What Students Should Know About Their Reproductive Rights

Julia Gomez/Staff Writer

Lately, state governments have been taking away women’s reproductive rights. Focusing on school and building your career should not be impeded by an unwanted pregnancy. FIU students need to know their rights and know how to protect them.

Having easy access to birth control is key to lowering the rate of abortion. When people have access to it, the rate of unplanned pregnancies and abortions drops. However, this is at risk under Donald Trump’s administration.

The Affordable Care Act made it mandatory for employer-provided health insurance to pay for patients’ birth control. However, the Trump Administration has made rules that cut back on access to free contraception. The Supreme Court just ruled companies are exempt from providing insurance that covers women’s birth control. Insurance providers can choose to opt-out of the Affordable Care Acts mandate and no longer cover the full cost of contraceptives.

Along with heavy restrictions being placed on contraception, states are aiming to decrease access to abortion. Tennessee’s legislature recently passed a bill that bans abortions after a heartbeat is detected. It also bans minors in the custody of the Department of Children’s Services from getting abortions, even after receiving permission from a judge. The law makes no exceptions for incest or rape. The only exception is if the mother’s life is in danger. It’s absurd.

Heartbeat Bills can be seen as a violation of Roe v Wade, where the supreme court ruled that “unduly restrictive state regulation of abortion is unconstitutional.” But it leaves states with a big gray area to do what they please. Florida hasn’t introduced a heartbeat bill, however, it doesn’t make it easy for women seeking abortions to get them.

Crisis Pregnancy Center, or CPCs, are one way Florida’s government impedes on women’s reproductive rights. CPC’s staff tricks women into thinking they’re abortion centers, when in reality they lie, bully and manipulate women into not getting an abortion.

These “clinics” are legally allowed to run with staff who are not medically licensed or trained to use ultrasounds or give medical advice regarding pregnancies. They aren’t held to the same standards as actual health care providers and do not have to abide by HIPAA laws.

Minors have reported that staff at these clinics threatened to call their parents and shamed them for having pre-marital sex. Others have been tricked into thinking pregnancies are too far along to get abortions.

Former Florida governor Rick Scott approved a bill in 2018 introduced by Rep.Jackie Toleda that allows CPCs to get state funding. This means taxpayers are funding the emotional and mental trauma caused by CPCs.

The idea of the Supreme Court overturning  Roe v Wade is scary, but abortion will remain legal in Florida. The right to an abortion is recognized by the state’s constitution. Yet, women who make the first steps in seeing a doctor about getting abortions must wait 24 hours after their appointment before actually getting one. Making more than one trip makes it harder for women without cars to get the care they need. It leaves patients missing more days of work and spending more time and money on transportation.

Time is one of the most important aspects of getting an abortion. The longer the pregnancy is, the more limited you are in the type of abortion you can get. A medically induced abortion is a safe, non-intrusive option for those seeking to terminate early on in the pregnancy. This is option is taken away when patients are forced to wait.

Not only is there a waiting period, but patients have to receive biased counseling that intentionally discourages women from receiving abortions. They have to do an ultrasound and have the option of seeing the image.

Using manipulative tactics to convince women to continue carrying a pregnancy is wrong. It can mentally scar women who are seeking to do a safe medical procedure that is done every day.

The government makes it hard for women to get abortions. But, studies show women are better off when they have access to legal abortions. According to the National Library of Medicine, “the abolition of legal abortion in the US would seriously threaten the health, and even the lives, of women and children.”

The children of women who were denied wanted abortions  “had lower mean child development scores and were more likely to live below the Federal Poverty Level than the children of women who received a wanted abortion.”

Rick Scott didn’t create the bill that funds toxic organizations with taxpayers’ money. A representative did. Governors aren’t the only important part of the state government. While they do receive a lot of attention, they shouldn’t be the main focus. 

Representatives, like Toledo, are the ones who create the bills that governors sign. Know who your senators and representatives are and research where they stand on reproductive rights. what bills they voted to approve. Holding them accountable for introducing or approving unjust laws is just as important.

Defending laws that protect our human rights should be our main concern. Politicians have no right to make birth control and abortions harder to obtain. It negatively affects people’s lives. Limitations should never be placed on our health.

Featured image by Lorie Shaull on Flickr.

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