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Show OPINION Di 4 4 ', 1.:.4 , 0 hrio abordorra rig ttlia7Eln Inv! ri , , i 1 1 BY RYANN HEINLEN AvereeRHeinlen Mandatory motherhood isn't beneficial to anyone, especially children. Despite this overwhelmingly true statement, the Ohio House of Representatives passed House Bill 258, which would make it punishable by law to abort a pregnancy with a detectable fetal heartbeat. This bill would demand women carry the child to term. The bill challenges earlier precedent set forth by the Supreme Court in 1973 known as Roe v. Wade, in which "the highest court in the land" made a 2 decision that women have a legal right to abortion under the Constitution. In this case, forced childbirth and mandatory motherhood have nothing to do with religion or genuine sympathy for the unborn child. Instead, 7-- 1 ' 11.,0-7r- ij tz 14'0 i0.1-4-! Fl U rim a poilickall cimuest;iy, deadly utmEmen En U2 h, al ovev America Representative Christina Hagan wants to force her belief that all women should be mothers and childless women are lazy and selfish down the gullet of every person in the United States. Hagan argues that motherhood is a difficult but "necessary" part of a woman's life and stated mandatory motherhood will help to ensure a stable population for the human race. However, there are some glaring holes in this argument. First and foremost, 60 percent of women looking to abort a pregnancy already have one or more children in the home. Of the other forty percent, most of the women are looking forward to having children in the future, but want to obtain financial and interpersonal stability before bringing a child into the world. Secondly, the human population is just fine; the Earth is overpopulated. As a species, we can hold off on children for a little while and be okay. The reason this "pro-life- " bill is so controverthe obvious besides sial, attempt to control the bodies and minds of women, is because it would make performing or undergoing LAH - , i I I I I ! i '., ' 1 ,' .0 '''.1 i ) 1 ,7 ' 13 I uf : ,,,. f ' k f LI H'i 0 , i i r 1 0 -, ,' I, I U , ', rI'l , i i 1 i t) :.,:,-- i, 4 r it i , u 1 t, . , , ,-- !! 1 1 , , 1 . ,, -- L , 1 ) , i z,,' ,,,,,,,, ,,,, ',. i ') , e ., 1 1 ' H.,:; , 0' eifo ,e fr",,,, - ... , , k , , 1 i I -- , ., NN ( IT ',,,,' ---- --: I,- ' , ' - - , , i o ,,,,, ,,,,,,.. r7 u I C Z Z 1 L the abortion procedure a capital offense punishable by death. The bill is so pro-lif- e it will kill you. Also, making the cutoff the moment a fetal heartbeat is detected sets the deadline at 6 weeks. Most women don't even know they are pregnant until weeks, giving the potential mother little to no time to decide and pigeon-holin- g her into carrying a child she might not be able to economically afford or emotionally support. Mandatory motherhood would undoubtedly cause a rise in childhood abuse and assault, and the women and children of the women forced into childbirth would presumably suffer from mental illness. Parents experiencing financial stress lead to 7-- children with higher rates of depression and anxiety because stress affects the way parents raise their children. Whether it is subconscious or not, stress causes parents to lash out at their children, and this bill would force a lot of single mothers and new couples into taking on a lifetime financial burden they didn't necessarily tives and let them know that not only is this bill not okay for Ohio now, but it will never be okay in any other state. Even though the November elections are over, we still have a voice; we still have a say. Exercise your rights everyday, not just on election day, and help advocate for women whose voices are not heard, or at the very least, plan for. Call your representa not respected. I, Merry Christmas' shouldn't be censored Send letters to the editor to DixieSundixia edu. Letters to the editor are accepted and may be published in the newspaper andor dixiesunnews. cam. The guidelines for letters are as follows: Submissions should be no longer than 250 words and must be Writers must include name, phone number and email address. Students should also include year in school, hometown and major. Letters are subject to editing for length, style and grammar. Letters consisting of inaccurate, libelous or highly offensive content will not be published. Letters should be submitted to dixiesundixie.edu in the body of the email, not an attachment. Letters become property of Dixie Sun News and may be published in any format. Dixie Sun News enwell-writte- courages a lively discussion on its website among its readers. Dixie Sun News does not edit comments. However, an editor will not post any comments that are libelous or vulgar. . .t-- . . - I ,t BY " AWE TT , 17 ,, (011(fi'lliiii ,,) (,)) I ,4 j;: 11 1:171417 t I, II L.,. k, ,.., - KITTEL )7 kittellm .re."7 ( A'1 ,, ''''''''''' 1 j People all over the world ,,.. ,' ',F"' should be able to wish each other a "Merry 1 i A 4,,,,,,,,,,,.,,c Christmas" without fear i of offending one another. or Don't get me wrong, I don't believe any certain , , , ' .,' religion or its holidays ziz r are more prevalent or 1.,,,,...s.m.,; important than any othwhat they allow their emers. There has just been an enormous amount of ployees to say. For many parts of backlash in recent years the world, Christmas is regarding Americans' apnot of overuse necessarily a refer"Merry parent ence to the religion of Christmas" as their priChristianity, but rather, mary season's greeting. a season. According to The majority of people an article written by The who face the dilemma of whether to say "Merry Guardian, "the saying in Britain seems to have Christmas" or some other lost its religious meaning. form of "Season's GreetPeople say it regardless of ings" are not people you whether or not they celerun into on the street or brate while cashier Christmas, and busigetting your nesses feel no remorse Amercoffee. Corporate whatsoever at openly the big companies ica such as Walmart, Target, calling things 'Christmas sales' or 'Christmas parare the ones woretc. ties'." ried about what they put While I personally do on their holiday ads and ''''4 ' '.--, 4 ''.- - ;' '''''. N . ,, 1 '7.i t r i, ,...' - , .....1, , - , 41,,, I , 1 , j' c ff ' A A 'OP' '' '4'4' "' r 4 -, r r ) ( ' ,i, , , ee ..,--' b it aatah -- 'AV -- not condone the of the when times often holiday, we speak of Christmas, it's not a nod to the birth of Jesus Christ but rather the time of year when we bundle up in coats and beanies and drink hot chocolate. There is nothing wrong with wishing someone a happy winter time, right? Unfortunately, some people still do think this is wrong. In fact, according to the Chicago Tribune, in polls taken this month, the country split. The results were 47 percent near-exact- ly for "Happy holidays" and 46 percent for "Merry Christmas." The world we live in today is extremely careful to be politically correct, which is not a bad thing by any means. Appreciation and respect for all cultures and ways of life is more prevalent today than it ever has been in years past. However, in an effort to not offend anyone, we are losing so much of what makes our country unique. We have so much diversity and variety throughout the United States that should be celebrated. The bottom line is you can't quite sum up the meaning of Christmas in a short article in a newspaper. However, you can definitely sum up what it is not. It's not intentional exclusion of other religions or trying to offend those who do not celebrate. Those who wish others a Merry Christmas and truly mean it would have the same respect and appreciation when they are wished a happy Hanukkah, merry Kwanzaa or any other form of happy holidays. The best response is always a genuine "thank you." |