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No matter what your stance on abortion, you NEED to understand ... this affects us ALL.
By Micki Spollen — Written on Jul 30, 2016
At this point in our human existence, you’d think a woman’s right to regulate her own body would be common sense. But it’s 2016, Donald Trump is the Republican nominee for President and it seems common sense is at an all time low — so here we are.
Earlier this year during a town hall-style meeting, journalist Chris Matthews questioned Trump about his thoughts on abortion.
“Do you believe in punishment for abortion?” Matthews asked.
Trump, perhaps our most sane, likeable, humble presidential candidate yet (yeah, right), responded:
“The answer is that… there has to be some form of punishment.”
Matthews then goes on to clarify that Trump means punishment for the woman, to which Trump verifies that yes: women deserve punishment for receiving abortion.
Now, while I’m taking a deep breath and cracking my knuckles in preparation for teaching Trump and his brain-dead supporters some knowledge, I want to thank Chris Matthews for being one of the very few people who aren’t afraid to call Trump out on his sh*t.
And yes, it is sh*t that spews from Trump’s mouth because even he recanted his statement to Matthews just hours later, saying, “the doctor or any other person performing this illegal act upon a woman would be held legally responsible, not the woman.”
K.
Now, let’s insert ourselves into the (scary) world where abortion is illegal. Which, unfortunately, is not too far from where we are now.
Abortion was only just legalized for all women a mere 43 years ago.
Further, despite the Supreme Court’s ruling in that iconic Roe v. Wade case, some U.S. states are still pushing for a revocation of women’s rights. In 2013, Texas passed a bill severely limiting access to abortions (luckily ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court earlier this year).
Perhaps most daunting is Trump’s running mate Mike Pence’s promise to, should Trump become POTUS, overturn Roe v. Wade.
So: it’s 2017. Donald Trump is our country’s Commander-In-Chief and women are now punished for seeking abortions.
What are the consequences for women? Trump himself said he doesn’t know what kind of punishment they’d receive. Perhaps a few years in prison for ‘rehabilitation’, which then of course begs the question, where would the child go?
It’s been proven that mothers of unwanted children suffer from emotional stress, anxiety, guilt and even mental illness. One study found that “a third of women denied abortion harbored long-term resentment of the unwanted child.” What kind of life is that for anyone?
By putting the rights of fetuses first, the rights of the women (living, loving daughters, wives, and sisters) who carry them are being completely denied.
Trump’s take on abortion is just another example of a man’s attempt at controlling a woman’s body with complete disregard for her own well-being.
However, if you agree with Trump’s beliefs, chances are you don’t give much of a damn about a woman’s well-being anyway. So let’s speak in terms that you will understand: money.
According to the CDC, most abortions are sought by unmarried single women in their 20s, most of them being between 20 and 24. If she’s anything like me (your average American twenty-something woman), she’s got a lot on her plate. She probably works 2+ jobs and is still having trouble keeping up with her student loan payments while also paying for rent, utilities, groceries and her beat up pre-owned car.
She doesn’t have enough money to provide a life for a newborn. But guess what? YOU DO!
You know that public assistance program you complain about all the time? I believe we call it welfare? Yeah. Without access to abortion, she’s gonna need that. It’s documented that welfare coverage is disproportionately higher for “births resulting from unintended pregnancy.”
These mothers are not “lazy” or “playing the system", they’re simply forced to take part in the welfare program because their self-sufficiency was taken away the moment women were stripped of our right to choose.
Let’s say you’d prefer contributing to welfare to seeing a fetus lose out on its chance at potentially becoming a future hard-working American. I commend you for your positive outlook — but I do have some bad news.
One study found a link between unwanted children and child abuse. This point goes right along with the finding that women who give birth to these children feel resentful towards them.
If an unwanted child doesn’t suffer abuse at home, his future is still bleak.
Unwanted children are more likely to be born into single-parent families and live in poverty, which is linked to low self-esteem and poor academic performance. It’s been found that unwanted children are “more likely to engage in criminal behavior, be on welfare, and receive psychiatric services” as adults.
Should anyone be willing to gamble with the quality of life for not only the mother, but also a child?
Donald Trump’s aspirations to restrict abortion access and “punish” women who seek pregnancy termination are outrageous and a direct attack on not only the lives and rights of these women, but also the lives of the children born to them.
It’s one thing to take a moral stand on the issue (as Chris Matthews tried to explain to Trump during the interview), but when you’re the leader of an entire nation it’s imperative to consider the long-term consequences.
If he's not going to, every woman in American needs to consider it before casting that ballot in November.