“They are endowed by their creator with certain
unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of
Happiness.” Freedom is a synonym of liberty, but what is freedom? By definition
freedom is the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without
hindrance or restraint. Why is our freedom being taken away from us? Why are you
letting your prejudices take away someone else’s right to act as they wish? It
is un-American to pass laws restricting one’s freedom when it goes against your
beliefs so why are you taking away a woman’s right for abortion?
The Jackson Women’s Health Clinic is the only remaining
abortion clinic in Mississippi. On July 1st a law went into effect
requiring abortionists to have admitting privileges at a local hospital. These
privileges can be denied for any reason, and no hospital has granted them to
any of the clinic’s doctors. However after the law passed, Bubba Carpenter, a
state representative, boasted, “We stopped abortion in the state of
Mississippi.” Phil Bryant, the governor, said as he signed the law, “If it
closes that clinic, so be it.” (“And Then There Was One”). When you go to underhanded
lengths to make abortion illegal, what kind of person does that make you? When
you deny a woman the right to control her body it makes you no better than in
England, during the Revolutionary War when they blockaded the colonies to keep us
from trading with other countries.
A study was done by the Department of Obstetrics and
Gynecology, Medical University of South Carolina for rape-related pregnancies.
The study showed that in the United States more than thirty-two thousand
pregnancies result from rape each year. They have concluded that rape-related
pregnancies occur with significant frequency. “It is a cause of many unwanted
pregnancies and is closely linked with family and domestic violence. As we
address the epidemic of unintended pregnancies in the United States, greater
attention and effort should be aimed at preventing and identifying unwanted
pregnancies that result from sexual victimization” (“Rape-Related Pregnancy”).
“One
woman dies every 7 minutes around the world due to an unsafe illegal abortion.
Women who undergo illegal abortions are those who are very poor and do not have
access to family planning facilities for education and prevention of unwanted
pregnancies” (“Abortion Statistics”). Yearly, almost fifty percent of
pregnancies are unwanted with nearly half are aborted. Illegal or not, abortion will continue to
happen throughout the world. Women will suffer and possibly die because of
unsafe abortion procedures.
We
have continually fought for our freedom and for the freedom of others. What
difference is abortion to any other cause we have fought for freedom? President
Lincoln once said, “Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for
themselves.” Why are you denying freedom to these women? You have the freedom
of speech, and you can protest peacefully of what they are doing. Why do you
need to take away their freedom?
“Civility
is not a sign of weakness” (Kennedy 198). President Kennedy is right. You
aren’t weak when you show abortionists, women who have had abortionists, or women
who plan on it civility. You can still hold onto your beliefs while being
courteous. I would ask nothing less of
those who support abortion. We will stand and protest peacefully for what we
believe as Martin Luther King, Junior did and Gandhi before him.
Doctor
King, Junior once said, “The goal of America is freedom” (180). Let it not be
heard that America, the land of the free, is not truly free. Let us peacefully
protest women’s rights to abortion.
*Comments*
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