There’s been an alarming increase in abortion bans, a pressing issue that nearly everyone has a strong opinion on. Many Republican senators are against the procedure, claiming that it kills babies and is unethical. They say their anti-abortion crusade is “pro-life,” but I believe the correct term is “anti-choice.” 

There are very personal and religious reasons against abortions that desecrate people’s rights to healthcare and choices concerning their own bodies. Anyone pregnant should be able to have control over their body, regardless of the opinion of others not directly involved. Political power shouldn’t determine how much power a person has over their own body.

Abortion laws are being put into place that ban the procedure incredibly early, especially since it usually takes three or four weeks after a missed period to even get a positive pregnancy test. Not to mention that many people don’t suspect they’re pregnant until they are past the usual time for their period. This makes the eight-week “heartbeat” ban extraordinarily restrictive, leaving very little room for people to know they’re pregnant, choose whether or not to abort, and then schedule an appointment for the operation.

Most abortion bans have loopholes for cases of incest and rape, but advocates for abortion rights argue that such loopholes imply that a person first needs their body violated in order to gain control. Pregnancy is already a violation of the body when it’s unwanted, so why not let people rid themselves of an unwanted pregnancy? Either the baby is raised as an undesired child or is put up for adoption and deals with the insecurity of being given away for their entire life. While foster kids are not lesser than others, they still receive an incredible burden the moment they enter the adoption system. 

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett has made the point that due to safe haven laws, pregnant people should simply put up unwanted babies for adoption shortly after birth to escape criminal charges. This has already been proven as an infringement of rights because of the offense to the pregnant body and the trauma abandonment instills upon the child.

Healthcare is a basic human right, and abortion is healthcare. People should be able to decide on their own if they want to continue or terminate a pregnancy, without the opinion of senators being entangled. The process of abortion should be accessible to all, not criminal.