It is not new information that it takes a man and woman to create life. Regardless of how it is initiated.
After insemination, the man has no further function in the growth and nurturing of the fetus. That is the way biology functions. From that moment forward and for nine months, the woman carries the emerging baby to full term. Hopefully with the love and support from the man’s partnership. Unfortunately, not always the case.
Laws have been written dictating rules about a woman’s body, placing legal terms and conditions on allowing or not allowing an abortion. This is a sensitive trigger point that may cause anxiety and other mental health issues. A draft to overturn Roe v. Wade has been leaked suggesting the supreme court may take action to overturn this law, sending women back to a different century.
Has the law prevented abortion? Here are the key factors according to Amnesty International:[1]
- People have abortions all the time, regardless of what the law says.
· Criminalizing abortion does not stop abortions, it just makes abortion less safe.
· Almost every death and injury from unsafe abortion is preventable.
· Many countries are starting to change their laws to allow for greater access to abortion.
· Criminalizing or restricting abortion prevents doctors from providing basic care.
· It’s not just cisgender women and girls who need abortions.
· Criminalizing abortion is a form of discrimination, which further fuels stigma.
· Access to safe abortion is a matter of human rights.
In some states, if a woman is raped, she does not have the choice to terminate this unwanted violation. She must carry it to full term. She then has a choice to either give it away or raise it. A traumatic experience that often leads to depression or other trauma. And let’s not forget in some states a rapist can claim paternal rights.[2]
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures,[3] estimates show there are between 17,000 and 32,000 rape-related pregnancies in the country every year. The CDC and Prevention state, “there are almost 3 million women in the US who have experienced a rape-related pregnancy during their lifetime.” The life-long trauma that this act may create a spiral into depression and losing a sense of self-worth. Some younger women who were impregnated prior to marriage are forced to give up the child claiming they are too young to care for a baby and it will ruin their lives. The mother is not given a choice, and never sees the child after birth as it is swept away and put up for adoption. Emotional and physical effects from this action are inevitable.
Postpartum depression is hard enough for a woman who wants the child but the “forced option” of adoption may turn into a life-long struggle of guilt, despair, and depression; causing a future marriage to encounter unresolved issues that arise as sexual challenges, feelings of not wanting to be touched, and fear of having another child taken from her. Some thoughts may not be rational, but depression and traumatic scars caused by events out of the control of the mother become real.
Okay, How Do You End All Abortions Forever?
Men need to be educated in understanding their participation and responsibility is 50% when engaging in sexual encounters. If by chance an unexpected pregnancy occurs, the man is not confronted with choosing to carry or terminate the pregnancy. Where is the man’s responsibility?
To end all abortions, I propose:
When a man reaches puberty, the law requires him to have a reversible vasectomy. What this does is essentially end the discussion. If the vasectomy is reversed it is understood there is an agreement to bring a child into this world. No person or law can argue that point because it is between two people and not the government or a bunch of men and women screaming about killing a baby.
This may also mitigate some of the trauma a female suffers from being raped. The violation remains as does the mental health issue(s) but she is not faced with the unwanted pregnancy if the law requires Men to have a reversible vasectomy. According to Prism,[4] some states allow for a rapist to secure parental rights except under certain conditions. WHAT? A rapist who committed this atrocity has rights? What are we thinking as a society to have this possibility on the table?
Depression, trauma and rape victims face challenges that are unimaginable but with help and willingness to talk about it, the choice to not let it ruin your life and heal is solely in the hands of the woman. Her current trauma does not dictate her life; don’t let it ruin your mental health. We will get through this together and live for better days ahead.”
I’ll wager no politician will vote on passing a vasectomy law because they too would be confronted with not having a say about their body or choice.
[1] https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/sexual-and-reproductive-rights/abortion-facts/
[2] https://www.mylifetime.com/movies/you-cant-take-my-daughter/articles/how-parental-rights-for-rapists-vary-by-state
[3] https://www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/parental-rights-and-sexual-assault.aspx
[4]https://prismreports.org/2022/03/22/in-multiple-states-rapists-can-sue-their-victims-for-parental-custody/
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