I’ll be frank: I absolutely understand why people oppose abortions. Truly! If your religion teaches you that life begins at conception, then the idea of legal abortion must be incredibly distressing to you. I don’t believe this, but I’m capable of empathizing with other people and understanding their point of view.

But here’s the thing: The data shows that banning abortions does not prevent abortions–it just endangers the lives of women.  Not only does it endanger their physical well-being, but also their psychological and economic well-being. Since the Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade, the number of abortions in the United States has actually increased. Women are better served when they can reduce unplanned pregnancies by having easy access to sex education, family planning services, and contraception. 

When I am elected, I will make it a priority to push for federal legislation protecting a woman’s right to choose and protecting abortion providers. Currently, providing an abortion in Texas can result in a felony conviction with a penalty of life imprisonment and a $100,000 fine. No wonder women are dying. Doctors are afraid to treat things like ectopic pregnancies and miscarriages. Doctors aren’t lawyers, and honestly, we probably don’t want them to be. Nobody should fear going to jail or losing their livelihoods because someone chose to end a pregnancy.

Family planning shouldn’t stop there. If we are truly trying to show Americans that we value the lives of children, then we need to do more than policing their parents. Let’s reduce our maternal mortality rate, eliminate childhood poverty, implement universal pre-K, and make it easier for families to access affordable childcare.