Today is a sad day for women and girls living in states likely to ban abortions. They have been robbed of their constitutional and fundamental right to personal autonomy.
As a female, her right to privacy will be challenged. Before she is allowed to travel out of state, she will likely be required to take a test and prove she is not pregnant. Every time a suspecting neighbor, friend, relative, or stranger turns her into the authorities on suspicion of a planned abortion, she must prove the status of her womb. She will be forced through a pregnancy she did not want or plan for, even if conception is through rape or molestation. She will, in all probability, struggle as a single parent, and the opportunity to improve her life through education diminishes.
More heartbreaking is the fact that these unwanted children will likely feel unwanted.
Predictably, crime rates in these states will rise sharply — up to 20% — in the next twenty years since unwanted children are more likely to become adults who commit violent crimes.
It is a sad day for us all. No one wins when we suppress women’s rights. When women choose if, when, and with whom to have children, they can live and offer the world the best expression of themselves. When women have autonomy, we all win.
Nancy Roldán Johnson 