Neighbor News
The Urgency of Protecting a Woman’s Right to Choose
The right to choose is not up for debate. It is a right we cannot afford to lose.
As we navigate the turbulent currents of today’s political climate, the issue of reproductive rights stands at the heart of a battle not just over policy but over personal freedom, bodily autonomy, and human dignity. The right to choose — whether to carry a pregnancy, access contraception, or pursue in-vitro fertilization (IVF) — is under relentless attack, revealing a deep disconnect between those who champion control and those who trust women to make decisions about their own bodies.
The Dobbs decision, overturning Roe v. Wade, stripped millions of women of a constitutional right they had relied on for nearly 50 years. Since then, a wave of restrictive abortion laws has swept the nation. Some states have banned abortion outright, while others have instituted six-week bans, criminalized doctors, and limited access to essential care, all with the same underlying message: women cannot be trusted with their own choices. This rollback isn’t confined to abortion; it spills into reproductive health broadly, threatening access to IVF and other fertility treatments, despite the fact that millions of families rely on them to have children.
We have seen anti-choice rhetoric evolve beyond abortion, entangling IVF in its net. IVF, which involves creating embryos outside the body, becomes an ethical flashpoint in this ideological war. Some states have floated "personhood" laws granting embryos the same legal rights as people, potentially criminalizing the discarding of unused embryos. What happens to the thousands of women undergoing IVF who freeze embryos in the hope of one day completing their families? Are they now to fear prosecution for deciding not to implant every embryo? Fertility clinics that store these embryos live under a growing cloud of uncertainty, balancing the future of medicine against the specter of a legal crackdown.
This hostile climate reveals the uncomfortable truth that these laws aren't about life—they are about control. There is little regard for the pregnant person grappling with an unplanned pregnancy after a life-altering diagnosis. Or the woman seeking IVF, whose desire to become a mother may be criminalized by lawmakers who claim to protect life. These are private, personal moments—moments where government intrusion not only inflicts harm but shows a profound lack of empathy for the real struggles of women and families.
Consider the woman in Texas forced to carry a non-viable pregnancy because doctors feared legal reprisal. Or the couple in Louisiana who discovered their child would not survive after birth but had no access to care that would allow them to grieve on their own terms. These aren’t hypotheticals; they are the lived experiences of people stripped of choices by a system that devalues their autonomy.
The erosion of reproductive rights affects more than just individuals—it tears at the fabric of democracy. A government that dictates whether and how a woman can build her family sends a chilling message: your body is no longer your own, and your life must conform to someone else’s ideology. Such policies fundamentally alter the relationship between citizens and the state, reducing personal freedom to a bargaining chip for political gain.
This moment calls for clarity and courage. Protecting the right to choose is not just about preserving abortion access or ensuring IVF remains available; it’s about defending the belief that women are capable decision-makers. It’s about rejecting the idea that a government should decide when, how, and under what circumstances a family is created. And it’s about standing firm against those who would use fear and control to undermine the most basic tenet of personal freedom: the right to choose what is best for one’s body and future.
The time to act is now. We must push for legislation that protects reproductive rights and resists efforts to criminalize women, doctors, and families. This isn’t just a women’s issue—it’s a human rights issue. Every erosion of choice is a step toward a future where no one’s autonomy is safe. The right to choose is not up for debate. It is a right we cannot afford to lose.
