“This is a man’s world, but it wouldn’t be nothing without a woman or a girl.” are lyrics by James Dean that keep ruminating in my head as I write this article. This is a man’s world, but women, we are forced to live in this world defined by men. For a brief time in American history, women were nationally extended the right to choose a legal abortion after the pivotal ruling of Roe v. Wade (1973), giving them a say about their reproductive health in a man’s world. The implications of this ruling were manifold: 1) women were granted reproductive rights, 2) women no longer underwent dangerous procedures to procure an abortion, 3) women were no longer forced to carry out unwanted pregnancies, 4) pregnancy no longer prevented a woman from fulfilling her dreams or aspirations, 6) societal progress was made, and 7) women defined their lives through the right to choose. Recently, women’s rights have been under attack in varying locales throughout the United States. States, such as Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi have implemented laws that now make abortion almost inaccessible to women living in those parts of the U.S. Again, women are resorting to dangerous methods, such as ordering poisonous abortion medicine online, to prevent birth. Women and their choices are yet again being ridiculed. Women and their rights are being vehemently assaulted by conservatives and their politicians to the detriment of our society. On March 2, 2016 SCOTUS heard one of the most significant abortion access cases this generation, Whole Women’s Health v. Hellerstedt; a case that challenges the implementation of Texas’ Omnibus Abortion Bill (HB2). HB2 makes it illegal in Texas for a women to have an abortion after 20 weeks unless to “avert the woman’s death or a serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function.”, excluding any psychological impairments caused by the pregnancy. Under this bill, women in Texas must carry fetuses with severe abnormalities to full term. Women impregnated through rape must also give birth, as psychological damage is not considered justifiable for an abortion. A rally took place outside of Scotus on March 2, 2016 as the Supreme Justices heard Whole Women’s Health v. Hellerstedt. Pro-choice and anti-abortion activists fervently competed and protested their beliefs. Currently Justices Ginsburg, Breyer, and Sotomayor clearly oppose the upholding of HB2, however a majority rule is required to overturn this law. If SCOTUS fails to obtain a majority, then the lower court ruling of HB2 will remain implemented until a new Supreme Court Justice is appointed. Meaning, a variety of roadblocks to abortion will be sustained in Texas. Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue, claimed “this is common sense regulation. I want to see abortion ended today.” and made claims that doctors who perform abortions are low-level medical providers. Troy Newman forgot to mention that many woman have reverted back to illegal and dangerous abortion procedures due to the stringent abortion access laws. Is it common sense to force women to undergo dangerous procedures to prevent unwanted childbirth? Another anti-abortionist, stated “We don’t discriminate against anyone, we love all babies”. I wonder, what about love for all women and their right to choose. Is not removing the right to choose a form of discrimination against women and their rights? Pro-choice activists swayed signs stating “The burden is undue”, “HB2 is bad”, “Sister strong” and “Keep clinics opens”. Dr. Willie Parker, a gynecologists who performs abortions in Alabama, shared that the problem with women’s health is invasive political conservatism making legal medical decisions they know nothing about. Dr. Valerie Peterson shared her abortion story- because she lives in Austin, Texas she was forced to get an abortion in Florida after finding out her unborn fetus was 100% not viable due to an undeveloped brain. She shared that her wealth made her lucky and able to obtain an abortion outside of Texas, but that this is not the norm for the majority of women residing in that state. Amy Hagstrom Miller, CEO of Whole Women’s Health stated, “We stand to affirm that women are good. We stand to affirm that women are moral and kind. To affirm that when a woman has decided to end a pregnancy we can witness her dreams and her aspirations and affirm that she is put on this earth to see them out and act on her own gifts. That is the world we stand for and that is the world we will to create together.” Unfortunately, women are yet again forced to affirm out status as beings in a man’s world. Deep within me, lies this innate desire to become a mother, but I am afraid to bring children into a man’s world that persistently imposes gendered notions on mainstream society. A society that frequently minimizes women’s right to choose, not simply abortion, but in other matters as well. A society teaching that this is a man’s world and men can dictate the terms in how women choose to live. One in three women have an abortion before the age of 45 since the ruling of Roe v. Wade (1973). Through this ruling, women were elevated socially, politically, and professionally. Now we have states attempting to roll back previously achieved civil rights for women, which in turn will devalue our status. This furthers the message that we women do not have a say in our own personal matters, thus inadvertently signaling to men that they continue to hold that power. When will our country stop pretending that this is a man’s world and recognize that we women have the right to choose? We women, should have the right to choose abortion. We women, should have the right to choose period.
