“I do not like you down my shirt, I do not like you down my skirt, I do not like you near my rump, I do not like you Mr. Trump” was written on one of the many signs that were waved in the air in Washington D.C. on Saturday, January 21st (Marchers Won't Change Trump, Could Change World). As of November 9, 2016, women have felt more threatened than they ever have against the fight for women’s rights. Trump’s election and inauguration into the most powerful position of the United States was a trigger for many women all around the world. The day after his inauguration, Washington D.C. was flooded with millions of men and women protesting the current presidency. Women feel as if their rights will continue to be compromised underneath Trump’s presidency, but the most controversial worry is that the new, conservative, pro-life government is going to take away a woman’s ability to choose. 

The latest presidential campaign was not the most conventional fight in all of campaign histories. There was a lot of slandering on both candidates, however some were much serious than others. One of the most covered situations in the news is Trump’s disregard for women through his own sexual misconduct. In order to save his image in hopes of still becoming the President of the United States, he denied the claims of the many different women who were stepping forward against him. However, there have been multiple cases made against him. Regardless to his political views, it has been believed that he received less votes from women than Clinton because of his scandals. His most publicized disrespect of women was leaked from a video in 2005 quoting him say to “Grab [women] by the p****. You can do anything,” as well as, “I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star they let you do it. You can do anything.” Although, that form of disrespect was verbal assault and not physical, Trump’s ex-wife suggested that he had raped her along with many other women. Many of his beauty pageant contestants have come out with stories of forcible kisses, uncomfortable touches, and peeping tom situations. There were also allegations that Trump had stuck his hand up one woman’s skirt on a plane and inferred to a reporter that they would soon start having affair (The Many Scandals of Donald Trump: A Cheat Sheet). These many scandals almost seem entirely made up because all of these accusations hit the nose on every aspect of sexual assault, however there are too many stories of too many women to completely forgive and forget. 

Due to Trump’s sexual assault history, many women were extremely reluctant and against electing him to be the most powerful person in the country. However, not only women were disgusted by his previous and possible current behavior. Many of the United States citizens did not expect a Trump victory and with that victory, a protest was planned. The Women’s March is one that will definitely go down in history. On January 21, 2017, women and men all over the country met in their closest major city and protested the intentions of the new presidency. Some citizens saw it as an “Anti-Trump” march, because it threatened his power. However, this march was bigger than Trump. This march was about women’s evolvement and the fear of taking step backs. Historically, American women have worked so hard to be considered as an equal in their independency, their workforce, their relationships, and their human rights. Women in this day and age are stronger and know what they want and what to fight for, and they’re not ready to give up all of their hard work. 

The Women’s March made national news and around 3.3 million people, men and women, participated all over the country. In Washington D.C., the turnout for the march was at least three times bigger than the crowd at Trump’s inauguration. Trump claimed that the media made his inauguration crowd look lesser than what it was, however the Metro statistics for that day were juristically less than the ones of the day of the Women’s March. Women, men, and children marched around Washington D.C. sporting pink hats and waving powerful signs. “Women’s rights are human rights” and “Feminism is the radical notion that women are people” were directed straight at the President’s supporters, however “I do not like you down my shirt, I do not like you own my skirt, I do not like you near my rump, I do not like you Mr. Trump” was directed right at the President. There were a good amount of signs addressing different controversial issues relating to people’s interests, for example sexual assault was displayed through “My body, my biz, no judging, no grabbing, & hands off my rights.” Topics like gay marriage, the Black Lives Matter movement, climate change, and immigration were expressed. However, a frequently occurring expression was that of abortion. A sign saying “My Uterus is Private Property” was one that really resonated with the pro-choice supporters (Marchers Won't Change Trump, Could Change World). 

