Abortion is essential, not only for healthcare reasons, but for economic and social reasons as well. Abortion is the treatment for ectopic pregnancies, which are not viable and threaten the pregnant person's life through damage of surrounding tissues and organs. Abortions are also vital in cases in which the fetus is growing abnormally and will not survive. Not only that, but mental health is widely overlooked in our society. There are many individuals who cannot support raising or even carrying a child due to mental illness. Mental illness of a parent can affect a fetus by creating an unstable environment in the womb. Hormones produced due to parental stress can cause many different complications, ranging from low birth weight and premature birth, to allergies and asthma, and even complications in brain development. People with anxiety and/or depression are much more likely to experience high levels of stress during pregnancy. Another mental illness that often goes overlooked is substance abuse. This contributes significantly to birth defects, one example being fetal alcohol syndrome. If a person suffers from a mental illness and chooses not to have a child to spare the child a lower quality of life, there is no reason that person should be forced to bring that being into the world.

Economically, abortion is essential because many people cannot afford to have a child. I often hear people say, "It's not my job to support the kids you decided to have." In a state as conservative as Idaho, many people can understand why the economic burden of a family should not be placed on others. It also should not be placed on people who already know they cannot afford to have a child. 61% of individuals who receive abortions are people who have already had a child and know they do not have the money, time, or energy to devote to having another.* And while many people argue that contraceptives are enough to prevent pregnancy, they are not. Studies show that 51% of people who obtain abortions use contraceptives and still get pregnant.**

The social impact of abortion is worth more than just noting. Not only does access to safe, legal abortions prevent people from dying by means of unsafe abortion methods, but it allows people to have autonomy over their own lives. In a society that perpetuates rape culture, taking away people's ability to make autonomous decisions about their futures further enhances the idea that autonomy and consent are unimportant. If one is not given a chance to consent to birthing a child, why would consent be seen as necessary in sexual interactions? As a victim of sexual assault myself, it is terrifying to think that my right to consent could easily become seen as even less important than it is today. Not only will abortion bans preserve or even intensify rape culture, it will set a precedent for other rights to be taken away. As Idaho's Supreme Court deliberated over the lawsuits that Planned Parenthood brought against it on Wednesday, the Deputy Attorney General stated that the drafters of the Idaho Constitution would not have supported abortion rights. However, they also did not support women's right to vote, as women did not have that right when the Idaho Constitution was drafted. The LGBTQ community is also at risk of having their rights taken away. After Roe V. Wade was overturned, Justices stated that they would support gay marriage being put in state's hands. Interracial marriage is another right that could be attacked due to the ruling in Dobbs V. Jackson, as the legal reasoning for the overturn of Roe could also lead to the overturn of Loving V. Virginia.

I know that I, for one, do not want to live in a country that claims freedom but does not legally protect people exercising those freedoms. Do you?

Citations:

*Jones, Rachel K., et al. “‘I Would Want to Give My Child, like, Everything in the World.’” Journal of Family Issues, vol. 29, no. 1, 2007, pp. 79–99., https://doi.org/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0192513x07305753.

**Jones, Rachel K. “Reported Contraceptive Use in the Month of Becoming Pregnant among U.S. Abortion Patients in 2000 and 2014.” Contraception, vol. 97, no. 4, 9 Jan. 2018, pp. 309–312., https://doi.org/https://www.guttmacher.org/article/2018/01/reported-contraceptive-use-month-becoming-pregnant-among-us-abortion-patients-2000.

Chloe Rhiannon,

Pocatello