By Ashlyn Beck | News Editor
In an especially contentious election season, and as many Americans vote contrary to their party, a few issues might sway this election either way.
One of the biggest issues impacting voters’ decisions is abortion, and Baylor students are no exception. Texas law currently prohibits abortion except in cases where the life or health of the patient is at risk.
Allen junior Abigail Fair is the president for Bears For Life, an anti-abortion group on campus, and said that the candidates’ abortion stance is one of the biggest influences on her vote in this election.
“I oppose all abortion, and I try to vote according to that belief because I believe that human life is the most important issue,” Fair said. “I always try to vote for the party and the ticket that will cause the least loss of life.”
Heartbeats are detectable beginning in the sixth week of pregnancy. However, Fair said she believes it is never justifiable to obtain an abortion, even before a heartbeat is detected.
“At any point, it’s always going to end a human life, whether it’s early in the pregnancy or not,” Fair said. “Every abortion will stop a beating heart.”
Conversely, Glendale, Ariz. senior and Texas Rising Campus Organizer Brynley Jones said that although Texas Rising is a non-partisan organization and does not take a stance on the issue, she is in full support of abortion in all cases.
The issue of abortion is riddled with misconceptions, Jones said. Many believe it’s a form of birth control, but Jones believes this just isn’t the case.
“There’s just so many different scenarios that play into it that people have the privilege of not having to think about,” Jones said.
Additionally, Texas’ current ban on abortion often puts medical professionals in difficult spots. Texans who perform abortions can face life in prison or fines up to $100,000. Doctors in the state have already been sued for providing the medial procedure.
Jones said anti-abortion laws take away a woman’s right to make her own decisions for her body.
“I don’t believe it is my business to be making any decisions about what you can and can’t do with your body,” Jones said.
Despite such converse and contentious views, Jones and Fair agreed that it’s essential to talk about the issue with civility. While they hold opposite positions, both of them acknowledge that the issue is very personal to many women, and charity and grace are imperative in these conversations.
“I do think that it is so important to recognize how this issue can be extremely intense and emotional for many people to talk about, especially women,” Fair said.
It’s possible and important to have conversations that don’t attack specific people or their views, Jones said. Conversations can simply explore the logic and science of the issue to hopefully come to a similar conclusion.
“There are people that I have had just really passionate conversations with [about abortion],” Jones said. “We haven’t ended in a resolution, but it’s helped me better understand them and their perspective.”
Jones said she has felt difficulty at times discussing abortion at a Baptist university. Despite this, she is resolute in continuing to advocate for women’s rights.
“I get really sad about the notion that is afforded to me that I don’t care about babies,” Jones said. “I also care just as much about the mother’s rights. I care about human rights. I care about bodily autonomy. I believe in personal freedom.”
Jones said she finds creative ways to advocate for women’s rights and believes it’s essential that people continue to have hard conversations.
“If nobody talks about women’s rights, they’re just going to keep getting smaller,” Jones said.
Jones said it’s tragic that abortion became so politicized and now it’s voters’ responsibility to bring about the change they want.
According to Fair, who expressed her distrust in candidates, both have said what is necessary to win their party.
“[Harris] supports abortion through all nine months, so up until the point of birth,” Fair said. “This is really just problematic, because obviously life begins at conception, so any abortion at any time would be a loss of life.”
While Fair said she supports the Trump administration, she acknowledges that Trump doesn’t have the strong “pro-life” platform he claims, but continually says what is necessary to win the majority of the Republican vote.
“My overall message to anyone voting, if they are interested in looking into this issue… [is] at the end of the day, fewer babies will die under the Trump administration,” Fair said.
Jones encouraged students on both sides of the abortion issue to show up at the polls and to do exhaustive research on both potential administrations before voting.
“I want to make it very clear that I don’t care how you vote. I just really want you to vote,” Jones said.
