New abortion bans are about to be passed by the Republican-led administrations in some states including Oklahoma, Kentucky, Florida, and Tennessee. Reproductive rights should be considered as part of basic human rights. Unfortunately, in the US, reproductive rights are under systematic attack because it looks like the Supreme Court would overturn the ruling of Roe v. Wade.
Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade (1973) is a milestone verdict in the history of the U.S. Supreme Court. The verdict legalized that a woman has her right to abortion and the right is protected by the Constitution of the United States. The verdict was against a lot of then-existing abortion laws.
The verdict raised a lot of questions like whether abortion should be legalized or not, and who should have the power to decide. Without any doubt, a lot of people felt that their social, religious, and cultural views are attacked by the verdict.
The Bill
Ron DeSantis, the Republican Governor of Florida, has recently passed a bill that bans abortions after 105 days of pregnancy. The bill criminalizes the process of abortions after 15 weeks is over. The bill is based on the law of abortion in Mississippi. The US Supreme Court currently evaluating the law, and it may overturn the verdict of Roe v. Wade. A similar bill is being prepared in Kentucky by the Republican-led administration. But the problem is, in that bill, the administration did not allow any exceptions for those who are impregnated forcefully.
The Kentucky administration also banned the facility to receive abortion pills by post. Tennessee’s Republican-led administration passed a similar bill on Thursday. But, in the Democrat-led states, the administrations are trying their best to increase access to abortion for everybody.
Existential Freedom
If a pregnant woman decides to abort, can anyone stop her from doing that? Hypothetically, it is possible. But ethically it sounds anti-existential because one should have a complete right to his/her/body. Antiabortion bills are against basic human rights but the US federal and state laws are politically restricting the freedom of its people.
If the bills are analyzed critically, it would be visible that the bills are part of a political narrative. Abortion is being criminalized to achieve political benefit because the bans are only legalized in the Republican-led states. The Republican-led administrations are trying to create a narrative to keep oppressing people using the laws. If examined carefully, the hypocrisy behind the bans would be clear because the laws do not even allow those who are impregnated forcefully–against their will.
The abortion ban is an attack on the freedom of expression. It is an attack on the existential freedom of choice. Instead of increasing access to abortion, the politically motivated administrations are oppressing its people.
