House of Representatives Passes Abortion Bill - Hannah Kalan 6th Period

The House of Representatives passed a bill that would ban abortions after the first twenty weeks of pregnancy on May 14, after earlier in the year the bill was taken down due to several rebuttals and rallies from female house members. Gretchen Borchelt, as part of the National Women's Law Center stated, "Once again, some members of Congress think politics -- not medical expertise or a woman's health -- should drive important health care decisions.... Passing an unconstitutional nationwide ban on later abortions does nothing to help women -- instead, it threatens their health and lives and interferes in their personal medical decisions." She was among several that openly spoke out against the bill when the vote came through. On the other hand, supporters of the bill were pro-life, and is intended to protect those yet to be born who cannot defend themselves. However, despite being passed by the House of Representatives, the bill has yet to be approved by the Senate, and signed by the President, the latter unlikely as he had planned on vetoing the earlier version of the bill.

The debate over abortion has gone on for well over a century since 1880 when most states in the U.S. banned it unless to save the life of a woman, and still continues today. Increasing restrictions also make it harder for women to get an abortion, regardless of what the circumstances are. In some cases, rape victims have had to have filed a police report before getting an abortion and often there is counseling or a waiting period required before anything can be done. Such restrictions are merely based on politics, as Borchelt stated, and what does that say about where this country is headed? How many medical decisions will be made based on politics or paychecks, rather than the actual health of someone?


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