Sarah HendersonRe: “Pro-choice or no choice: The war on Roe v. Wade” (March 28)
Mississippi is joining the ranks of states that are protecting the rights and lives of the unborn. On March 21, Gov. Phil Bryant signed Senate Bill 2116 which would prevent abortions once a heartbeat is detected. This is a huge win for pro-life activists and the unborn across the state of Mississippi. But not all Mississippians share the sentiment. The Jackson Women’s Health Organization and many on the left are outraged about the bill that would deny the right for a woman to choose abortion.
The “Pro-choice or no choice: The war on Roe v. Wade” piece argued that this legislation was unconstitutional and limited the freedoms of women. With deeper analysis, these arguments fall flat.
To begin, this legislation is not unconstitutional. Although Roe v. Wade pronounced that it is unconstitutional for a state to criminalize or unduly restrict access to abortion, the current precedent for abortion law lies with Planned Parenthood v. Casey. This foundational case gave states the right to determine appropriate abortion law as long as it does not create an “undue burden” for women seeking abortion. The language is vague, but the objective of the court is clear: Let the state make public policy.
Second, the right for a woman to choose an abortion seems to completely ignore the right to life of the child in her womb. The Declaration of Independence lists three fundamental rights of U.S. citizens. They are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. If you believe in these rights, then you cannot take away the most fundamental right of life simply because that life is inconvenient, unplanned or unwanted.
A common argument by the left in favor of the right to choose to terminate life is that by making abortions legal, they are made safe, but the government should regulate abortion so that it would be rare. Hillary Clinton was a champion of this, saying in her 2008 bid for president that abortions should be “safe, legal and rare.”
“Safe, legal and rare” is a myth. Abortions in the U.S. are now safe, and they are legal under the correct circumstances, but they are in no way rare. Since the passing of Roe v. Wade, millions of pregnancies have been aborted. The right to life was terminated before the unborn had a chance to experience it.
Another argument promoted by pro-choice advocates is that abortion should be legal so that those who are pregnant due to rape and incest have access to abortion. Here, the rare argument holds true. According to the Guttmacher Institute, 1.5% of abortions in the U.S. occur in cases of rape and incest. This is a rare occurrence that should not be bundled into the numbers of abortions that occur because the pregnancy is inconvenient for the parents.
The right to life should supersede the right to choose a more convenient path. Other states should join Mississippi in the fight for the lives of all members of society.
Lauren Moses is sophomore accounting and political science major from Dallas.
