Roe v. Wade: A Commentary by Someone It Affects

Commentary by Paris Dozier. Photo courtesy of NPR.

Female bodies always seem to be up for debate—what little girls should and shouldn't wear, what is okay to share on the internet or teach in schools, and now, abortions. With the Supreme Court’s leaked draft opinion floating around so that everyone can share their opinion, I’m left with a question: Why is my body always a conversation that I’m never included in?

While abortions are legal in the United States now, the laws have seemed to be trembling for a while. I’ve been hearing that abortions will no longer be legal for what feels like years. It’s such a grand discussion that I’ve even had it with people my age. Now, with the Supreme Court’s draft opinion on banning abortions having been leaked, it’s beginning to look official and that’s scary. While I am a pro-life enthusiast, I’ve heard several arguments on the pro-choice side of the discussion. Some say that abortion is murder, that life begins at conception, or that it defies the word of God. However, it’s important that we acknowledge our reality. We live in a world that is sadly riddled with sexual assault, child and teenage pregnancies, dangerous or deadly pregnancies, and to put it simply, everyone living a different and personal situation. We cannot strictly ban abortions for the simple safety of people whose situation we can and will never know.

It's crystal clear that women have been controlled and stifled for centuries. Laws, legislatures, many men, and even some of our fellow women often tell us what we can and can’t or should and shouldn’t do. Banning abortion simply seems like another way for legislators to control women’s right to do what they want with their own bodies. The fact of the matter is that some people just can’t stand to see women in control of anything…think about it. Some of the most taboo subjects in our society have to do with not only female bodies, but all of our bodies and how they really work according to someone else. So when it comes to talking about abortions, the conversations are predominantly led and verdicts are made by the boldest of men, the people who will never in their lives have one. Imagine if it was the other way around; women controlling the conversations and decisions about their own bodies. I wish that didn’t sound so absolutely out of the norm.

Normally I try to end my articles with an open-ended conversation. With a “What do you all think, maybe you can change my mind,” or an “I don’t know though, that is just my opinion.” I won’t say that my stance can’t ever be changed, however I don’t think I should do that for this article. Keep your laws and opinions away from my body, especially if the laws can never affect you.  

Paris Dozier is a 7th Grade Scholar at Friendship Woodridge International School.