When you think about it, women have realistically only had equal rights as men, such as voting, for a little over 100 years. That may sound like a lot of time, but in terms of how long we have been the “free” United States of America, it clearly is not. Women have constantly been told what to do, especially with their bodies. The famous Roe vs. Wade case that closed in 1973, finally allowed women to have the right to have abortions, but recently it was leaked that that right was overturned, and is now up to the state to decide on abortion rights. 

As a woman myself, the thought of this terrifies me. What should be a basic right is stripped away from women based on how a man feels about it. This partially stems from the fact that men are uneducated on the functions of women's bodies. Men in power also often don’t think about their families who may suffer from this such as sisters, mothers, or even their wives. They also fail to think about surrounding countries that allow abortions still having positive atmospheres. Men shouldn’t have any say in how women use their bodies because they aren’t the ones being impacted by it.

Men don’t have to go through the mental and physical pain that women do when going through the process of childbirth. This leads them to not have the ability to see or understand what goes on. In high school and middle school, we are all ‘taught’ in health class about the functions of the human body based on your gender. I remember being in my health in 7th grade and we finally landed on the day where we would watch the video of puberty and the development of our bodies. As the girls' video started to play, the boys were all escorted out to the hallway while we sat and watched. Now, why is this? Teachers would say it was because the boys were not mature enough to watch. This may have been true, but the impact that it has on their future is present. Some may say that has no effect on men and their feelings toward abortion, but it did start the spiral of them not being able to understand women’s bodies, leading them to their beliefs about how they should use them. 

The men in power making these decisions also fail to think about how this impacts their family members as well. Their sisters, mothers, daughters, and wives are all affected by this decision to ban abortions, and they fail to think about the fear that this strikes in them. If they knew just how many suffering women will have to go through with this new law. They will shame women in their families for getting pregnant either before marriage or too early in life, but then will not allow them to get abortions? It just does not make sense. 

Other countries surrounding us, such as Canada, have abortion rights for women. They make services accessible and covered by insurance so that there are no issues if someone needs one. Canada also isn’t afraid to help out American women if they need it. According to NPR, “Karina Gould, the minister of families, children, and social development, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation… ‘If they, people, come here and need access, certainly, you know, that's a service that would be provided.’” They are willing to help people outside of their country before ours is even willing to give us the right in the first place. It really makes one wonder what the point of stripping that right away is. 

Men often shame women for their bodies, especially what they do with them which is completely unfair if they are not a woman themselves. It creates a negative environment for women to be in. Banning abortion should not be something decided by men. They are uneducated and fail to think of their own families and other countries around us. Women’s rights regarding what to do with their bodies should not be chosen by the government. We need to stand up for ourselves and for our bodies. Would it be so hard for men to empower women instead of kicking them down?