Medicaid only pays for necessary abortions

Martina Angela Caretta, Morgantown NOW, Morgantown
If I die tomorrow, my kidneys could be harvested to save other people’s lives, because I signed up as an organ donor. But if I hadn’t signed up as an organ donor, then no one could take my organs, even if I were dead and my kidneys would save other people’s lives.
By 2019, a corpse might have more rights than a pregnant woman in West Virginia. That’s because Amendment 1, which will be on the ballot in November, could lead to a ban on abortion in all cases, even rape, incest, and the life of the mother.
But if the government can’t control my organs after I die even to save multiple lives, why should they be able to control my uterus while I’m alive by actually taking away my constitutional rights!?
Some argue that millions of Medicaid dollars will be saved by outlawing abortion, but Medicaid dollars are only used for abortion when a doctor says it’s medically necessary; banning the use of these funds means that women could die because carrying a baby will be life-threatening for them. It could also lead to dangerous unsafe abortion practices.
Is this what being pro-life is — letting women die to save money? I say: Each person has ownership over his or her own body and saving the life of another is a principle of basic human rights. Let’s make sure that human rights extend to West Virginia women.
Vote no on Amendment 1 — it’s extreme and un-American. Please see votenoon1wv.org.