With the recent appointments of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court, there has been a lot of discussion throughout the nation regarding the future of Roe v. Wade. Many people worry that, given the opportunity, the increasingly conservative court will overturn the historic 1973 decision that guaranteed a woman’s right to choose whether to carry a pregnancy to term.

However for us Ohioans, Alito and Scalia are not the biggest threat to reproductive freedom.

In the Ohio House, Rep. Brinkman has introduced Bill 228. If passed, this bill would make it illegal for a women to get an abortion under any circumstances.

Even in South Dakota, medically necessary abortions are still legal, but not in Ohio, if Brinkman gets his way.

What’s even more ridiculous, is that the bill would make it a felony to transport a woman across state lines in order to receive an abortion elsewhere.

Bill 228 would also make it illegal for state funds to be used for insurance coverage of abortion care.

I am outraged that Bill 228 is an issue in my state. This bill is unconstitutional, as it directly violates the Roe v. Wade decision. Furthermore, I believe that it is morally wrong for the government to interfere in women’s lives so heavily. Let’s examine this issue more closely.

I think what bothers me most is that this bill was proposed by self-proclaimed pro-life people, but they seem to value the life of an unborn fetus more than the life of a grown woman.

Unfortunately for ladies, pregnancy is a slightly dangerous activity. In many cases, carrying the pregnancy to term could kill the potential mother (and if the mother dies, so does the child). However, her life could be saved by ending the pregnancy.

That’s right kids; abortions can save lives.

Now, let’s assume that this bill is passed in Ohio: Medically necessary abortions are illegal. If a woman gets pregnant and is told that having the child will kill her, what should she do? She cannot leave the state to obtain an abortion, that would be a crime. Her only options are to seek an illegal abortion or wait to die.

What would you do in this situation?

Given those options, I would probably take my chances on a dangerous, back-alley abortion. Before the Roe v. Wade decision, around 5,000 women died every year from botched illegal abortions. Criminalizing the procedure again is sentencing thousands more women to death.

Now, I am not arguing that we should keep abortion legal only because it will happen if it is illegal. I believe that women should have the right to choose what course their lives will take. Women should have the right to choose when they want to be mothers, if at all.

I believe that if a woman is a victim of rape or incest, she should not be forced to carry her assailant’s baby for nine months. Sexual abuse is hard enough to deal with on its own, victims should not be given the added stress of an unwanted pregnancy.

And I believe that if a teen girl finds herself pregnant because contraception is not taught in her school, she should not be punished for the rest of her life.

It is imperative that we strive to make abortion safe and legal. The government does not have the right to interfere with our reproductive freedoms.

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