With the recent attempted ban on abortion in Alabama, which would have included a ban on cases of rape or incest, women all over America are in fear of losing control over their bodies.

An abortion is the intentional act of terminating a pregnancy by medicinal or surgical means. Abortion has been legal since 1973, when a woman under the alias Jane Roe challenged the Texas Court on the prohibition of legal abortions if not to save a woman’s life. As a result, it was ruled by the United States Supreme Court that the “right of people to be secure in their persons” under the Fourth Amendment, also covered the right of women to choose  to have children or not.

The option to end an unwanted or unplanned pregnancy has been vital to a woman’s right to choose for herself, But now, it seems that period of safe abortion and control is nearing its end with more and more states enacting unreasonabe restrictions on abortion access.

According to the official Planned Parenthood website, “In just the first three months of 2019, 16 states filed, moved, or enacted 6-week abortion bans.” At six weeks pregnant, a woman has only missed her period by two weeks, or in an unknowing perspective, been late by two weeks, which can be very unalarming to some. Because every woman has her own cycle, some women with irregular menstrual cycles wouldn’t suspect anything, thus missing their limiting window of opportunity to control their lives.

The leading argument against being pro-choice, supporting the option of abortion, is that abortion is “baby murder” which it is not. Abortions performed because of unplanned pregnancies are typically performed when the woman finds out, between the sixth and twelfth week of pregnancy, the first trimester. Doctors have said that at this time, the embryo is still just beginning to develop and, as it isn’t bigger than an ounce, cannot feel pain. How can the removal of cells that could be something, but currently is not, be murder?

Regardless of reason for abortion, it is strongly believed by many that it should be the woman’s choice to decide, and that right is federally recognized.

In our country, neither the state nor federal government can strip anyone of their rights,  which because of Roe V. Wade, now protects a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy without interference.

As stated in the Due Process Clause(s) of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution: “No person shall … be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” and “…nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”

A common flaw in the media representation in the debate between pro-choice and pro-life is mislabeling those in favor of choice as those in favor of abortion. Being pro-choice means being able to decide when to have children, and being able to choose to terminate an unexpected pregnancy if wanted. Having children is a very scary, self-sacrificing, and painful experience, though many mothers would say it is worth it, it is easy to understand why an unready woman would not want to go through such a process. And she shouldn’t be punished if a misstep led to  it. As a society we need to stop penalizing women for having sex if they don’t want to be a mother. The world needs to stop tearing down women and making them into objects that produce children. Not every woman wants to have children, and we need to stop dehumanizing them for that. Removing the stigma a woman needs to have children is as pro-life as it gets.