Maddie Majerus, Co-President of the Reproductive Justice Club at ASU and Appalachian State University Senior
I am writing this because I am angry. I am angry that, yet again, North Carolina politicians think that they know best when it comes to someone making a personal medical decision. House Bill 465 would TRIPLE the current waiting period for people seeking abortions, extending it to a full 72 hours. What a demeaning, condescending concept! That after expressing to your doctor that you need this medical procedure, you have to go home and think it over for three more days before being allowed to receive it!
A three-day waiting period may seem like a minor annoyance, but for some people seeking abortion, it is a huge barrier to overcome. There are only a handful of abortion clinics in North Carolina, which means that some people have to travel for hours in order to get to one. This means taking time off work (and loosing out on the money they would be making), potentially finding and paying for childcare, and finding and paying for transportation. A three-day waiting period means that a person seeking an abortion would not have to do this once, but TWICE, if the clinic requires in-person initial visits. What if your employer won’t let you take the time off work? What if you don’t own a car and you can’t find a ride? How are you supposed to access the healthcare that you need with this added, unnecessary barrier?
Some of our lawmakers think that people need this extra time to think thier decision over. Representative Presnell said that she thinks that a person’s decision to get an abortion is made “very abrupt, very quickly.” Quite frankly, Representative. Presnell, it is none of your business if someone took three seconds, three days, or three weeks to make their choice! It is their decision to make, NOT yours. As Representative Adcock, a nurse practitioner said, “It’s not about knowledge, it’s about delay. It’s about medically unnecessary delay.”
I am fighting to protect a person’s right to decide what is right for their life and their body. That is why my Co-President, Anna Lobastova, and I will be joining Planned Parenthood and NARAL NC on Monday, May 11th at 4:30pm at the Governors Mansion to #StopHB465! Join us! Tell McCrory we remember his campaign promise and sign this petition to urge him to VETO HB 465!
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