The policies should be made by those who have uteruses, nobody else. Graphic by Anna Gritzenbach and Maddie Wood.

MADDIE WOOD | OPINION EDITOR | mawood1@butler.edu 

ANNA GRITZENBACH | ASSISTANT OPINION EDITOR | agritzenbach@butler.edu 

Content warning: references to sexual assault.

If cisgender men had uteruses this article would never be written. 

Human rights should not be a topic of debate — especially reproductive healthcare. 

Cisgender men and people without uteruses have never had their reproductive autonomy revoked. They have never experienced a period. They have never had a doctor patronize them and chalk their medical problems up to side effects of the menstrual cycle. Those who don’t possess a uterus don’t have to think before having sex about whether or not they will have to bear a child. 

Sophomore criminology-sociology major Max Korte believes that this conversation should be exclusively decided by those who possess a uterus. 

“I think that people who will never know what it’s like to experience [sexual assault] with the possibility of getting pregnant from it need to find their way out of the conversation,” Korte said. “I think that [those without uteruses in general] who have strong feelings about abortion [and are] pro-life come from an incredible place of privilege.” 

49 years after the adoption of Roe v. Wade, it was overturned in June of 2022 — stripping away people’s rights to their own uteruses in America. 

In his address to the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, former President Donald Trump emphasized the importance of American liberty.

“In America, we believe in the majesty of freedom and the dignity of the individual,” Trump said in his address. 

Trump mentions the “individual,” but what he means to say is the white, heterosexual, cisgender man. 

A point of pride for America is freedom, but we cannot be free if our bodies are policed by the government. 

Sophomore biology major Olivia Nightingale believes that the social systems in place have a direct influence on healthcare and the control of women’s bodies in politics. 

“I think the politicization of women’s bodies just further objectifies them,” Nightingale said. “[That structure] is built by the patriarchy and, unfortunately, they have a lot of control over the healthcare system and over [many different] systems in general.” 

The patriarchy has a hand in everything — it’s the very basis of our country. We may have “freedom,” but you only have those freedoms and liberties if you are a white, heterosexual, cisgender and able-bodied male. 

We recognize that we are fortunate enough to live in a country where our reproductive rights were once protected, but if one of the fundamental pillars of American society is “freedom and justice for all” then human health shouldn’t even be whispered about in a debate except to emphasize its necessity to sustaining that freedom and justice. 

Vice President Kamala Harris built a large portion of her presidential campaign on the fact that she will fight for reproductive rights. While it’s appealing to most, we shouldn’t have to vote for a candidate just because we want basic human rights. We should be past this debate, and it’s horrific that we are not. 

The “debate” that has occupied voters’ minds is incorrect — it’s not pro-abortion versus pro-life — the argument is pro-choice versus pro-controlling women. 

Dr. Teigha VanHester, an assistant professor of race, gender and sexuality studies, shares the sentiment that the argument is not as simple as saying you’re pro-life. 

“I’m interested to see how people have such strong opinions about notions of being pro-life when they really mean anti-abortion because a lot of people that are spewing pro-life [ideology that believes] that the zygotes are living, breathing, [functioning and] independent things, which they’re not,” VanHester said. “But as soon as that umbilical cord is cut, these people don’t adopt kids or give money to CPS or foster care systems or group homes or child reunification.” 

No one who has an abortion takes that decision lightly. There is no such thing as “medical abortion Monday” or abortions after birth. It is a calculated and well-thought-out decision between the individual having the procedure and their healthcare provider — that’s it. 

Medical decisions only involve the patient and the provider, so why is reproductive health any different? 

How would you feel if the medical decisions you made that you thought were confidential were public? If you choose to get a vasectomy, a circumcision — every single choice, voluntary or not, is out in the open.

Every person seeking medical care should have the right to privacy in every capacity. 

Along with privacy, every type of healthcare is a basic right: gender-affirming care, birth control and contraception access. These are life-saving medications and treatments that are basic medical needs every single individual should be able to access. 

The harsh reality is that every single day there are people who suffer in silence, and are scared to get hurt or sick because they know that they can’t afford the insane prices that come with healthcare. It’s ridiculously expensive to be transported by an ambulance, to have a child and even to die. You can’t have any sort of healthcare without almost putting yourself in debt. 

Furthermore, many of us come from various educational backgrounds as well, some receiving significantly more education regarding sex and their own bodies. Many are also exploring their own bodies, and perhaps how they interact with others, for the first time and lack the general resources and education to do it safely. 

VanHester believes that college is the environment where we make mistakes, it’s encouraged, and we have the right to be secure in the support for those explorations. 

“This is when you’re supposed to be figuring out your body, your body with other bodies or even if you like being around other bodies,” VanHester said. “You should be supported in whatever decisions you make, and be able to make those first without having to worry about your consent being honored.” 

Not only is there a lack of education about general healthcare, but there also is a lack of education about abortion and reproductive rights. What many individuals who are against abortion don’t realize is that even when you ban abortion, that won’t stop it from happening — it just stops it from happening safely. 

There are countless circumstances for someone to need an abortion — one of them being that they just don’t want to have a child, which is an entirely valid reason. We are 20-year-old college students who can barely choose what to eat for dinner — if we even remember to eat in the first place — so how can we be expected to go through a nine-month pregnancy and raise a child on our own? Especially with the horrendous state of our foster care system, the last thing we want to do right now is bring another child into this awful world. 

Right now, we are living through yet another historical event that could result in women and individuals with uteruses losing their right to choose for themselves. Regardless of who wins the election, this conversation can’t ever stop. We have to fight for our rights to healthcare, whether it be general, reproductive or something as small as a weird-looking mole — nobody should ever have to feel like they don’t have a choice. 

“Once you have a vagina, you can talk to me about what it means to have a vagina,” VanHester said. “Until then, I don’t want the majority of the people in the room [who] are phallic individuals making a decision about an organism that is the least scientifically studied thing in medicine … who follow the science the least amount [possible], by people who refuse to acknowledge the separation of church and state. It’s not very hard to articulate that.” 

We are not ashamed to say we’re scared. Being scared doesn’t mean that you can’t fight. We won’t back down and will not stop shouting from the rooftops that we deserve the right to choose.