The phrase a ‘woman’s right to choose’ should be just that- her right to decide what is best for her body. In the case of abortion, women should have the right to terminate a pregnancy regardless of the trimester.

Every decision made in life, big or small, will have its repercussions. No matter the situation, people should be entitled to make their own choices. Especially when those choices are life changing.

Unfortunately in Arizona, that’s not always the case.

On Jan. 13, the Supreme Court made a responsible decision when it declined to hear an appeal on Arizona’s law to ban abortions after a pregnancy has reached 20 weeks, declaring it unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court denied grant of the law because it was found to be in violation of the standards established in the 1973 case Roe v. Wade. In this case, the court ruled that abortion laws may intervene only in the third trimester in the interest of protecting the life of a fetus when it can survive outside the womb.

This isn’t so much an issue regarding pro-life or pro-choice, but one that empowers women to know they have control of their own bodies. The United States prides itself on having equality for all, but until that equality covers the reproductive rights of women, this country will be living a lie.

The decision to have an abortion is a pregnant woman’s “zone of privacy,” according to the decision written by Justice Harry Blackmun. The Arizona law would have invaded that privacy.

Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights in New York, chimed in on the debate in an article by The Washington Post and stated that “women should not be forced to run to court, year after year, in state after state, to protect their constitutional right and access to critical healthcare.”

Abortions come with many unspoken consequences, and these are consequences that women have already considered when getting such an invasive procedure.

The women who are stuck in this predicament may be the same women who were set back due to the government’s war on female contraceptives. The government should not be allowed to take away options that have already been put into motion.

Regardless of race, age or religion, women should be able to have the right to choose if and when they want an abortion.

It’s time for Arizona to put its archaic law-changing attempts to rest and accept the fact that women have been capable of making their own decisions for years, and will continue doing so.

–Marissa Mararac is a junior communication major from Tacoma. She can be contacted at 335-2290 or by [email protected]. The opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of the staff of The Daily Evergreen or those of Student Publications.