Sunday, June 26, 2022

Roe v. Wade: My Thoughts

The first thing I want to address is that we have a nation that is currently angry because Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court. I know I have friends who are hurting, they are angry, they are worried that they may not be able to have affordable healthcare. Believe it or not, those things worry me too; and what I address in this article should be taken as my opinion, I am neither lawyer nor doctor. I do know that the overturn of Roe v. Wade will not affect me in the way that it will effect others. As for this article, I am speaking towards abortion on demand and it's use as birth control; don't tell me it doesn't happen, I know it does.

Today, Sunday, June 26th, I had a lady say that the only reason we (Pro-life) wanted Roe v. Wade overturned was because there are less white children being born, due to interracial marriage and the LGBTQIA+ community being on the rise. I have never encountered such bigotry in my life. The reason I wanted Roe v. Wade overturned is that we are killing daily, children in this country. We speak about wanting to save children's lives every time there is a school shooting, but they refuse to acknowledge that abortions kill babies every day. I believe in the sanctity of life. I am also not just pro-birth. I believe that education should be free, if you want to send your kid to a private school, pay for it. College and Trade schools should be free; if you want a Master's or Doctorate degree you should have to pay for that. Childcare shouldn't be out of the roof, welfare should be a hand up not a hand out. I believe elder care should be affordable too. Before anyone states that I don't believe in better health care for women, I do. Women's healthcare includes: Women's health includes a wide range of specialties and focus areas, such as: Birth control, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and gynecologyBreast cancer, ovarian cancer, and other female cancersMammography. However, I don't see abortion listed as a medically necessary procedure and I am not saying it's not, I know there are extremely rare cases where it could be considered necessary, and I would hate for a woman not to be able to get the care they need. 

This isn't the case, you'll see the rest of the stats later, but the top three reasons for having an abortion are: 

19%Done having children
23%Can't afford a baby
25%Not ready for a child

Less than 8% of abortions are due to being a victim of rape, fetal health or physical health issues. 

All of this being said, Friday, June 24th, 2022  was a historical day in the United States. Today Roe v. Wade was overturned in a unprecedented move by the US Supreme Court. For some this move is a reason for celebration and yet many are angry about the decision. I understand both sides of the argument. 

I understand in cases of incest and rape of minors. Even then, I believe that a woman of child bearing age should carry that child to full term. If you read the 213 page you will note that "Roe and Casey rely on the term "potential life." The document goes on to say that "Abortion is different because it destroys what Roe and Casey termed "potential life" and what the law challenged in this case calls an "unborn human being." You will also notice in the document on page 8, that "Abortion presents a profound moral question. The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each State from regulating or prohibiting abortion. Roe and Casey  arrogated that authority, the Court (SCOTUS) over rules those decisions and returns that authority to the people and their elected representatives. 

I don't know how many of my readers have read statistics on medical necessity of abortion, but honestly I pulled data from the CDC and there are very few that are medically necessary. 

According to the Guttmacher Institute, an estimated 930,160 abortions took place in the United States in 2020—up from 862,320  in 2017. In 2019, approximately 19% of U.S. pregnancies (excluding spontaneous miscarriages) ended in abortion. And who gets the most abortions in the US: 

  • In 2019, unmarried women accounted for 86% of all abortions (CDC).
  • Among married women, 4% of 2019 pregnancies (excluding spontaneous miscarriages) ended in abortion. Among unmarried women, 28% ended in abortion (CDC).
  • Women in their 20s accounted for the majority of abortions in 2019 and had the highest abortion rates (CDC).
  • Adolescents under 15 years obtained 0.2% of all 2019 abortions; women aged 15–19 years accounted for 8.5% (CDC).

Maybe you want to know why abortions happen: 

Now I know you are thinking, okay those are national statistics, they don't concern North Carolina; don't worry, I pulled NC stats too. 

According to the CDC 

Total Abortions (2020): 30,004

The North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics reports that 30,004 abortions took place in North Carolina during 2020. This number includes abortions performed on out-of-state residents but does not include abortions performed on North Carolina residents in other states.

According to Guttmacher

Estimated Total Abortions (2020): 31,850

The Guttmacher Institute estimates that approximately 31,850 abortions took place in North Carolina during 2020. This number includes abortions performed on out-of-state residents but does not include abortions performed on North Carolina residents in other states. The table below compares North Carolina abortion totals by selected year.


And here are NC's Abortion Restrictions: 

State Abortion Restrictions (2019):

  • A woman must receive state-directed counseling about abortion and then wait 72 hours before the abortion takes place.
  • Health plans offered in the state’s health exchange can only cover abortion in cases of life endangerment, rape or incest.
  • The use of telemedicine for the performance of medication abortion is prohibited.
  • Public health insurance can only cover abortion in cases of life endangerment, rape, or incest.
  • The parent of a minor must consent before an abortion can take place.
  • Public funding is available for abortion only in cases of life endangerment, rape or incest.
  • A woman must undergo an ultrasound before obtaining an abortion.
  • The state prohibits abortions performed for the purpose of sex selection.
  • Abortion clinics must meet the same structural standards as other ambulatory surgical centers

1) https://abort73.com/abortion_facts/us_abortion_statistics/




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