The legality of abortions are essential to protect a basic and fundamental human right. Denial of an abortion is a denial of health services and a violation of a woman’s rights.

Without safe access to abortions, pregnant women are putting their mental health, among other things, at risk. The abortion itself is not necessarily the determining factor in depression or a decreasing mental health, but rather the negative circumstances surrounding the pregnancy leading to a termination, such as socioeconomic stability, lack of support, an abusive partner, not being emotionally ready, or even sexual assault/rape.

In many cases, having an abortion is the reliever as opposed to the stressor. A woman never wants to have an abortion, and if she decides to have the medical procedure, she spent the time to thoroughly evaluate this choice to protect her life, security and choices. By preventing women from having an abortion simply because they have no medical reason, pro-life advocates and legislators are endangering the mental health and, in extreme cases, the lives of women during an emotional and physically taxing period of their life.

A consequence of making abortions illegal is that they can become dangerous. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 30 women die for every 100,000 unsafe abortions in developed regions. Legal abortions provide a safe environment for women to seek a medical abortion with the lowest risk possible. Following Roe v. Wade (1973), the number of abortions that were provided annually did not necessarily increase, however, there was a lower complication rate.

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Even though the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Roe stating that abortions are protected under the Constitution, there have been laws and cases that challenge that decision. The Texan law, Senate Bill 8, prohibits abortions after six weeks and enables private individuals, as opposed to the state, to enforce the law. In other words, any person could sue an abortion provider or someone who provides access to abortion care regardless of if they are aware, such as an Uber driver.

While the decision is not finalized for Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2021), which argues if the Mississippi “Gestational Age Act” prohibiting abortions after 15 weeks is constitutional,Justice Samuel Alito’s draft decision was recently leaked. The draft stated that the Supreme Court was planning to overturn Roe v. Wade and leave the power to determine the legality of abortion to the states. Since then, thousands across the country have participated in marches advocating for the recognition and protection of women’s reproductive rights.

It takes two to create a child, and yet male accountability is not as important as a woman’s when it comes to an unwanted pregnancy. Women are the only ones blamed in society and in our government’s laws. Of all of the anti-abortion laws found across the country, there is rarely any mention of male accountability, even if the man encouraged her to go through with the procedure. If a woman is forced to raise a child by herself because the man was not held accountable, she must also balance other aspects of her life, which can be an impossible task.

Reproductive and abortion rights are a topic that is currently highly debated, even though these rights are fundamental. The Constitution protects the rights of all citizens under the due process clause in the 14th Amendment, and yet by restricting a woman’s access to health care, the United States is not doing what its founding document protects. Anti-abortion laws not only violate women’s rights, but they also threaten her mental health and life.

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Kira Stoetzer is a St. Andrew’s Priory graduate, Class of 2022.

“Raise Your Hand,” a monthly column featuring Hawaii’s youth and their perspectives, appears in the Insight section on the first Sunday of each month. It is facilitated by the Center for Tomorrow’s Leaders (www.CTLhawaii.org).