born and unborn human beings have to life.

A five-month-old fetus is a human being. At this stage, genders are already determined, and he or she is a developed human being in regards to the organs and body parts he or she has. In addition, five month-old fetuses feel pain. Human value is not defined by sentience, size, level of development, location or degree of dependency.

A ban on late-term abortion is not unreasonable to expect since we are dealing with actual human beings. The ban does not prohibit women from having abortions if there is evidence of rape or incest or if a mother’s life is at risk — although, according to Planned Parenthood’s disclaimer that must be signed by its patients, it is more dangerous to have an abortion after sixteen weeks than it is to give birth.

If a woman is carrying a dead fetus, the ban agrees that she should remove it. If a woman is at risk of death, she is permitted to have an abortion; however, it does take three days to prepare her body, in which time she could die, whereas if she were to go to the emergency room she would be able to have an emergency caesarian in a matter of three hours, which could save her and her baby. If a woman has been raped, then by law she is permitted to have an abortion — but the question is if it is so hard for her to carry a baby, which was the product of rape, why is she waiting 5 months to abort it?

If less than one percent of abortions are late-term, and given the information above, why is it then so unreasonable to expect an unborn baby of five months and older to have the equal right to life if it is not a product of rape, incest, or of physical danger to his or her mother?

Women who have been raped or who are living under the poverty level need to be nurtured and loved. How is saving up more than $1200 and aborting her baby going to heal a woman and help her circumstance when she could be invested in by an organization like Project Defending Life, that gives women in crisis pregnancies money and housing to support themselves?

Women’s rights are not being oppressed by voting for the ban; rather, women are being empowered to consider other options and to protect the innocent life inside of them. For those who want empathy, where is the empathy for the pain-capable baby that has no defense for itself? For those who are pro-choice, why aren’t you empowering women to see the positives in the other choices such as the few, of many, listed above?

If you are a man or a woman who respects life and equality, please vote for the ban.

Sade Patterson
UNM student