Letters

As a supporter of a woman’s right to control her own body, I wonder why so many women do not support a woman’s right to have an abortion.

If a woman is against choice because of her religion, she should also care about the well-being of all children who are born, for according to the Bible, should be with love, care and compassion. For example, this dictate means she should be in favor of gun control. We know that gun deaths are a leading cause of death among young children. It means that she should support free maternal health care after the baby is born. She should support free childcare after a woman gives birth as well as free daycare for all children regardless of their economic status. If a religious woman, who is anti-choice, does not support all of these things and many more programs to support all babies and young children, what is her rationale for not supporting a woman’s right to have an abortion?

I believe that the reason so many women are anti-choice is that they truly don’t understand why such opposition to a woman controlling her own body exists. It has little to do with murder of the unborn. The rules about a woman’s control of her own body were made by and enforced by men, primarily white Republican men. Perhaps it has to do with their need to feel superior to women or to keep them at home to take care of them and their children.

More importantly however, abortion restrictions are an economic concern. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen argues that “eliminating the right of women to make decisions about when and whether to have children would have very damaging effects on the economy and would set women back decades.” There is no question that abortion access is highly related to economic progress and mobility. According to the Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank, states where abortion has been banned or restricted constitute an additional piece in a sustained project of economic subjugation and disempowerment of women.

I hope that women who oppose choice think deeply about this issue when they go to vote this November. Choice is on the ballot, and we know that Democrats are in favor of women having control over their own bodies, while Republicans are against it. They should understand that taking away a woman’s choice to have a baby is not really about murder, but is synonymous with keeping women barefoot and pregnant, controlled by men. It is about keeping women in their place, a place that affords women little power over their own bodies and economic livelihood.

Tina Jacobowitz, PhD

Water Mill