For many years, the topic of abortion has been a heated topic for debate. Though the topic of abortion is quite controversial in the United States, the ability to undergo the procedure to receive an abortion is legal. The United States has currently been addressing the heated topic by making access to at least one clinic in each state that will perform the procedure. Though the United States has declared abortion to be legal, the states have been able to put regulations and limitations concerning the procedure into effect. For example, recently, the Texas Legislature banned all local governments from providing any money to clinics that administer abortions.
Though this policy concerning the financial support of clinics has been put into effect, there needs to be a change. The reason to initiate change surrounding the ban on cities providing abortion clinics with any funds is that many abortion clinics, such as planned parenthood, not only provide abortions but encourage the practice of safe sex and the use of birth control instead of an abortion. According to author Sarah Baum, in her article ‘Women’s Experience Obtaining Abortion Care in Texas after Implementation of Restrictive Abortion Laws: A Qualitative Study’, that within six months of Texas implementing the ban on cities providing financial support to clinics, the number of clinics that provide abortion procedures decreased by nearly a half. Along with a large percentage of clinics that provide abortions being shut down due to low funds, the number of abortions completed through medication completely decreased seventy-percent in comparison to the same period of time one year prior due to this ban.
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Many of the problems being faced in Texas today are that some women do not have the financial means to pay for an abortion. As a result of the ban, Women were confronted with informational, financial, and procedural obstacles when searching for abortion services, and these barriers often went hand and hand with levels of poverty. In order to undergo the abortion procedure, the woman has to attend two appointments before going through with the process. This causes a large investment of money to be put towards an abortion that some women need but cannot afford. The bills for the two appointments before the actual procedure, which are very pricey, have to be paid in full before undergoing the abortion process. The problem with this is that Texas does not provide any financial support for any abortion procedures and due to Texas banning all local governments from providing money to clinics, the price to undergo the procedure alone is quite the investment.
In response to changing this policy set in place by the Texas legislature, there are other options to explore such as circumstances surrounding a pregnancy. For example, there are horrific circumstances in which an unwanted pregnancy could occur, such as rape that results in pregnancy. A woman should not be forced to keep an unwanted pregnancy in such circumstances. There are also other circumstances to be explored, such as the overall health of the carrying mother. If the carrying mother is faced with possible life-threatening complications in regards to the fetus or mother, the mother should have the right to choose to have an abortion and abortion should be easily accessible. Along with the previously mentioned circumstances, another idea that should be taken into consideration is if the mother would be financially stable enough to provide for the child she would bring into this world. As a result of the other options explores, the State of Texas needs to set a different policy in effect, rather than just cutting off an income source for the clinics. In my opinion, as an alternative to the ban, the Texas Legislature could implement a policy on whether or not one’s circumstances are taken into consideration if they should receive financial support or not.
There are many different options to explore when it comes to creating a process, in which, a decision is made regarding if a woman should receive financial support to undergo an abortion. Many cities are taking a stance on providing financial support for women seeking abortion. In Austin, Texas, the city is taking a stance on providing support to these women by funding organizations and groups that provide assistance to women who are seeking abortions the financial support for related logistical costs, such as a babysitter, a hotel room or transportation. By being given the opportunity to receive financial support to obtain an abortion, could also, save the mother’s life if she is facing danger in regards to any complications in her health due to the pregnancy. Though there are many benefits to women receiving financial support when it comes to abortions, there are some disadvantages as well. One example would be that women could take advantage of the money given to them or that women could use abortion as their way of birth control, rather than a last resort. The State of Texas should implement a policy regarding which cases deserve support financially or not. Many of the positive outcomes of the policy would outweigh any negatives.
Though abortion will continue to be a controversial topic due to differing moral views, this should not stop women from being able to receive financial support when it is needed. The State of Texas should take these possible policy ideas into consideration because the current law regarding stopping the financial funds of clinics only pose a threat to a women’s bodily autonomy, health, and access to abortion in Texas. The United States and the states should work hand in hand with one another to create better abortion laws that support the carrying mother, not just financially, but mentally as well.
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