In the 45 years since becoming the law of the land, Roe v. Wade has saved countless lives.
While many might argue the validity of that statement, mentioning that "babies" are dying during the procedure, Roe has, in fact, saved lives, making abortions in medical facilities safe, according to Gary Woodcock in this morning's Tampa Bay Times ("Column: This is what back-alley abortions were really like")
In his years as a Baltimore police officer, Woodcock saw his share of horror bestowed on women who wanted (or, in many cases, needed) to terminate a pregnancy in the pre-Roe years. Before you rush to call Woodcock a liberal in a cop's uniform, he acknowledges that he is "a moderate conservative or, equally, a moderate liberal, depending on the issue du jour," who grew up as a staunch Catholic, then served his country as a Marine, before becoming a police officer.
He wrote that he saw what having an illegal abortion in a non-medical setting frequently does to a woman. On a good day, she may end up in the hospital for several days recovering; on bad days, if she survives, she may become unable to have future children. (And if she dies? Who then cares for any of the children she may already have, children now left motherless and without being able to look forward to future siblings yet to come?)
While there are many reasons a woman might need to terminate a pregnancy - possibly the result of a rape or incest, possibly lovingly conceived with a partner before finding out a difficult medical diagnosis that, without treatment, means certain death, but with treatment would leave the fetus with severe birth defects and/or deformities (think cancer or zika) - how can one, in good conscience, say that sentencing women to death for what should be a private decision between that woman and her health care provider is the right thing to do? For who?
There are many reasons to keep abortion legal, as well as overturning the Hyde Amendment, which makes it difficult to receive a federally funded abortion.
Start by reading Mr. Woodcock's article, then have an honest and open-minded conversation with someone who has needed an abortion. You'd be surprised how many women have needed one, and count on Roe's continued existence.
