Women's Rights

Taylor Stone
Women's Rights are Human Rights! (should be)
As humans we are ALL entitled to rights. These include the freedom from discrimination and violence, the
right to the best possible physical and mental health, the right to an education, the right to own property, the
right to vote, and the right to an equal salary.
However, a lot of women and girls still experience prejudice based on their gender and sexual orientation
worldwide. Numerous issues that disproportionately impact women and girls are rooted in gender inequality,
including sexual and domestic abuse, low wages, limited access to education, and subpar healthcare.
Women's rights movements have been actively combating this inequity for a long time by agitating for
legislative changes or by staging protests to demand that their rights be upheld.
Current Event

One of the biggest, ongoing, and most debated arguments in women's rights is abortion. Most nations in the globe
have laws or practices that restrict women's access to safe and legal abortions. In fact, due to a lack of appropriate
legislation, health care, or political will, women frequently have extremely restricted access to safe abortion
services even in states where the practice is legal. However, only a very tiny fraction of nations outlaw abortion
in its entirety. Most nations and legal systems permit abortions when necessary to preserve the life of the
expectant mother or in cases where rape or incest resulted in the pregnancy. Abortion is a sensitive topic that stirs
strong feelings and perspectives. But above all, equal access to safe abortion services is a fundamental woman
right. Women in places where abortion is prohibited and dangerous are compelled to carry undesired pregnancies
to term or risk grave health risks, including death.
Abortion is a Women's right!

The human right of a woman to make decisions about her reproductive life should be respected by
governments. When a woman chooses to end her pregnancy, as 46 million women do each year, she needs to
have access to the resources and assistance that will allow her to do so safely. Governments that punish and
prosecute women for having abortions are punishing women for exercising their fundamental rights. When a
woman can only choose to end a pregnancy by facing a significant risk to her life and health, these rights are
nevertheless guaranteed. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 20 million women get unsafe
abortions annually. Every year, around 70,000 women lose their lives as a result of these unsafe abortions.

Forcing a woman to undergo a life-threatening unsafe abortion threatens her right to life.
Women's Rights : Timeline
There have been many trailblazers for women in American history who have fought for equality. One of the first events in American
history to take place for women's rights was the Women's Rights Convention, which took place in Seneca Falls, NY. This movement was
to fight for suffrage amongst woman.

Although the Civil War was a period of great change in many respects, it also offered women a rare chance to assume roles they had
never been able to previously. It allowed them to choose between being a devoted wife and mother and a nationalist.

The 1973 case Roe v. Wade is well-known for causing the Supreme Court to rule on the legality of abortion. Unmarried and carrying a
child, Jane Roe filed a lawsuit against Texas abortion restrictions on behalf of herself and other parties. In support of Roe, a Texas
physician filed a lawsuit, claiming that doctors could not fairly enforce the state's ambiguous abortion regulations. He had already been
taken into custody for breaking the law.
Texas at the time forbade abortions unless they were performed in order to preserve the mother's life. Getting or attempting an abortion
was illegal.
The Supreme Court rendered two significant decisions in Roe v. Wade : The basic "right to privacy" guaranteed by the US Constitution
safeguards a person's ability to decide whether to have an abortion or not.
Abortion rights are not unqualified. It needs to be weighed against the government's goals of safeguarding fetal health and life.
19th Amendment

Women began organizing, petitioning, and picketing to gain the right to vote in the 1800s, but it took them decades to succeed in
their goal. Advocates of women's voting rights put in a lot of effort between August 18, 1920, when the amendment was adopted,
and 1878, when it was first submitted in Congress. However, the methods they used to accomplish this goal differed. Some pursued
the goal of enacting state-by-state suffrage bills; by 1912, nine western states had done so. Male-only voting laws were contested in
court by others. More aggressive strategies including picketing, silent vigils, and hunger strikes were employed by certain
suffragists. Supporters frequently faced strong opposition. They were physically attacked, arrested, and ridiculed by their
opponents. Nearly every significant suffrage group had come together in 1916 to support a constitutional amendment. The political
tide began to turn in 1917 when New York granted women the right to vote and in 1918 when President Wilson shifted his stance in
favor of an amendment. The amendment was approved by the House of Representatives on May 21, 1919, and the Senate did the
same two weeks later. On August 18, 1920, Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment, clearing the last obstacle of
needing the support of three-fourths of the states. On August 26, 1920, Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified the
ratification, permanently altering the makeup of the American electorate.