Editor’s Note: This article contains information about child sexual assault that may be upsetting to some readers.
One story that has stuck out within recent news is that of a 13-year-old girl who was raped and impregnated by her grandfather.
Due to the limited abortion options near her hometown and within the state of Texas, the girl and her mother were forced to travel across Texas to get an abortion. The Heartbeat Bill, if put into effect in September, would bar even this young girl from an abortion. Why?
Senate Bill 8 makes no exceptions for rape or incest.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said, “Our creator endowed us with the right to life and yet millions of children lose their right to life every year because of abortion.” His main argument is that abortion goes against “God’s” creation of life and denies thousands of children their right to live. Well, there are two problems with this comment.
One –– religion has no part in dictating any part of Texans’ lives. It isn’t fair to impose Christian values on those who aren’t of the faith. If it’s a moral issue, fine, but implementing a religious belief is unconstitutional. Our forefathers made this principle clear in the Bill of Rights. And two –– Abbott’s second argument is contradictory based on Texas’ lack of care for children outside of the womb. Texas shows no interest in the care for minority children or their mothers, let alone any child itself.
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services reported 15,780 children in foster care as of April 2021. In San Antonio, for instance, the amount of foster care children without placements is spiraling. If Senate Bill 8 is implemented, the women who can’t afford to raise a child will resort to the state’s burgeoning childcare system. The system simply can’t handle the effects of banning abortions. With more pressure on the deteriorating system, taxpayers will take the heat to support thousands of displaced children.
If the Texas legislators’ goal is to reduce abortion rates, banning them isn’t an effective method. Women will still get abortions but at a risk. Restricting abortion access does not lower abortion rates but makes abortions more unsafe. In fact, in countries that have banned abortions, only one in four abortions is considered safe. Women face the possibility of an incomplete abortion, hemorrhage, infections and sometimes death. Restricting or banning abortion doesn’t achieve anything other than back alley botched procedures and preventable maternal deaths.
If lawmakers’ only priority is children, there should be subsidized child care, paid maternity leave and grants for single mothers. If the Heartbeat Bill bans abortions after six weeks, child support should start then, since Republicans consider that point the start of new life. If an illegal immigrant mother conceived her child on U.S. soil, then the six-week mark considers the child an American citizen. If a six-week old fetus is a whole person and a mother insures her child and miscarries, she should be able to collect. By determining the existence of life we need to treat it as such. By only stating six weeks as the start of life but not including fetuses in other categories that a born infant would qualify for would be deceitful. If we’re claiming it’s a human then it deserves human rights. If there are any discrepancies with these suggestions then we need to reevaluate how pro-life of a state we claim to be.
Restricting or banning abortion is not a responsible decision. Implementing policies and legislation that benefit both mother and child is, however.