Women make up about 50.8% of the U.S. population. They are our mothers, our sisters, our daughters, and our friends. Without women there would be no life. This is a fact that we all understand. Shouldn’t we respect the women in our lives and support them and their choices? 

In America, the topic of women’s reproductive rights is incredibly controversial. Everyone has something to say about it, even men. The fight against legal abortions and safe accessible contraceptives is roaring through our communities and our government. The two sides of this debate can be labeled as Pro-Life and Pro-Choice. There is a lot more to these labels than being against abortions and being for the choice of women. Pro-Life advocates often argue about the legitimacy of a fetus. Their main argument is that terminating a pregnancy is the same as ending a life. This can often be supported by religious arguments or supported by churches.

The Pro-Life concept of cherishing all life is not a bad thing, it is a loving idea. All life should be cherished. But not all life can be supported, and women’s lives should be protected as well.  A common misconception is that Pro-Choice advocates are pro-abortion. This is not true. Women deserve a choice in all matters of their lives.

 The rights of a woman should not be decided by white men in government positions. The fate of organizations like Planned Parenthood should not be controlled by those who are uninformed about what procedures they offer. Planned Parenthood offers free birth control, condoms, checkups, cancer screenings, STD tests, abortion services, and more. The fight to defund Planned Parenthood has been going on for a long time, but recently Trump’s administration has pushed to cut funding to the services that keep women healthy and give them choice; control over their lives. Abortions need to be safe and accessible because women deserve to be respected.