Women’s health care must matter

In this country if a man feels he is in imminent danger, he can employ the “stand your ground” defense and kill someone with judicial immunity. (Zimmerman vs Treyvon Martin.)

When a woman becomes pregnant, her life IS in imminent danger. A pregnancy can kill her, permanently compromise her health, end her life as an independent human being, terminate her education, and render her permanently economically disadvantaged. Hundreds of women die every year from complications of pregnancy and delivery. Pre-natal care in a normal pregnancy can cost upwards of $10,000 and tens of thousands more if there are complications. Yet, a woman is not allowed to invoke the “self-defense exemption” and terminate her pregnancy.

A fetus creates an alteration of a woman’s status from an equal person under the law, to an incubator. The status of "person" is granted to the unborn fetus and taken away from the woman. Why does her life matter so little? Being pregnant practically makes a woman a ward of the state. There have been more than 1200 state laws passed to make it more difficult and expensive to have an abortion. These laws are designed to humiliate, demean, and diminish women. Doctors have been told to lie to women seeking terminations, and the Supreme Court just ruled that it is okay to misinform women about their choices. The fact is that pregnancy is more complicated than Trump thinks; no good will come from denying women the healthcare that they need.