Many HC students witnessed the Anti-Abortion protestors on school grounds, or very close to, on April 12th after dismissal. Holding vulgar, disturbing images that are inaccurate to scare HC students, these pro-lifers were standing on Lakeshore Drive in front of the school. 

These images were extremely graphic and disturbing and caught many off guard. With over 2,000 minors at HC, these images could have scarred many. It was very inappropriate of Created Equal to send their supporters to a high school campus to discuss topics such as this. 

When speaking with these pro-life “activists”, their only argument was a misleading statistic found on a website. “300 teenagers get abortions a day” does seem a bit far fetched. I then mentioned that some women who do get abortions get them because it was a necessary procedure in order to stay alive. The “activists” responded with “that is very rare.” That is completely invalidating the millions of women worldwide who went through a tragic loss such as that. 

Pushing a political agenda at a public high school is not the most effective way to get a message across. If anything, it will make minors uncomfortable and angry, administrators involved, and make the organization look like fools. The leaders of Created Equal that sent the four “activists” to HC should be utterly ashamed of themselves. There was absolutely no reason for them to sit where they were. If their goal was to change students’ minds, they could have gone about the situation differently. Holding inaccurate abortion signs such as the ones they did will only cause them trouble.

Keeping abortions legal in the United States will save millions of lives, including the lives of millions of women who are victims of sex crimes. If pro-lifers want to stop abortion, they should stop it at the source–stopping rape. However, this is not the only reason for getting the life changing procedure; it can save millions of women who will suffer from and risk their lives through birth complications. Unwanted pregnancies are also possible, but a solution is to expand the access to free/reduced contraceptives like birth control. Not every human wants to deal with a procedure like this, which is completely understandable, but it can be life saving. No one should be forced into doing something they do not wish to do, this includes going through birth. 

As a female, my rights are continuously up for debate. My right to bodily autonomy could be taken in the future. Having the right to truly control your body is necessary for all people, especially those that are pregnant. The hundreds of laws on women’s bodies that are disproportionate to men’s is ridiculous in the face of inequality. Bodily autonomy is the right to govern what happens to oneself. Every human has their right to bodily autonomy, this includes women getting abortions. An abortion is a personal choice and no one should intervene. 

White conservative cisgender men need to get their noses out of women’s business. Stop controlling women’s bodies in order to fill an outdated political agenda that they feel fits society best. By stopping the stigma around women’s issues will stop the stigma about gender inequality. Normalize abortions, normalize women’s reproductive rights, and normalize women’s health care.