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The Importance of Women’s Reproductive Freedom

The detrimental effects of denying women the right to access free or low-lost reproductive care must be acknowledged. We deserve the right to choose what is done with our bodies.

By Jess DidwayPublished 6 years ago 8 min read
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The current administration has waged a war on women; it is our job to stay educated and fight for our rights to accessible reproductive health.

Women have been fighting for fair and equal rights for two centuries, with the first Women’s Rights Convention held in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848. At the convention, the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions was drafted by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, much like the Declaration of Independence, which “demanded equality with men before the law, in education and employment.” (Imbornoni, n.d.). The struggle for equal rights did not go without violence, protests, resistance, and retaliation, which eventually led to hard-earned victories such as the right to vote; Colorado being the first state to adopt an amendment granting women the right to vote in 1893. 21st century women have been fighting a controversial battle in recent decades, regarding reproductive freedom and being denied the right to access healthcare regarding their reproductive health. Denying women the right to make their own personal and private choices regarding their reproductive health can lead women of all ages, races, and ethnicities to make dangerous, uninformed decisions regarding unwanted pregnancies due to lack of professional assistance and care.

In the 1950s and 1960s, it was estimated that the number of illegal abortions in the United States during that time frame ranged from 200,000 to 1.2 million per year. As many as 5,000 women died annually as a direct result from unsafe abortions. The World Health Organization defines an unsafe abortion as:

“A procedure for terminating a pregnancy that is performed by an individual without the necessary skills, or in an environment that does not conform to minimal medical standards, or both. Unsafe abortion is common in places where abortion is illegal. Nearly half of all abortions worldwide are unsafe, and nearly all unsafe abortions (98 percent) occur in developing countries. In countries where abortion remains unsafe, it is a leading cause of maternal mortality.” (Contributors, 2014)

With no access to professional reproductive help, women were forced to carry out pregnancies that were unwanted and even put their lives at risk. Not only could that cause serious harm to the expectant mother in the case of a medically unsafe pregnancy, it could cause mental health issues due to the impact of negative thoughts related to the unwanted pregnancy. A study from September 2013 showed that “women who were denied abortions 'felt more regret and anger' and 'less relief and happiness' than women who had abortions.” That same study concluded that 95 percent of women who received abortions felt “it was the right decision" a week after the procedure. (Corinne H. Rocca, 2013). Forcing women to carry out unwanted pregnancies against any personal or health-related issues can very well lead to death. Women should not be subjected to death in order to carry out a pregnancy that is unwanted or unplanned. Families should not be subjected to the loss of a daughter or a sister; children should not be subjected to the loss of a mother who could not afford her unwanted pregnancy, or whose body was unable to carry out a full-term pregnancy safely.

The first oral contraceptive called Enovid was approved as contraception by the FDA in 1960, though it wasn’t until 1965 that married couples were granted the right to use birth control by the Supreme Court, deeming it as a right to privacy, though unmarried women were not given that same right to privacy. (Thompson, 2014). It wasn’t until 1972 that the Supreme Court legalized birth control for all citizens of America despite marital status. Before the legalization of contraceptives for single women, with little to no professional institutions allowed to perform safe, legal abortions and no access to contraception, the unmarried population of women were left with absolutely no control over their reproductive health and lifestyle(s).

To this day, women are facing barriers to family planning access, which include: “lack of knowledge about contraception, limited choices, high costs, limited supplies, long distances to services, too few trained healthcare providers, and cultural/personal objections” (Thompson, 2013) of others. It is no one else’s right to decide when, where, and with whom a woman chooses to have a child with, and interfering with her rights to make private and personal decisions for her body violates her right to privacy, and even comes between her and her “unalienable Right to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” as stated in the Declaration of Independence. (Jefferson, 1776). Forcing a woman to carry out a unwanted pregnancy is in violation of her rights to Life and Happiness by forcing her to put her own aspirations and goals on hold or completely tossed aside to raise a child that she was either not ready for, or did not want at that time in her life. This could lead women to stop pursuing higher education, settling for minimum-wage jobs, and needing government assistance to care for their child. After evaluating a proposed anti-abortion bill that would ban abortions nationwide after 20 weeks of gestation, the Congressional Budget Office found that the additional births would increase the federal deficit by $225 million over nine years, due to the increased need for Medicaid coverage. (Covert, 2013). With little to no access to reproductive healthcare as well as contraceptives, women face no choice but to carry out pregnancies that are caused by rape; pregnancies that may be medically unsafe and dangerous to the fetus and the mother; or simply a pregnancy that was unplanned due to the original lack of healthcare access. After the birth of their child, these women must face years of financial stress and the impact of their unwanted pregnancies.

