By PEARL HENDERSON
Sheridan High School Student
The Sheridan Student Column is brought to readers by Sheridan High School’s 10th grade English class, taught by Abby Williams.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal …” – written as the hypocritical founders held slaves and abused their partners.
With the creation of this nation, founded on “equality,” we have oppressed all of those who do not fit in the “box” – the box of a heterosexual, cisgender white man. All others who possess traits not acceptable in this “box” had to fight for their basic rights of existence: The women’s suffrage movement (and the riots along with them), the Civil Rights movement, the Stonewall riots, the Black Panthers, BLM protests, and the Roe v. Wade protests. These protests occurred just to get human rights, to be married, to own property, and to possess bodily autonomy. The potential overturn of Roe v. Wade and the passing of the “Don’t say gay” bill would be the start of the decimation of the basic human rights all the aforementioned social movements have fought for, for centuries.
Roe v. Wade was decided under the privacy clauses in the 14th Amendment, the same privacy clauses that provided the right to interracial and same-sex marriage. Both cases are within the same realm of privacy rights: Bodily autonomy and the right to choose whom you marry. Each individual possesses the right to privacy and equal protection of marriage to someone they love no matter the sex or gender, along with bodily autonomy and medical decisions, as well as the use of contraceptives. You would not be forced to lend your kidney to someone without your consent, so why is a uterus any different? No one is entitled to someone else’s organs, and the same extends to fetuses.
With the overturn of Roe v. Wade, minority groups would be severely impacted since most already do not have access to safe abortions and contraception and are more severely targeted in cases of sexual assault due to the rising fetishization of women of color. So combined, access to safe abortion for all women is vital. Or else, women will die from illegal abortions or attempted abortions themselves from a place of desperation because a ban does not deter abortions. Instead, it just kills people whose lives hold actual lives that have weight and value that can be provided to the world, rather than a clump of cells without any sense of touch or taste.
Along with the murder of actual people, abortions are criminalized, labeling the people who are in search of them as felons, taking away further rights (the right to vote), from already disadvantaged, desperate uterus owners.
Another important matter to discuss is how abortion is considered religious freedom. Access to abortion is prominent in the Jewish faith and the faith provides specific details on how to perform one if a woman has discovered that her husband has been unfaithful. Multiple other religious practices promote abortion to save the mother, or even if the mother just doesn’t want a child. Additionally, Christianity is weaponized to say that abortion is “Against the Bible” despite the fact the Bible never mentions abortion. No one is allowed to use religion to govern someone’s body. It is up to the individual. That is true freedom.
Planned Parenthood and other health clinics provide safe, healthy family planning, contraceptives, pregnancy services checkups, and abortions in all cases for little to no cost. Most of the services are not abortions. By dismantling Planned Parenthood, a large portion of impoverished uterus-owners would now no longer have access to basic health care.
Please protest this overturn of basic human rights and help everyone to have secure access to life-saving medical care.
You have done what leftists always do, bring skin color into the discussion. You do however have a distinct advantage over we older folks because you’re young and know everything. I actually feel kind of sorry for you thinking that you will have this dour attitude the rest of your days and it will not serve you well.
There you have it young Pearl, use caution when stating historical facts or you run the risk of being labeled by those with a narrow view of the world around them. Wear the label(s) proudly as such distinguishes you from the mouth breathers.
Take some measure of comfort in knowing that your generation will eventually be in position to manipulate the levers of power.
Use that opportunity wisely & take from the current discussion of overturning legislation just how much elections matter.
Thanks for standing up for “Democracy” and rejecting the authoritarian trends of the GOP.
I do not believe in hate. I do not believe in racism. I stand my ground, I also believe in the sanctity of life, if this young lady were aborted she would never have the opportunity to opine. The end of days is near.
Well Gene you at entitled to your own opinion and may exercise that opinion with what you choose to do with your own body. Others however do not have to live their lives in accordance to your views. One small comment on your ideas on life, would believe in the sanctity of life if you had a ten-year old daughter had been violated and fallen pregnant? What if doctors had told you that both your daughter and the cells inside her will die without any measure taken? And now imagine you experience medical racism which has been proven to exist( although you may not experience it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist) and no doctor will perform the life saving procedure on your daughter because of the doctors biased ways( the ratio of black to white doctors is significantly leaned to the white side) would racism still not exist? would the “sanctity of life” you vehemently claim be so important now that your precious child is endangered from the cells put inside her without her consent? Gene, ask yourself all these hypothetical questions that actual people have had to experience and then reconsider making rash statements as such which show your privilege you posses of never having to face these situations.