The 2018 Texas Senate race between Beto O’Rourke and Ted Cruz has garnered political attention comparable to a United States presidential election.
Along with this political climate, comes the renewed and reenergized discussions of the issues currently facing Texans. In a state that’s partisanship lies 39 percent Republican, 40 percent Democrat and 21percent no affiliation according to pewforum.org, most issues have the potential to polarize its people. This polarization hurts Texans by delaying and interfering with the legitimate political action needed to resolve the issue.
Unfortunately, women’s health is a major issue affecting Texans that often falls victim to petty political party debate.
According to the World Health Organization, the top 10 health issues facing women today are cancer, reproductive health, maternal health, HIV, sexually transmitted disease, violence against women, mental health, noncommunicable diseases, adolescent reproductive health and menopause. All of these concerns for women’s health have been manipulated and used as ammunition to further divide the public.
Of these issues, the most polarizing is the debate over abortion. In Texas, there has been a recent conservative push to restrict and disable women from gaining access to an abortion operation. As stated by guttmacher.org, women in Texas are subject to some of the following restrictions when attempting to undergo an abortion: “Most women must receive state-directed counseling that includes information designed to discourage her from having an abortion, and then wait 24 hours before the procedure is provided, public funding is available for abortion only in cases of life endangerment, rape or incest and a woman must undergo an ultrasound at least 24 hours before obtaining an abortion; the provider must show and describe the image to the woman.”
In addition to the increasing limitations placed on abortions in Texas, the facilities that perform these operations are disappearing. “There were 44 abortion-providing facilities in Texas in 2014, and 28 of those were clinics. These numbers represent a 29 percent decline since 2011 in overall providers, and a 39 percent decline in clinics from 2011, when there were 62 abortion providers overall, of which 46 were clinics,” states guttmatcher.org
This issue and many other issues involving women’s health have become topics of debate during the O’Rourke vs. Cruz senate race. As a Democrat, O’Rourke has expressed his beliefs that women should have easy access to reproductive healthcare, birth control and contraceptives. “Ensuring that a woman’s right to choose is not compromised by limited access to safe and legal abortion services or family planning help,” as stated on his campaign website.
In contrast, the Republican senator Cruz believes that abortion should be heavily regulated by the government. He voted in favor of the current strict limitations on abortion in Texas. His campaign website does not feature a women’s health section.
Despite Democrats having a more progressive, safer and inclusive view on women’s health, I strongly believe that women’s health should not be up for debate. The maintaining of my feminine well-being is not a partisan issue. Women’s health should be a priority of the government, and not something that has forced women to protest in the streets. My access to healthcare is not an issue that has to be voted on or requires an opinion. Women’s health is a fundamental right of existing.