Since the advent of Roe vs. Wade in 973, there has been an ongoing debate on health care coverage for women wishing to receive an abortion. In 1976, congress quickly stepped in through the passage of the Hyde Amendment, named after House Representative Henry Hyde. Per the Hyde Amendment, Medicaid refuses to cover abortions except in cases of rape, incest, or threat to the woman’s life as a result of her pregnancy. Because 12% of all low-income US women are on Medicaid, they must find other ways to fund their abortion, usually resulting in a sacrifice of basic necessities such as food, clothing, mortgage, or rent payments.
In response, North Carolina developed a state abortion fund in 1978 to help cover abortion costs for low-income women. Between the years that the North Carolina abortion fund covered abortion for low-income women (1978-1995), the state funs were completely depleted a total of five times. During these years, 37% of all low-income women who would have received an abortion carried their pregnancy to term. Since 1995, North Carolina has limited its funding to women who are victims of rape, incest, or suffer from life-threatening health risks.
On average 20% of low-income North Carolina women who would have received an abortion, instead carried their pregnancy to full term. Not to mention that of those 20%, though they may not be plagued by a life-threatening disease, these women may suffer from a different form of illness, as one site put it “cancer, diabetes, or heart illness...” Though I do realize that I have been writing this blog with a pro-life stance (to the last comment, I was not assuming that all students were pro-life, the hyperlink describes one specific instance), I am beginning to see a flaw in our current system. If North Carolinians on a whole, and the state officials they elect, wish to support abortion on the grounds that it is a “woman’s choice,” then how can we support a funding process that is so blatantly discriminatory towards low-income women? Yes, in North Carolina we support a woman’s choice, because she has rights. We, the people of North Carolina support the rich-woman’s choice.
1 comment:
Good point. If you're going to allow abortions on the stance that it is a woman's choice, then all women should be allowed to have a equal opportunity to make a choice with equal consequence.
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