Abortion has been one of the most controversial issues for a long time, due to the various amount of different stances through religions, races, and political point of view. President Trump has many U.S. citizens scared because of his pro-life stance. During one of the presidential debates, Clinton and Trump were debating on Roe v. Wade. The Supreme Court case of Roe vs. Wade holds that the Constitution protects a woman’s right to an abortion prior to the “viability of the fetus”, which means that depending on health concerns of both the mother and the fetus abortion should be an option. Trump, however, believes that no matter the medical situation, abortion should never be an option. The moderator asked both presidential candidates if they want the court, including the justices, to overturn Roe v. Wade which gives women the right to abortion. Trump answered right away with the statement, “…I am pro-life and I will be appointing pro-life judges, I would think that that will go back on the states” (Donald Trump on Abortion). However, Clinton is in full support of Roe v. Wade and has stated that the “…US Government [shouldn’t] be stepping in and making those most personal of decisions.” In regards to her statement, Clinton continues to explain that there are so many different point of views on abortion and the one person who can control what happens to the people’s rights has no ability to see every single need for support (Clinton on Abortion: Government has no business). 

Many different people have many different viewpoints on the subject of abortion. In most situations the use of abortion is decided on by more than one party. An abortion can be utilized for a variety of different reasons and to have the government take that option away is borderline inhumane. Many common reasons for U.S. women to have abortions are because their age, their financial standings, their maturity, and the way their pregnancy occurred. 

A lack of age is a very common reason to have an abortion. About 18% of all U.S. abortions are from teenagers who aren’t willing to continue with their pregnancy. Becoming a teenage mother not only inhibits the child’s life as well as the mother’s future. It’s been proven that only 50% of teens who have also given birth receive a high school diploma by the age of 22, compared to the 90% of women who had not. Not only does the teen mother’s vision of college, a job, and a well-off lifestyle fade, but so does her child’s future. The children of teenage mothers are more likely to “drop out of high school, experience health problems, be incarcerated during adolescence, give birth as a teenager/impregnate one of their peers, and/or face unemployment” (Facts and Statistics about Teenage Abortion). The common pro-life consensus is that every child should live, however should a child be forced to grow up to have an unsuccessful future?

Not only do abortions occur because of teenage mishaps, but another big reason is because of a woman’s lack of financial means. Whether the woman is a teenager or an older adult, some simply feel as if they cannot support for their incoming child. Without a sufficient amount of financial means, children do not live a good life. It’s a simple fact that without a roof and substantial meals, a child cannot thrive. A lot of psychological factors go into play in this situation. On average, a child adds about $14,970 to the annual expenses and after 18 years of raising that child, the money definitely adds up. With that statement, parents sometimes find themselves resenting their child when their children’s expenses start taking away from their own lifestyle. In another aspect, a child can learn to resent their parents in return. Without the proper tools they need in their education that they need to succeed or certain things that their parents can’t afford, there psychological and intellectual ego can definitely take a toll. That is why in 2014, 75% of abortions were among low-income patients. A child would be a burden on any person who doesn’t think they can handle it, and then irrational things may begin to occur (Abortion in the Lives of Women Struggling Financially: Why Insurance Coverage Matters). 

The human body works in mysterious ways and with that comes the psychological issue of maturity. Although adults may seem mature, internally a lot aren’t. At a state of gender equality, many women are very invested in their career or other aspects of their life. There’s normality to get married and to have kids by a certain age anymore, which is something to rejoice about. However, now that the old social norm is out of the picture, no matter the age, women may not be ready to raise a child. Although a miracle, not everyone is able to handle the responsibility of a child based on their life situation. 

One of the absolute, most important reason why abortion should continue to be accessible in the United States is because, unfortunately it’s recommended due to medical necessities. Between 14 and 20 weeks of pregnancy, an amniocentesis is performed on the baby in order to detect a variety of “chromosome abnormalities, neural tube defects, and genetic disorders.” Some parents choose to undergo the procedure in order to see if their child has any medical complication like Down Syndrome, Spina Bifida, Cystic Fibrosis, Sickle Cell Disease, and Tay-Sachs. These conditions can alter the quality of life for any person in a negative way, and an abortion gives the family a choice of whether or not they’re ready to handle such responsibility. However, some of these birth defects are medically classified as “incompatible with life”, which means that there isn’t a choice but to abort the child (Medical Reasons for Abortion). 

