Opinion: Holding such an important right in limbo is unconscionable.
———-

When I was 13 years old, I went to the Women’s March the day after Trump’s inauguration, and that was the first time I realized how deeply people care about abortion rights. I’ve supported abortion access since I first learned about it, but that day, I witnessed firsthand how contentious the issue is. Since then, it’s safe to say that abortion legislation has been on my radar. You can’t be a young woman in this country and ignore the issue, especially if you value making your own choices. After learning about the long path to Roe v. Wade protecting abortion access around the country, it was disheartening (to put it mildly) to see the Supreme Court reverse that decision with the Dobbs ruling.

None of that is quite what this article is about. If you keep up with the news, and even if you only skim headlines for a few seconds once a week, you’ve likely heard about the recent decision of one federal judge in Texas to block access to mifepristone, an abortion pill, nationwide. When I first pitched this article, the Supreme Court had just extended their pause on ruling on this case and I was in a frenzy.  This pause announced by Justice Alito, one of my least favorite backwards old men, didn’t fill me with confidence. And announcing their decision on a Friday evening after people — reporters included — had gone home for the evening? It looked like the perfect setup for depriving half the country of a basic right.

Of course, that’s not how it went that afternoon. When the actual ruling was announced, the Supreme Court protected access to the pill “for now.” While I’m grateful to still be able to buy the pill, I’m insulted by having my rights constantly in limbo. How ridiculous is it that one judge in Texas was almost able to make such a personal decision for every American?

I can’t find the words to perfectly express how annoyed I am that I live in a country full of old people who don’t trust me to make choices about my own health and future, and who are completely willing to yank my rights away when it’s convenient for them, but here’s my best shot. All I want is the absolute bare minimum: to control my own body. Who said that could be decided by some smarmy old man? It’s offensive to be treated like an adult in most regards (I could go to war, get married or make terrible financial decisions right now) but then be told that I’m not responsible enough to control my own body and a clueless old galoot who thinks women get late term abortions for fun should do it for me. Can you imagine the nerve?

And I’m certainly not the only one who feels so strongly about this issue. As UO student Katie Fendick sees it, abortion pills are “necessary and it shouldn’t even be a conversation.” It’s so alarming to have such a useful, vital right constantly up for debate. The idea that access is protected “for now” isn’t reassuring at all. We’ve learned not to trust that a right we currently have will be protected in the future.

“Abortion rights are not at all constant these days,” UO student Lauren Grover said. “Once Roe v. Wade was overturned and individual states were able to regulate abortions, we as a country have been stuck in a state where we’re never really sure of our rights since they’re constantly in motion.

I know I’m lucky to live in Oregon, where abortion access is ensured by state law. Governor Kotek even recently secured a years-long supply of mifepristone. But what if I lived in a state like Mississippi, with abortion bans both locally and in all surrounding states, and I had the misfortune of accidentally getting pregnant? The abortion pill could be my only safe hope. It’s not talked about as much as abortion itself, but it’s a fundamental bright spot in a wave of rights restriction. Being forced to carry an unwanted, unaffordable pregnancy to term helps no one, and it’s time for lawmakers to stop pushing deadlines back and hiding behind the phrase “for now.” Protect a right and commit to it.

If legislators are really in support of children the way they say they are, these conservative politicians should stop trying to ruin women’s lives and focus on actually having some kind of positive impact in the world. The mifepristone pill works during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, so it’s not as though it’s “killing a baby,” as they seem to love to phrase it.

If they’re so concerned about infants, they should take the countless available opportunities to help living, breathing children in foster care. They should make healthcare affordable so that giving birth isn’t prohibitively expensive for people who want to go through with it. They should be in favor of nationwide sex education and free birth control so accidental pregnancies don’t happen as often. If they really stand for what they say all the time, there are plenty of positive paths forward for them. But will they choose any of them? Not while they’re still in the middle of this power trip.