Alabama - This is not the solution.

*Trigger warning: I will be discussing the current debate centered around Alabama's law on abortion. I will be talking about certain matters that may trigger people. I will not be discussing them in any graphic or detailed manner, but if you know that the topic itself may trigger you in any way, please take caution or do not read further.

I have debated making a statement about this. I've seen a lot of instagram stories and posts, and I wasn't sure if I should speak up to because getting involved in political events is not my norm. But as a female and as a member of this country, this is a damn good time to start getting involved.

I fully understand the complexity behind abortion and the debate around it. While I stand behind being pro-choice, the thought of abortion is can be quite unsettling and scary, at least to me. There is no simple solution. This is not a black and white matter that can be settled in a swift motion. But it is so easy to tell that the way things are happening now is so far from the right way.

I respect those who are pro-life. I respect that abortion is not something that is easily agreed upon. However, to regard a woman as a "murderer" due to abortion, as if they are making a cold, calculated move and feel no further consequences is not a good argument. I understand the argument that abortion after a certain point can be considered ending a life (which is something that I will not fully diverge into here, as it requires an entire conversation on its own). But keep in mind that abortions take an extensive toll on the mind and body. It is not something that any woman wakes up and says "wow, I really really want to have an abortion today" with excitement or happiness. Women who make this choice are not emotionless, malicious murderers. They are still valid human beings who feel as though they have little choice in the world. If the solution is to try to force them through pregnancy through fear, it would only make them feel more hopeless. If the goal is to try to carry out more pregnancies successfully, this certainly won't do the trick.

Even if abortions are banned, that will not prevent women from seeking a way to end the pregnancy if they feel that they truly need to. Unsafe abortions have been around for a long time, and will only increase with such an extreme ban. Laws have never prevented anything fully. People try desperate and secret ways to break laws all the time, and I cannot see how this would be some kind of special exception.

The next point I want to make is something I really truly cannot wrap my head around. If you are pro-life and for this law from Alabama, please explain to me how it makes sense to punish a woman for abortion more than the man who raped her and caused her unwanted pregnancy. In cases of abortion due to conception from rape, the abortion would be fully preventable without the man's actions, therefore if you regard abortion as a crime (which, I still do not agree with), then the rapist should be held responsible for the abortion as well. And if your argument is that "well the woman could have gone through with the pregnancy, she didn't need to abort it" you are essentially saying that the victim of rape should alter her life due to a man who violated her and gave her no choice. You are saying that the woman should bear consequences for something she did not want, something she never asked for. You are saying that the victim should be held responsible for somebody else's actions. And if you're other argument is that rape cases only account for a fraction of the abortions, then I say in return that that doesn't change the fact that a woman who is raped should never be punished more than the man who raped her. She could face up to life in prison. Meanwhile, the rapist could be one of over 90% of rapists who get to walk free. Pro-life or pro-choice, it doesn't matter. This shouldn't seem right to anybody. The last point I'd like to make about this controversy is why do people care so much about the fetus when these same people do not seem to take action regarding alive, actual children in the nation who need help? The solution to abortion pretty much always seems to be "give them up for adoption" which sounds simple right? There are currently over 400,000 kids in foster care with 100,000 waiting to be adopted. This number would only increase, and it doesn't seem like much is being done to better the foster care and adoption system. It's not okay to end your pregnancy because you could have opted for adoption instead. But apparently it is okay to just then leave those same kids in foster care for 18 years where many of them will be abused and left homeless. 6 year olds die from school shooting, and gun regulation is scoffed at. If a parent abuses their child, they may only be charged with misdemeanor and face no jail time at all. Abandoning a child can also be charged with misdemeanor. If charged as a felony, they still face only up to 5 years in prison. 2.5 million children are currently homeless. Little action is done to protect a child's life after they are born. Yet before they are born, they are all anybody seems to care about. How can this be so? Maybe if we bettered these situations, women could feel compelled to carry out her pregnancy. Maybe she would feel more encouraged. But the state of our nation is far from concerned about the children. And I have to wonder if pro-lifers who claim that the child could have had a better life if the pregnancy was carried out truly believe if that life would be very good.

I'm not saying I have the solution. I'm not saying that pro-lifers are all wrong in their opinions. As said before, this is an incredibly difficult topic and situation. I welcome conversation and discussion. But I think these are some points I will stick by. There is far more wrong than right going on here, and I truly believe we can do better. We need to do better.