A·bor·tion: the ending of pregnancy by removing an embryo or fetus before it can survive outside the uterus. Studies have proven that a fetus may survive outside of the womb as early as 22 weeks but, the child will need excessive medical treatment to keep it alive and healthy. Currently in Iowa the state is fighting an anti-abortion law, making it illegal to have an abortion no matter the circumstances except medical emergency.
The fetal heartbeat bill would make it a felony to perform an abortion once the woman is tested and a fetal heartbeat is detected. A fetal heartbeat is present at the earlier stage of six weeks, for most women, this could be too late. If a woman gets pregnant without her knowing, it could be a whole month without a physical sign of her period. For most women, periods come regular every month, that leaves only two weeks for that woman to make a life changing decision; if she is going to keep the baby or terminate the pregnancy.
How is this fair for every woman? Every woman is built differently and has different anatomy, so while one woman may detect a sign early and clearly, another might be later and not as easily detected. A heavier set woman may go past the six-week mark and still have no sign of a heartbeat. But for a woman who is more-slender, it may be easier to detect a heartbeat right at the six-week mark. How would the state go about a woman who wants to have an abortion but didn’t detect a heartbeat until after the six-week mark. Six weeks is way too early to determine if a woman can terminate her pregnancy when it wouldn’t even have a chance of survival until the 22nd week.
What about rape victims? What are the victims supposed to do? Is she supposed to see the face of her rapist every time she looks the baby in the face? Is she supposed to carry the pregnancy to term then give the baby up for adoption? The fetal heartbeat bill is supposed to make lives better for everyone, but the lives of the mom and the baby will be worse.
If it were possible for men to get pregnant, would they still pass fetal heart-beat bill? Would a male who was raped be in enough mental state to keep a baby from their perpetrator? It is unfathomable to force a child on the victim of rape. It is like throwing in the victims face every single day that they were raped and had no choice but to keep the baby because terminating the pregnancy would inhumane since the baby has a heartbeat. Men are so blind to things, until those same things happen to them. Why is it right for men to determine what a woman can do with her body, that’s like telling a dog it cannot bark.
Planned Parenthood has publicly stated that “Mr. Trump and his administration have been ‘laser-focused on using their power to control women’s bodies,’”
Women’s rights are an ongoing issue in our Nation’s push to ban abortion. If the fetal heart-beat bill were to become a law, all women would lose their rights. Every woman should have the right to choose if she can bring a new life into the world. A woman should not have to be scared that she will have to care for a child that she is not ready for, if the child is the result of rape, or if the mother is not in a mental state for care for another human being. If a woman is not comfortable bringing a child into this world, her personal life should be her priority. If she is forced to give birth to a child she is not ready to take care of, it will only make it miserable for the mom and for the baby. You cannot force the pressure of a child onto a woman. Even if the child is born to a mother who is not ready, how would the life be for the child. Would the child become the main priority now, would the child’s health be a concern to the mother, or would the child be neglected due to the circumstances.
No woman should have to suffer, no woman should have to be put through pain they do not deserve, no woman needs burdens that she could have prevented. We cannot restrict women and their rights, they deserve to live the life they want, no man, no matter his power, has the right to tell a woman what she can and cannot do with her body, when he could never possibly be put in the position she is in. A woman’s body is a temple, men who do not have the access key, do not have a say in what goes on in her temple.
Recently Governor Kim Reynolds signed the Fetal Heartbeat Bill, banning every form of abortion unless medical emergency. The new law will go in effect on July 1, 2018.