Texas Abortion Ban

In a majority decision, members of the Texas House of Representatives voted to pass the Texas Heartbeat Act. This act would ban abortions if a heartbeat is detected. A fetal heartbeat can be detected as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, at this point many women do not even know they are pregnant yet. This law does not exclude rape or incest victims which has also caused an uproar in protests. This act contributes to the ongoing conflict between pro choice and pro life protestors. This act will make it difficult for women to have a long enough time period to even decide whether they would want to move forward with an abortion or not.

As a woman, I feel it is vital to have the ability to decide what I choose to do with my body. Donna Howard, a member of the Texas House of Representatives stated, “we’re the ones that carry the babies. We’re the ones that raise those babies… this legislative should not dictating what we do with our bodies.” I absolutely agree with this. If a pregnant women does not feel that her financial and emotional state or living situation can provide a healthy environment for a child, abortion should be an available option. Another thing to consider are mothers who are pregnant with a fetus with severe birth effects. This is both an emotional and financial toll on the mother especially if there is a short life expectancy for the child. Abortion is not seen as a consistent form of birth control, it is an option for women to make if they feel it is best for both their life and the life of the fetus.

I want to know how will banning abortion effect the rates women who seek illegal and dangerous abortions to avoid this issue? Who is protecting victims of rape and incest? If women are forced to keep children they do not have the means to care for, will this increase the number of children entering the foster care system?

Erin Egan (she/her) Psychology major

After going over the syllabus, I am excited to strengthen my writing skills through drafting and peer editing. On the other hand, I am nervous about writing longer papers. I want to ensure that my writing pieces meet the length requirement, but also have enough relevant information without repetition. In addition to creating connections in my writing that is clear to the reader.

Writing for your target audience along with using proper grammar, spelling, and appropriate vocabulary are qualities of good writing. It is also important to have a clear and coherent writing piece for your audience. Good writing means that the author is demonstrating a thorough understanding of their topic. The easiest part of writing is gathering information and creating an outline. The most challenging part is using all of this information to create a deeper analysis and explaining this to your readers.

With my intended major being psychology, I will most likely be writing journal articles and reports or reviews of other literary works. These papers and reports require a lot of analysis, which is why this course is so beneficial to my college career during and after.