At this point in time, we all know that abortions have been turned into a very controversial thing unfortunately. It’s all revolving around women: are they wrong for aborting their child? Did they make the right decision? Should they have kept the child? It’s really sad and discouraging for society to make women seem like villains when they aren’t ready to have a kid, or especially give it the life it deserves.On April 2, 2024, it was announced that there would be a new abortion law put into place in the state of Florida. The current abortion law in Florida was that they have up to 15 weeks into their pregnancy to abort their child. 15 weeks is equivalent to 105-110 days. The new law, passed on May 1st 2024, states that anybody past six weeks of pregnancy can no longer receive an abortion.
This new law has caused a lot of controversy and problems for many women. There have been many protests about repealing this law, saying that it’s not fair. Six weeks is way before many women know they even have a fetus growing inside of them. This new law also made sure that the ban would not let doctors prescribe an abortion through Telehealth, which is virtual medical attention. The new 15-week ban does not include many exceptions. For example, when women get raped or sexually assaulted they can no longer abort.
Doctors are very concerned with this new law in place because they are worried that we might not be able to get help with our basic needed healthcare. According to https://www.wptv.com/news/local-news Dr. Lindsay Maggio, who is a fetal medicine specialist who spent about eight years in Florida building up her career, has now packed up her things and moved back to her home state of New Jersey. Maggio is only one of the many doctors who are planning to “drive away” or have already driven away.
Here in the state of Washington, abortions are legal and also protected and we have a bit more freedom to do what we want with our bodies. It’s severely important that women have our rights and can make our own choices with our bodies. It’s not fair that one certain law will be put in place for women and that will determine a lot for them. Yes, actions do come with consequences, but some things happen at the wrong time and women should be allowed to choose if they want to commit to having a child or not. There is a time frame within how long you can abort a child which is 24-28 weeks in Washington State. That right there is acceptable because, after a certain period, you can no longer abort the fetus. For them to place their period of how long you have to abort a fetus is insanely absurd.
Many people believe that we women should be able to abort fetuses within the normal time between 24-28 weeks. Many states have now permanently banned abortion such as Idaho, Texas, Tennessee, and Indiana. In other states such as Arizona, Nebraska, and Florida, abortion is “severely restricted,” meaning it’s close to being eliminated.
It has been presented that now in the state of Florida, if you receive an abortion past the new six-week time frame, it is considered a felony. Florida residents have been standing outside of different buildings and on the streets holding up signs that include phrases like “MY BODY, MY MIND, MY FREEDOM” and fighting for women’s rights. It’s encouraging that even men are standing up for women’s rights and they are helping our voices be heard.
Ron DeSantis who is the governor of Florida who officially signed and passed this new six-week ban, he did it because since last year the number of abortions has been going up by 12% and that was enough to pass the law. The reason why they passed this law was because the percentages of abortions kept going up each year. DeSantis needed 60% of Florida residents to agree to sign and pass the law and they got that 60% which is why it’s now a permanent law. It’s extremely devastating how us as women have to deal with the healthcare system failing us. There’s so many questions. Why? How? Is this fair? We don’t have many answers. All we have left is our hope and our strength to keep us going.
