The overturning of Roe v. Wade sparked fear inside the hearts of millions of American women. Both young and old. It created a space of uncertainty of how the world thinks about women’s rights. The supreme court left the decision of abortion up to the states, many of these states were trigger states – banned abortion even in cases of rape or incest –  regardless of age.

Abortion should be legalized. Women’s bodies should not be debated in a government building. Abortion is a basic human right. Abortion is healthcare.

This is a catastrophe for young women who are figuring out how the world works. Many girls barely have access to sex education. Sex education should be required all throughout highschool. Approximately 350,000 teen pregnancies occur each year in the United States, and 82% of these pregnancies are unintended. Many schools do not have parenting help for young girls or maternity leave, which should be implemented into schools to help these young women, especially because pregnancy can take a ginormous toll on one’s mental health. Among pregnant teens, 55% give birth and 31% receive an abortion.

A huge factor of the supreme court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade did not take into account that the mortality rates of young mothers will go up by 21%. They will seek out ways to terminate the pregnancy if they are desperate enough. Examples would be forced miscarriages, wire clothes hangers, and the biggest one would be suicide. 

Forcing these women to give birth will increase poverty levels, especially if the woman is unmarried and works a low wage job. Teen girls who become pregnant are more likely to drop out than finish school. As inflation only grows higher, young mothers will struggle to get by.

In the state of Texas the average wage gap between men and women is $10,550, although in part-time jobs women get paid 2.9% more than men. Although women get paid more in part time, they are trying to juggle school, taking care of a child and work all at the same time, which is very difficult with no outside help. 

Terminating abortion causes a world of trouble for young girls, especially because having the right to choose made women know when the time was right for a child. The right to choose increased women’s participation in the workforce, gave them more access to reproductive healthcare and allowed more women to finish school. Banning abortion is going to harm teens coming into the world people call “real life”.

Many people who are pro-life recomend for mothers who do not want the child to put the child into foster care, but foster care is so flawed. In Washington state more than 2,000 children had to spend nights in hotels because of lack of housing provided by the system. In Oregon children were placed in refurbished juvenile centers and redecorated old police stations. 

In 2013, 4,500 foster kids ran away from foster facilities and temporary shelters. The system makes children feel so unwanted by society that they would resort to running away. Children who are placed in juvenile centers often feel as if they have done something wrong, especially because juvenile detention centers are hostile environments. Roughly half of the foster youth nationwide do not graduate from high school. Years of trauma from being passed around from home to home cause PTSD in 21% of these children, as opposed to 4% of the adult population in America. 

Foster care is not a good alternative when a woman is forced to give birth. The right to an abortion should be legal for women of all ages. They should not need parental consent when they are under the age of 18, because if they can get pregnant they can choose what to do with that child. Young girls should receive help in school as in parenting classes and online courses for maternity leave. The ban on abortion has put so many teen girls at risk. All in all, abortion is healthcare and women’s bodies should not be regulated.