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Fact: The prefrontal cortex of our brains is not fully developed until the age of 25. This means that people under the age of 25 are more likely to base decisions on impulse and are easily influenced by peers. Decisions are emotionally determined as logical reasoning is not achieved until the brain becomes fully developed. Due to the developing prefrontal cortex, teenagers and young adults are physiologically unable to assess risk and their long-term effects. In addition to an undeveloped brain, adolescents experience rapid hormonal growth, which also negatively impacts their decision-making and influences their engagement in risky behaviors (NCBI, 2009; 2013). Some contend that adolescence spans from age 14-24 based upon physiological brain development (NCBI, 2013). Fact: Seven million Americans are involved in the criminal justice system, whether it be through probation, parole, or imprisonment. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2014). Fact: Nearly 2.3 million Americans are incarcerated each year and roughly 1 million are detained in a local, state, or federal prison (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2014; NAACP, 2016). Fact: The United States houses more than 20% of the world’s prison population although we only compose 5% of the total global population, making us the largest jailer in the world (ACLU, 2016). The United States is charged yearly with severe human rights violations due to the nature of its criminal justice system (World Report, 2015). Fact: African Americans constitute 1 million of the total 2.3 million people incarcerated each year (NAACP, 2016). Fact: Together, Hispanics and African Americans compose 58% of the total prison population although they only make up a quarter of the total United States population (NAACP, 2016). Hispanics constitute 22% of the total prison population (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2014). Fact: Roughly 356,268 prison inmates are diagnosed with a severe mental illness (Washington Post, 2015) Fact: An estimated 250,000 youth are tried, sentenced, and then incarcerated as adults yearly in the United States (Campaign for Youth Justice, 2012). Fact: 26% of African American youth represent juvenile arrests, but 58% of African American youth are sentenced as adults (NAACP, 2016). Fact: Within five years, 77% of released prisoners were rearrested (National Institute of Justice, 2016). Fact: The privatization of federal prison that was initiated in the early 1980s has now made it one of the fastest growing multi-million dollar industries in the United States (Center for Global Research, 2016). Fact: Every single human being had made a mistake at one point in their life. Based upon these facts, it is clear that our prison system is in need of severe reform. Each year, The United States of America faces severe scrutiny from the United Nations and countries throughout the world due to human rights violations associated with our criminal justice system. As a cousin of someone who has been incarcerated, a social worker, and a human being that cares acutely about the welfare of all people, I am grief-stricken over these facts. Something needs to change fast and right now. We cannot continue implementing a criminal justice system that disproportionately incarcerates people of color. We cannot continue incarcerating people in need of mental health rehabilitation. We cannot keep youth detained in adult prisons for crimes they committed as children. We must change the nature of criminal justice and its implementation in the United States. Firstly, I believe no one should be tried, sentenced, and incarcerated as an adult until they reach the age of 25 when their brains have become fully developed. Neurologically it makes no sense to consider anyone below mid-twenties as an adult since cranial development is in process and neurologically their brains lack the capacity to fully engage in logical decision-making. People before the age of 25, act on impulse and emotion; they are easily influenced by peers. Yet, 250,000 youth under the age of 18 are sentenced as adults. By failing to account for brain development in the criminal justice system, we sentence youth to life without hope or options. We expose them to prison-trauma, remove their freedom, and limit their ability to achieve healthy lives. Due to high recidivism rates, those that are released have a 77% chance of returning to prison. Those that do not return to prison, must face a life-time of stigma, PTSD, and obstacles associated with being labeled as a felon. We fail our youth through the criminal justice system. We should instead rehabilitate them. Give them a chance to grow and learn from their mistakes. What person did not make multiple mistakes as a growing adolescent? No one. Even, President Bush admitted to cocaine usage as an undergraduate student. No one is without mistakes. People diagnosed with severe mental health problems cannot receive adequate treatment for their disorders while incarcerated. If anything, their mental health problems are compounded by imprisonment. For example, although my cousin committed a crime, his actions were motivated by his mental illness. People living with addiction and others suffering from mental illness are penalized for being ill, rather than receiving necessary treatment and rehabilitation for their disorder. Clearly, racial disparities exist in our criminal justice system. It is an American tragedy that people of color are targeted by police and incarcerated at alarming rates. Who benefits? Clearly from the facts, the private and multi-million dollar prison industry benefits from these high incarceration rates. I do not believe in coincidences and find it interesting that Reagan’s War of Drugs corresponded with the privatization of U.S. prisons. How do we justify these racial disparities? We cannot justify them. We can work to change the nature of our criminal justice system and provide more opportunities in our communities for people of color. We, social workers, and people across the United States, must advocate for reformation of our criminal justice system. Instead of penalizing those that make mistakes, we should provide them with options: 1) rehabilitation, 2) access to education, 3) access to employment and adequate wages, and 4) access to treatment. Roughly two million Americans are incarcerated each year. Of that population, 356,268 are diagnosed with a severe mental illness and 250,000 youth are incarcerated as an adults. 58% of those incarcerated identify as belonging to a minority group. The facts speak for themselves. Our country is rightfully criticized for violating human rights. Collectively, social change must be activated now. Our youth depend on us to change what is wrong, correct, and protect them; not penalize them. We simply cannot afford to let them down. References: https://www.aclu.org/prison-crisis http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p13.pdf http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=kfdetail&iid=487 http://www.campaignforyouthjustice.org/documents/KeyYouthCrimeFacts.pdf http://www.naacp.org/pages/criminal-justice-fact-sheet http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3621648/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892678/ http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=kfdetail&iid=487 http://www.nij.gov/topics/corrections/recidivism/pages/welcome.aspx http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-prison-industry-in-the-united-states-big-business-or-a-new-form-of-slavery/8289 https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2015/country-chapters/united-states https://www.hrw.org/united-states/criminal-justice http://www.naacp.org/pages/criminal-justice-fact-sheet https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/04/30/a-shocking-number-of-mentally-ill-americans-end-up-in-prisons-instead-of-psychiatric-hospitals/ |
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