Abortions. This has been the buzzword of controversy in the debate about female reproductive rights since the conversation started. Do women have the right to terminate an unwanted pregnancy, or is it murder of a developing fetus?

Pro-life advocates would say that life begins at conception; once the egg is fertilized by a sperm, then that is a growing human being who deserves to live. But it might not be as cut and dry as that.

There are countless women who, upon finding out they are pregnant, turn to organizations like Planned Parenthood to weigh their options and debate whether or not they want an abortion or are suited to be a parent.

Pro-life bills like the recently passed Missouri House Bill 126, which bans abortions once a heartbeat of a fetus is detected, are taking away the ability for women to consider abortion as an option.

A baby’s heartbeat can be detected from as early as 4 weeks in a pregnancy, and many women are not aware of their pregnancy at that point, or earlier. So passing and enforcing a law that doesn’t truly give women the options they’re looking for is just another loophole for pro-life politicians to pass legislation that detracts from the federal court ruling with Roe v. Wade.

Restrictive laws like this take away the voice of women who fought for this option, disregarding what they feel they need.

For many women, abortions seem like their best option for one reason or another. Regardless of that, the recent growth of legislation by pro-life politicians is detracting from the option that Roe v. Wade gave women in 1973.

Roe v. Wade paved a path for women to make a choice based on their beliefs about their pregnancy and the fetus’s potential quality of life.

For some women, abortions seem like the only option. These are women who know that they are unsuited to be able to provide a good quality of life for a child. There are so many factors that go into a child’s well being, whether it’s financial, medical, emotional, mental, physical, social or other, being unable to meet those would cause more harm than good.

They know that if they bring a child into this world, the child’s needs would not be met and the quality of life of the mother could also dwindle in the same fashion. Which is why protecting the right for women to choose whether or not they want an abortion, even if it’s just as an option, is so important.

Being pro-choice says it in the name. It means you have the right to choose what you want to do for yourself and your reproductive system.

As a parent, their role is to protect and ensure a beneficial quality of life in that child, so why put women in a position that could be both damaging to them and a child.

Being pro-choice does not mean that you believe everyone should get an abortion, it simply means that you want women to have every option available to them and that it’s up to the discretion of each woman to make her own choice when it comes to pregnancy.

But that choice becomes a hard one to make when some religions have a fundamental disagreement with the concept of abortions and ban their followers from being allowed to take part in the procedure, which is why this is such a disputed topic. But the American government was founded on the idea of separating the biases of church and state. Which leaves pro-choice legislation as the most inclusive and aiding to all.