Abortion bans in Poland: could U.S. be next?

OPINION

Elizabeth Voloshin

Chronicle Reporter

Poland ruled that birth defects aren’t a good enough reason to abort an unborn fetus. Lawmakers argued that even if a child will be born with an incurable disease or abnormality, they should still be given a chance at life. This ruling sparked massive protests by female activists, who are trying to lessen the restrictions on abortion laws in Poland. 

A couple years ago, women were allowed to get an abortion if the fetus they were carrying had an obvious phsyical deformity. This has now been taken away from women, making it even more difficult for them to obtain a legal and safe abortion. 

Why Does This Even Matter? 

These new restrictions are making a process that initially was difficult to obtain almost impossible. Even before this ruling, women had to resort to illegal abortions because it was a lot more difficult to do it legally. 

If Poland keeps creating more and more restrictions to a policy that is already tightly controlled, women may become susceptible to botched abortions from illegal practitioners. This policy isn’t just an attack on pregnant individuals; this policy will affect every individual with female reproductive organs. The policies stem from much more than just the will to protect the unborn. They directly target the rights of women to choose what they want to do with their bodies.

We see time and time again, when women are told to look and behave a certain way so that they fit the “norm”; so that they are more desirable. In the 21st century, it is appalling that women still have to fight to choose what to do with their body. Why does the highly restrictive government, full of little minded individuals, get to decide the fate of every woman in Poland? 

The Polish government is majority male. Men are deciding on matters that involve a reproductive process that they will never truly understand. Though it is true that some women are contributing the final decisions, they don;t make up the majority of the Polish population. They don’t know what every womans’ story is. Maybe she is a teenager who made a really dumb mistake, maybe she is a mother of four children who simply can’t afford to raise a 5th child, or maybe she was pressured into something by an abusive boyfriend/husband. 

But That’s Happening in Poland. It Can’t Affect Us. 

Even though these restrictions only apply to Poland, it does have an impact on America. The current Supreme Court judges are mostly conserative (pro-lifers) and have the power to uphold or overrule new laws and bans. Here in America, groups have been trying to make abortion illegal again and this idea is being presented in the Supreme Court. If the judges decide that they want to limit abortion, women here will lose the same freedom the Polish people have lost: The right to their own bodies. 

We can use Poland as a glimpse into what could happen if abortion is limited here. Protests will erupt, fights will break out, and women will have to fight once again for their bodies.

 We don’t need this. What a woman decides to do with her unborn fetus is up to her. No legislator or judge should be allowed to stop her. We are in the 21st century, let’s start acting like it. 

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