In the Nov. 13 issue, The Chanticleer wrote an article titled, “The fight for life continues across campus,” covering the recent protest against the Palmetto State Abortion Fund and CCU’s Women and Gender Studies program’s alleged association.
As journalists, we feel it is important to speak up about topics such as abortion because the expression of opinions and solutions, no matter the stance, is crucial to educating and reforming society.
In a general sense, we at The Chanticleer believe it is a woman’s right to make decisions that concern her own body. Therefore, we believe women should have access to vital healthcare, including safe and accessible access to abortions.
Women should be able to control their own reproductive lives without outside interference, including government regulation.
We believe that abortion is a fundamental human right, which the threat to dismantle would open the door for other fundamental rights to be stripped as well. We believe illegalizing abortion does not prevent them from occurring, but rather leads women to search for them elsewhere, especially in unsafe and unhealthy environments.
While our Editorial Board may not agree with every point made by protesters, we acknowledge and appreciate their recognition of the influence that unaffordable housing and inaccessible living needs have on abortion rates. We also acknowledge their concern for safety, agreeing that medical guidelines should be clear when handling such procedures or medication and should never be deceptive to medical professionals.