The Heartbeat Bill

Hey guys it’s Jacquelyn. For the past couple weeks, a bill has been floating around Georgia that has become one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the nation on this past Tuesday. The law basically states than abortion is prohibited after 6 weeks of pregnancy, rather than the previous law of 20 weeks, with the exception if the woman’s life is in danger, or in cases of rape & incest that have been filed with the police.

When I was researching about this topic, I found out the the 6 week mark, is when a doctor can start detecting a fetal heartbeat (generally). This 6 week time limit is ridiculous because a woman who might consider an abortion, wouldn’t even know if they were pregnant because they would have only missed their period for 1 cycle, and in some cases, women who are pregnant still get periods. Missing a period is so common due to exercise, stress, etc. that missing one period wouldn’t automatically set off an alarm that they’re pregnant. And even if they found out they were pregnant, it would give them almost no time to decide what they want to do. A decision like this takes time and lots of thinking, and this law gives them a tiny amount of time to make a huge choice.

I’ve had many discussions with people about abortion, and especially being a Catholic, abortion is seen as one of the greatest sins someone can commit. I’m pro-choice, however, my faith tells me to be pro-life. I was talking with someone recently and they mentioned the fact that they don’t agree with abortion because they don’t like it. I don’t understand this perspective sometimes because it’s not like anyone likes abortion, but they like having the choice available. Women would rather have the option and not use it, rather than having the option taken away from them. I do believe that an individual should always try to consider other options alternative to abortion, but I think the choice should be up to the parents, and not the government.