During a Republican presidential debate, Trump recognized that Planned Parenthood “helps millions and millions of women” who turn to the organization for services like breast and cervical-cancer screenings. However, he also explained that he would gladly defund it because it performs abortions, something he clearly doesn’t support.
One of the first steps President Trump actually took on his first day in the Oval Office was to sign a ban on federal money going to international organizations that perform or simply provide information about abortion services. Yesterday, Trump’s ban came into fruition as he signed legislation cutting off federal funding to Planned Parenthood and other organizations offering abortion services.
What Does Trump’s Anti-Abortion Law Mean?
Don’t worry, women are not being completely banned from having abortions in the U.S., but this law is certainly cause for concern for those of us that are pro-choice. However, this new law will certainly provide some barriers for women in need of abortion services or healthcare in general.
“Despite repeated promises that he would protect and invest in women’s health, President Trump has once again shown that his words carry little weight,” argued Heidi Williamson, the senior policy analyst for the Women’s Health and Rights Program at the Center for American Progress. “Trump’s actions are creating very real and damaging consequences for millions of women and their families, inflicting direct harm on already vulnerable communities.”
Towards the end of Obama’s term, he passed a rule that prevented state and local governments from withholding federal funding for family planning services regarding contraception, sexually transmitted infections, pregnancy, breast and cervical cancer, and abortions. Unfortunately, the Trump administration’s new law nullifies and essentially reverses the previous actions taken by Obama.
Ironically, it was Vice President Mike Pence who cast the tie-breaking vote in the Senate, who hasn’t exactly been shy in sharing his views on abortion. “A society can be judged by how it deals with its most vulnerable, the aged, the infirm, the disabled, and the unborn. I believe it with all my heart,” Pence said at one of the debates. “And I couldn’t be more proud to be standing with a pro-life candidate in Donald Trump.” (source)
Of course, one of the largest organizations that’s affected by this new law is Planned Parenthood. The majority of the federal funding Planned Parenthood actually receives supports preventative health care, birth control, pregnancy tests, and other women’s health services. In fact, only 3% of the services the organization provides are abortions.
President Trump actually proposed that Planned Parenthood could keep its funding if it stopped providing abortion services. Thankfully, the organization didn’t accept his conservative deal, stating that the organization would never do such a thing.
To be clear, we’re not advocating women should use birth control, nor are we ignorant of some of the corruption within Planned Parenthood (read more about that here and here). I actually wrote an article on the dangers of using birth control, which you can read about here. However, that doesn’t mean that women shouldn’t be entitled to make their own decisions about their body.
People are allowed to take pharmaceuticals, eat whatever they want, and subject their bodies to toxins and other harmful substances. We all have free will to do whatever we want to our own bodies. Although I believe your body is your temple and that you should treat it with care, at the end of the day, it’s ultimately just that: Your body.
Your Body, Your Choice?
The U.S. healthcare system doesn’t fund abortions anyways, with the exception of rape, incest, or to save a woman’s life. This doesn’t seem entirely fair to me, as I don’t think healthcare should be determined by the amount of money we have saved in our bank accounts.
What so many people who are anti-abortion seem to forget is that if it’s not your body, it’s not your decision to make. Who are we to judge women if they want to have an abortion? Likewise, we shouldn’t judge women if they choose not to have abortions, either. So many women are shamed into or out of having abortions by other people, it can be easy to forget that the decision shouldn’t be made at the societal level, but rather at the individual, soul level.
We shouldn’t judge any human being, regardless of the decisions they make and actions they take. We are all on our own journey, there isn’t “one right path” for us all to take during what we call “the human experience.”
Even if you yourself don’t support abortion or you don’t think you’d ever have one, that doesn’t give you the right to tell others how to think or what to do. Part of the beauty in this world is understanding why we all have such different opinions. We all endure different experiences and hold different truths, leading us to have completely opposing belief systems.
We live in a dualistic world, and so society takes these polarizing views on subjects like abortion, claiming that they’re either pro- or anti- certain topics, creating even more separatism. By claiming to be anti-abortion, you’re perpetuating a certain belief system, which could ultimately prevent you from learning from and connecting with others.
Of course, abortion isn’t a subject to take lightly, and it’s not as “black and white” as being for or against it. The physical, emotional, and energetic repercussions of having an abortion can be incredibly difficult. Abortions can lead to the manifestation of other physical ailments and can cause tons of emotional and energetic blockages for women (and even men), particularly regarding the sacral chakra.
At a soul level, I believe we choose our most difficult experiences in order to learn and grow from them. Given the difficulty surrounding the before and aftermath of abortions, why would anyone want to make that experience even more difficult for them? We shouldn’t shame people for the decisions they make, regardless of how we feel about them. The world is our greatest mirror, as we are all reflections of one another. Remember that next time you’re arguing with someone or judging someone for their actions or beliefs!
SOURCE: Collective-evolution.com
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