The health of the child is not the only reason that plays a factor in ultimately choosing abortion. In some circumstances, a mother’s health can complicate their pregnancy. Some of the complications that can occur are “Cancer, Heart disease, Diabetes, Autoimmune disorders, HIV, AIDS, and other sexually transmitted diseases” (Medical Reasons for Abortion). Some families have to decide whether or not a pregnancy under the possible chance of the mother dying will giving birth or after is worth the child. It’s definitely a difficult decision, however nobody should be able to make it but the people involved. 

The world that women live in can sometimes be very dangerous and uncomfortable. Unfortunately, some men don’t understand consent and some women are unable to speak up for themselves. Rape culture is a huge reason as to why abortions should most definitely remain obtainable. In certain instances, where men forcefully penetrate women, not only does the act last with women mentally, but in some situations there’s a physical reminder that they have been hurt. There have been an estimated 32,101 pregnancies result from rape each year and of that number, 50% underwent abortion. Without the ability to abort, there would be many unloved, uncared for babies in this world. An abortion in this case is an opportunity to rid the victim of any unwanted feelings of uncomfortableness regarding their rape. Again, it would be inhumane for the poor victim to undergo 9 months of a pregnancy of a child that they did not ask for (Rape-related Pregnancy: Estimates and Descriptive Characteristics from a National Sample of Women).

In many of the situations where an abortion might be needed, the similar stance is that the child will not be wanted if forced to be born. In Diane Huet De Guerville’s “Birth is Not Always Best: Confessions of an Unwanted Child” she admits that she wishes that her parents had chosen to abort her while growing up. Her mother and father had a romantic love story where they met in France and moved to the United States in hopes that De Guerville’s father could become a successful engineer. The couple got married and got pregnant, the mother ecstatic and the father fearful. Her “father [felt] unprepared for fatherhood given their dire economic situation and the demands of his American studies. He feels betrayed by his wife, who told him she was taking birth control and then insisted on having the baby.” In De Guerville’s lifetime, she knew that she was only half loved and her father reminded her of it every day. While growing up he would fight endlessly with her mother and scream “She tricked me!” whenever the fight was heated. This led to psychological problems within De Guerville, with wishes that she was never born. Her father never disagreed with her (Abortion Under Attack: Women on the Challenges Facing Choice. 111). 

Situations like De Guerville’s are tricky because some people believe that a woman should be the only person making a choice about her body. This statement is completely true for outsiders trying to look in, however a child changes the life of both a woman and a man and if there is a significant other involved, then he has rights as well. It is very important for men to understand their role in the choice for abortion. Unfortunately, men do have a “dominant political voice in setting policies and making laws governing abortion,” but they also as physicians, provide the abortion services. Men are not meant out to be the “bad guy” in an abortion situation, however they do need to understand even if their perspective is very conservative others might not be. Some men use their power to push for something that is against their values. However, the governmental dispute would get by so much easier if they stepped back and focused on other things (Male Attitudes toward Abortion: An Analysis of Urban Survey Data). 

Not all men are against abortion, however the most important man in the country is. Through his religion and his values, President Trump believes that if a woman gets pregnant then she must suffer the consequences regardless of her own personal situation. It is not fair of him to look down on those who support the choice. It is not fair of him to take away that choice from those who need it. It is not fair of him to be focusing on an issue that isn’t as existential as other pressing topics. Because in all reality, many people supporting choice do not actually receive an abortion in their lifetime, as well as personally want to have an abortion. However, they do want the ability to choose for their friends, their families, their children, and everyone else. The values and morals of people for life are respected, however the true situation is personal and does not need to be altered by the government in any way. 
