Friday, October 4, 2013

22,286 Texas Women Could be Denied Abortions

Week #1, Article #1
Lindell, Chuck. (2013 October 2) Study: 22,286 Texas women could be denied abortions. Austin American Statesman.
LINK: http://www.statesman.com/news/news/study-22286-texas-women-could-be-denied-abortions/nbDjH/

1. Category of problem: Health; Women's Rights
2. Level of problem: State
3. The article concerns: Stricter rules and regulations that will require doctors to obtain special privileges in order to perform abortions nearby. Also, they now plan on "regulating drug-induced abortions" regarding distribution of the drugs themselves.
4. Why is this important to families/individuals OR how does it affect individuals/families?
a. Many individuals and families could be affected by this. Women will be forced to keep the baby, or to come up with their own solution to abort it. This could lead to many babies being malnourished and not properly taken care of.
5. What are your views on the issue/policy?

             a. I feel very strongly that women should have the right to choose if they want to keep or abort their child. I know that many individuals and religions are against this; however it is not against my beliefs. Women should have the right to choose what happens inside of their body. The article stated that if these new rules and regulations go into effect, about 22,000 women will be denied their right to abortion. That is a lot of babies to bring into the state of Texas. However, the birth rate is not the issue at stake. Many women will have to be forced to take circumstances into their own hands. This will cause most women to have to travel across the state in order to receive treatment. Now this doesn't sound so terrible to the average woman, however to a low income family, this could be an issue. Supplying the amount of gas and obtaining the proper maintenance to ensue the vehicle can travel the distance could be costly. The article also points out the fact that less doctors will lead to a delay in treatment. This means that not only will there be longer waits in the waiting room, but it could also mean that women aren't receiving treatment until their second trimester. This is now a process that is more harmful to both the mother and the baby, as it is further along in development. Also costs skyrocket as the child enters the second trimester. Another issue that could arise is the fact that women many take abortion into their own hands. It sounds terrible to say, but women may "fall down the stairs" or take other harmful matters to abort the child. All and all, I feel that abortion should be readily available to any women that are in need. 

2 comments:

  1. I completely agree that abortion should be legal in the U.S., and I would like to add a few things.

    First, it's true that many individuals want abortion to be illegal based on the grounds that it conflicts with their religion or moral standards. Abortion may not conflict with my moral standards (or yours), but I want to point out that we should not focus on our moral standards when trying to determine legislation. Despite our morals, we all have to follow the law - thus I think the law should not aim to uphold a certain set of morals (like mine or someone else's), but instead aim to protect the rights of all American citizens. Legal abortion does not *force* anyone to compromise their morals, and that's one of the many reasons I am in favor of it.

    I also want to point out that crossing state lines for medical treatment is a big deal, even for middle and perhaps high income families. Abortions usually require two to three doctors’ visits, normally occuring within a two-week span (some clinics probably prefer patients to return after the procedure to ensure that these patients are healthy). This requires multiple trips across state lines, each of which are costly, added to the money lost from having to take off work – this does not even factor in the cost of the abortion.

    I also want to elaborate on something you touched on, which is the ability of an individual or family to raise a child. For me, this is the premiere reason I believe abortion should be legal and readily available. The ability to raise a healthy child hinges on many things, a significant income, a myriad of time and energy, and some sort of familial stability among then. Incidentally, none of these things significantly factor into sexual activity.

    In light of the newly instated laws regarding abortion clinics, Texas’ state health commission projects an increase in unwanted births by 24,000. The Journal of Health and Social Behavior recently published a study saying that, “women who have unwanted births experience more depression and unhappiness than do mothers without unwanted births, affecting the quality of their relationships with all their children.” That equals 24,000 more families a year that have a higher than average chance of being dysfunctional due to a family’s ability to appropriately care for the child, and at least 24,000 more children a year that have a higher than average chance of feeling neglected or unwanted. Dysfunctional families can inevitably lead to mentally unstable children and thus, adults.

    I feel it is better to a give a family the option to abort an unwanted child, than to force a child into a family that doesn’t want them.

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  2. Bailey, I couldn't have said this better myself. I agree with all the points both of you have made. Just like every other issue involving policies everyone has different opinions and thinks different things. In this case, religion plays a very big role in peoples opinions on abortion rights. This is one of the main reasons people are anti-abortion. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but just like both of y'all mentioned is that we need to take into consideration other factors involved with having a child. Those who are not ready to have a child, or for whatever reason should have the choice to decide. There are already a ton of children who are born into families where they are raised correctly and not in the best circumstances that is suitable. If they pass these laws making abortion illegal this would increase that number of children substantially. Having to go out of state lines to get a procedure done, not matter the procedure would cause serious problems. Due to the check-up's after and future doctor appointments would not only be a financial burden but a safety issue as well. Bailey one thing you stressed on which I believe is a very crucial that we don't stress enough about it the involvement of our morals when making legislation. This is something we all get too involved with and we need to leave our own morals out when deciding laws. If we could learn to look at the bigger picture and not so much what we individually feel then maybe we could get to some better deals and agreements. This article continuosly talks about the regulations that these new laws will require. In my eyes, I don't understand why people get so wrapped up in this issue if not for religious purposes. If it is not affecting them personally then why should it matter to anyone else. This is strongly a personal issue and everyone should have the right to decide whether they want to or not. If someone does not agree with the decision to abort then if they are to get pregnant they do not have to take part of that and they can choose to have the baby. I believe this is an issue that does not need to even be discussed and everyone should have the right to choose.

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