Throughout the struggle of reproductive freedom, the State and even the Federal government have taken it upon themselves to step in between a woman and her professional healthcare provider when it comes to allowing a woman access to reproductive care. In the case of Roe v. Wade, 1971, a pregnant single woman (Roe) challenged the constitutionality of the Texas criminal abortion laws, “which proscribe procuring or attempting an abortion except on medical advice for the purpose of saving the mother's life,” and the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Roe, declaring “the abortion statutes void as vague and over broadly infringing those plaintiffs' Ninth and Fourteenth Amendment rights” in 1973. (Roe vs. Wade). The Supreme Court stated that the Constitution gives "a guarantee of certain areas or zones of privacy," and that "This right of privacy... is broad enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy." (Roe vs. Wade). While it may be in the “best interest” of both the pregnant woman and unborn child, the State does not have the right to interject into a private matter between a woman and her physician, taking away valuable time and resources from both the pregnant woman and State itself. Religious beliefs of others also should not be allowed to interfere with a woman’s right to her own private healthcare. In regards to the government, there is a separation of Church and State. The constitution states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” There is an issue, then, when the Church is not allowed to influence important issues and decisions the State handles, but is allowed to interfere with the private, important decisions a woman chooses to make with her own body, when the results of her decision has no intent of affecting anyone else’s life or decisions other than her own.

When women have control over their reproductive freedom and allowed access to affordable-to-free reproductive healthcare such as birth control and safe, legal abortions, they are endowed with a sense of empowerment. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court Justice, states in her opinion in Gonzales v. Carhart (2007) that restrictions on abortion infringe upon "a woman's autonomy to determine her life's course, and thus to enjoy equal citizenship stature." With access to birth control, need for procedures such as abortion will lower. With access to safe and legal abortion procedures, the maternal mortality rate may drop substantially, as where abortion has been made and kept illegal, there are higher maternal mortality rates due to women attempting such unsafe procedures themselves. After Roe v. Wade, rate of abortions performed in the United States has fallen lower than during any year since 1973:

“In 2014, there were an estimated 926,200 abortions — a rate of 14.6 per 1,000 women of childbearing age (15 to 44) — compared with 1.06 million abortions in 2011, the year of the last Guttmacher report, or 16.9 per 1,000. In 1973, the year of the Roe v. Wade decision, the rate was 16.3. In 1981, the rate was 29.3.” (Hoffman, 2017).

It has also been suggested that the increased use of long-term birth control such as intra-uterine devices (IUDs) are contributing to this decline in abortion rates, and the continued reliance on these devices may cause a drastic drop in the abortion rates in the United States. A study by Washington University has reported that “providing birth control to women at no cost substantially reduces unplanned pregnancies and cuts abortion rates by a range of 62 to 78 percent compared to the national rate.” (Williams, 2012). More and more women who have access to affordable reproductive healthcare in states that allow birth control are choosing to use these IUDs as they can last from 3-5 years from the date they were initially placed.

When women have access to reproductive healthcare, they are free to govern their own bodies. All women should have the right to access the appropriate healthcare for their reproductive needs, as well as the right to be properly educated by healthcare professionals on their choices. Women should have the right to decide for themselves when they are ready and capable to care for a child, both financially and emotionally. Allowing women to make their own choices for themselves by allowing access to contraceptives- both long-term (such as IUDs) and short term (pills, patches, injections) - can substantially lower the need for abortions, lowering the nation’s overall abortion and maternal mortality rate, allowing women to live their own lives the way they choose, as well as giving American women the freedom they deserve.

Works Cited

Contributors, O. A. (2014, March 23). http://www.ourbodiesourselves.org/health-info/impact-of-illegal-abortion/. Retrieved 02 17, 2017

Corinne H. Rocca, K. K. (2013). Women's Emotions One Week after Receiving or Being Denied an Abortion in the United States. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health.

Covert, B. (2013, July 1). How Denying Women Access to Reproductive Choices Costs Taxpayers. Retrieved from thinkprogress.org

Hoffman, J. (2017, January 18). Rate of U.S. Abortions Hits Lowest Since Roe v. Wade. Retrieved February 20, 2017, from New York Times.

Imbornoni, A.-M. (n.d.). http://www.infoplease.com/spot/womenstimeline1.html. Retrieved 02 17, 2017

Jefferson, T. (1776, July 4). USHistory.org. Retrieved 20 2017, February, from The Declaration of Independence.

Roe vs. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (Supreme Court January 22, 1973).

Thompson, K. M. (2013, December 14). Why Birth Control is Essential to Women Everywhere. Retrieved February 20, 2017, from Our Bodies, Our Selves.

Thompson, K. M. (2014, December 13). http://www.ourbodiesourselves.org/health-info/a-brief-history-of-birth-control/. Retrieved February 20, 2017, from Our Bodies, Ourselves.

Williams, D. D. (2012, October 12). Access to free birth control reduces abortion rates. Retrieved from Washington Univerity SChool of Medicine in St. Louis: https://medicine.wustl.edu/news/access-to-free-birth-control-reduces-abortion-rates/

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About the Creator

Jess Didway

Mother, activist, athlete, creator in the PNW.

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