By Grace Miron-Dominguez
Stratford High School
 ABORTION. For some, it’s awkward to talk about, but for others, it’s something that deserves to be put in all caps. Does a problem like banning abortion really deserve to be in the spotlight? Arizona says no. The Grand Canyon State brought back a law from 1901 that gives the state power to ban all abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy with no exception for rape or incest. This happened in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. This is a law that is mainly supported by Republicans in Arizona, and it has made this issue a very slippery slope for President Biden because Arizona is a swing state that he only carried by 11,000 votes during the 2020 election.
The law that Judge Kellie Johnson of Pima County Superior Court reinstated dates back to 1864. The law was later updated in 1901, before the 1973 US Supreme Court decision known as Roe v Wade that established nationwide abortion rights. Â Arizona has become one of at least 14 states to outlaw most abortions.
Some might think that this problem doesn´t deserve to be addressed nationally, which many prominent news networks have. But I say it is the most pressing issue we have seen in a long time. In fact, I’m disappointed to have to write this piece because I think that this shouldn’t even be a problem as we are in the 21st century and I know that America is better than this.
As a teenage girl, I personally fear for what this country is coming to when I hear that not only a state level government, but the Supreme Court of the United States won´t protect my future, or give me a choice to decide what happens to my body if something happened to me.
To know that almost one third of the United States has banned nearly all forms of abortion is absolutely incomprehensible to me. Not only does this change the social standing of America in comparison to other countries who are protecting women’s rights, but it can also change the political landscape of our country. People aren’t thinking about this right now, but changing abortion laws and denying 1 in 3 women access to an abortion can influence people to live where women have more rights.
Liberal voters won´t want to live in a state where abortion is illegal, and this leaves room for the more conservative voters to move in. Take New York for example. This state has been consistently blue state for decades, but if the government decided to ban almost all abortions, this could cause more liberals to leave, and more conservatives to come in. Which could ultimately flip New York to a red state very quickly. I also wouldn’t be surprised if in the next elections, we see a lot of changes in the political landscapes of several states because of this very issue.
Despite being 14 and a Freshman, I have really tried to immerse myself in the news networks that give us insight into these sorts of issues. CNN, MSNBC, FOX. I know that not all news networks agree on certain things, which is why I try to watch as many as possible, to hear all sides of the conversation. After the Supreme Court case was overturned, I have had regular conversations with my mom about how lucky we are that the politicians in our state believe in our rights. My future is something that I worry about the most when I hear about things like this because 1 in 6 women get raped in their lifetime. What if I become that 1? I’m lucky that I live in a state that gives me control over my own body as if that were something that needed to be given.
