Let’s get real and stop sugar coating. The truth is, guns have more rights than women. 

Don’t believe it? Here’s proof: within the span of 24 hours, the United States Supreme Court took away human rights and granted rights to a piece of metal. On Thursday, June 23, the Supreme Court ruled that Americans have the right to carry a handgun outside the home for self defense, and therefore New York’s law requiring a permit to do so is too restrictive. On Friday, June 24, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, a precedent that has been held up for half a century granting women the right to have a legal abortion. This ruling now makes it illegal in many states for a woman to make a private and personal decision about their body and their reproductive system. So essentially, while it is perfectly legal and constitutional for someone to carry a lethal weapon, it’s not legal nor constitutional for a woman to decide whether or not they want to carry a child.

Abortions happen for various reasons, whether that be personal or medical. The process of labor brings many women close to death, and many women have indeed died from it. The land of the free and the most powerful nation in the world also has the highest maternal mortality rate. So why force someone to go through that process? The mother’s life and/or the baby’s life is not guaranteed, due to the fact that the U.S is too busy worrying about trying to control rather than trying to help and improve the healthcare system.

The Supreme Court is protecting a lethal weapon but is failing miserably to protect the rights of human beings. What if that pregnancy happens to be lethal? 

The US Constitution’s 2nd Amendment grants the right to bear arms, and allows citizens to choose whether or not they should do so. Yet it does not grant the right to make a choice about bearing a baby. In my opinion, gun violence has been more of a terror in the United States than abortion has. In 2022, in the span of six months there have been over 250 mass shootings; an incident in which 4 or more people are hit with gunfire, and 14 mass murders. 

Death after death. Murder after murder. Funeral after funeral.

You would think that after so many lives taken the focus would be on gun laws, and putting restrictions on access to guns. But no. Instead, the Supreme Court is focused on telling people what the hell to do with their uterus.  As a young woman who has the ability to get pregnant, my message to them is that your opinion should not dictate what I do with my body, if my safety does not dictate your gun laws. 

One thing that does not really make any sense to me is this concept of “pro life.” Definition-wise it means “the belief that all human life is created equal regardless of size, level of development, education, and the degree of dependency.” Let’s be honest, this terminology is used as a means of defense for the lack of reason and common sense behind it. Where are the pro-lifers when innocent children are getting gunned down in their classrooms? Where are the pro-lifers when these children are poor, sick, hungry, and homeless? 

They preach about how God loves everyone and how these fetuses are lives too, and yet once these fetuses actually become human beings, the pro-life message goes out the window. 

Pro-life doesn’t seem to be applied to guns, a weapon that has the ability to kill someone instantly. Second Amendment advocates insist gun owners should have the choice to carry.  If that’s the case then it should also be a choice whether or not women have an abortion. 

With these SCOTUS rulings, the court has essentially turned the US into a war zone. Gun violence is only going to increase, and just because it is now illegal, that does not mean that women will stop getting abortions. It just means that abortions will likely become more unsafe and women with the financial means will have to travel out of state in many parts of the country. Both of these issues have been around for centuries. All of this is about having the right to make a choice, no matter your race, religion, sexuality, or gender. Countless lives are going to be lost. But we have the means to change both of these rulings. That change starts with voting for candidates who are inclusive and supporting equal rights for all, therefore getting these absent-minded right leaning conservative career politicians out of office. Thus, sending the message that trans individuals, non-binary individuals, and women are human and not breeding incubators.