Anti-abortion movement 'has never been about a baby,' it's about 'control': Is Rep. Cori Bush right?

Siam (No)

Cori Bush recently revealed she was raped as a teen and feels that overturning Roe is 'not about children' but is more about control over women. Unfortunately, Cori Bush, like her democratic colleagues, is angry and politicizing the issue of abortion. Cori Bush makes it sound like the US has stopped performing abortions, but the truth is different. Depending on the data, abortions in the US vary from 660,000 to 800,000 each year. And despite Cori's claims about control, only 13 states have the so-called 'trigger laws' which would immediately criminalize abortion if Roe is overturned. This means that 37 states still offer abortion access. If a woman lives in one of the 13 trigger states, she can travel to a neighboring state that offers abortion without incurring any legal charges or the constituency can later change the laws by electing different representatives. 

Likewise, Cori Bush made it sound as if rape victims are denied abortions, but with few exceptions, the majority of US states offer grace to rape and incest victims. The only time states may refuse is if the victim decides late in her pregnancy that she no longer wants the baby, as in the 2nd and 3rd trimester, abortion is dangerous to the mother and horrific to enact on a fully formed baby in utero. Finally, Cori seems to be resting on a fundamental misunderstanding of 'reproductive rights.' A woman's right to reproduce has already been enacted upon getting pregnant, and she has many choices leading up to the natural result of sexual intercourse. Abortion is not 'reproduction justice' but rather injustice as it ends a life that has already been produced. Women have always had the liberty in the US of bearing a child anytime she desires and can control those decisions. 

Tyler (Yes)

Rep. Cori Bush's assertion that the growing anti-abortion movement is based on society trying to control women is true. While this recent push may be masqueraded by people claiming they are fighting for religious or moral beliefs, many are simply attempting to dehumanize women who chose to get an abortion. There have been no attempts to limit a man's body autonomy, only for women. There have been few attempts to spearhead this 'issue' that involves altering or interfering with a man's body or reproductive capacity. 

While one would think that a conclusion could be reached more quickly if both men and women were involved, those in power chose to focus exclusively on women. Some may consider this unfair since conception requires both a man and a woman to be present. While sexual reproduction requires at least two people, it seems that only the woman faces the majority of the consequences.

Some seem to find a problem in the rising efforts of those fighting for women's rights and could possibly be striking down this matter to maintain the power they currently hold. While there are calls to overturn the right to have an abortion, little has been done to improve the nation's adoption centers and the process of adopting unwanted children who are carried to term. There is currently still no database tracking the number of adoptions that occur in the United States on an annual basis or the success of those adoptions. While many claim their fight against abortion is for moral reasons, to many, like Rep. Bush, it is clearly a power grab.