Government Control

     Recently an Oklahoma District Judge, Bryan Dixon, struck down a law that was passed by Oklahoma legislature in 2010 that required women seeking an abortion to not only get an ultrasound, but also forced them to listen to details about the fetus. Many thanks Judge Dixon. My only complaint is that it took two years to strike this law down, and that some states still enforce this law. I think that this law is not only unconstitutional and a violation to an individual’s rights, but it is also being used to guilt women into not having abortions. I have always been with the understanding that persuasion & emotion are not factors that should come into play when creating laws for this nation. Maybe I was wrong.

     There is so much that is ridiculous regarding this abortion law that I almost don’t even know where to begin, so I will just cover my top two. First, do our leaders and lawmakers really have so little faith in us that they do not think that women are capable of making a responsible decision regarding their own body? It’s like lawmakers are saying, “You want an abortion? You silly girl. You have no idea what you are asking for, so here, let me change your mind.”  The majority of women seeking abortions are quite competent and extremely capable of make this very big life choice. Every woman has a fundamental right to make her own choices regarding her body. Every human does for that matter. It is not the government’s place to try and sway these decisions.

     Secondly, who is paying for all of this?  It’s one thing that the government is forcing doctors to provide unnecessary and unwanted services to these women, but these women, if uninsured and unable to pay for these services on their own, must turn to government funding to pay for it. The average abortion cost around $350-$600. Most of us could come up with that in a pinch, and be done. The average cost of a doctor’s visit with an ultrasound, if uninsured, is anywhere from $700-$1000, and then an additional $350-$600 would be added on top of that if the woman remained with her choice to have an abortion. Some women may be able to pay for these services themselves, but the majority of women in this situation would not be able to. The financial burden would then fall where it always does, the taxpayer.

     I may not know a lot of things about life, nor do I claim to be an expert on any one subject, but I do know one thing for sure. My body is mine. What I do with my body is my choice and no one else should have a say in that. Not even the government.