Abortion. Every woman has the right to one according to Roe vs. Wade.
Okay, so it is not the easiest thing to do in some states and circumstance, but it is still legal. You have the right to do whatever you want with your body; that is part of being a woman in America.
So what happens when someone else does something to your body that you do not want?
A Fetus As Evidence
In 2013, a Republican state representative from New Mexico attempted to pass a bill that classified abortions in the case of rape ‘tampering with evidence’. This sinister act against women would essentially force rape victims to carry an unwanted child to full term in order to potentially prove their attacker guilty. That sounds fairly horrendous, right?
Well in 31 states, it is legal for rapists to sue for custody of the children. Yes, the children that result from rape can be allocated time ALONE with a sex offender.
Somewhere between 10,000 – 25,000 women fall pregnant from rape every year. Of course, all statistics about such a horrendous element of human nature are open to scrutiny. These figures do not represent the number of women that do not report their attacks, nor those that are off-the-grid entirely.
Roughly 33 percent of women decide to carry these pregnancies to term. Some of these women are then subject to deep psychological trauma from enforced contact with their attacker.
Many women report suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which in turn makes them look ‘crazy’ in the eyes of the court and rulings fall in favor of the rapist.
Some Horror Stories…
In 2009, a man named Jaime Melendez raped a 14-year-old teen who subsequently fell pregnant. He plead guilty, was convicted, and was forced the pay child support. Then, he demanded custody rights. He manipulated his victim into choosing between the safety of her child, or her ability to support her child. He did this legally.
In a similarly horrendous case, a man named Ariel Castro kidnapped and held women against their will in his home. He fathered a child with one of his victims. With almost 1,000 counts of rape held against him, he still petitioned the judge to grant him visitation rights.
Some women have had to choose between putting their child up for adoption and testifying against their rapist. This is legal.
Half of the humans in America are subject to this treatment.
Only 35 states, which is 15 too few, allow courts to terminate the parental rights of rapists. They are sex offenders. If the mother opts to abort the fetus then the guilty man will not be able to live near a school, park, anywhere near minors.
This may only be an issue impacting on the lives of half of America, but if Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump wins the election this year then running-mate Mike Pence will attempt to make abortion illegal.
If he wins then women across the country will be thrown into the dark ages with backdoor abortions, and those 25,000 women will all have their lives destroyed by the many selfish actions of rapists and men in control of our bodies.
Featured Image: Screenshot Via YouTube Video.
