Conception begins when one sperm cell unites with an egg to form a zygote. It then enters a two week period of rapid cell division. After a million sperm cells fight for that egg, one sperm cell wins the race!
It then forms with the egg to form the embryo, which is the inner cell. The outer layer is the placenta, which provides the nutrients and oxygen to that baby. According to Guttmacher, there were 2.8mil unintended pregnancies during 2011. Due to the pandemic, they will decrease stupendously overall. An embryo is the developing human organism from about two weeks after conception through 2 months. As time goes on in the next six weeks, there will be body organs forming and functioning. Then by nine weeks, the embryo is recognized as a human fetus.
As a woman, this information can be very alarming, and many decisions enter the mind. Thoughts of abortion, miscarrying or withstanding a full term, and their effects on the body. According to the Guttmacher Institute:
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There were four clinics providing abortion in Louisiana in 2017. These numbers represent a 20% decline in clinics from 2014 when there were five abortion-providing clinics.
Fetal alcohol syndrome can affect a fetus or newborn by causing physical or mental abnormalities caused by a pregnant woman’s heavy drinking. I say this to draw attention to the average young adult from 18-25, who’s not planning on having a child but would never intentionally harm herself or another. Imagine the damage done; this is why women have a greater responsibility to serve than men, to be more conscious of our decisions.
Guys bring in the cell, but the woman nurtures the newborn, who arrives with automatic reflex and responses (swallowing, breathing, tonguing). A happy baby would be born already knowing how to kick and cry. For some people, this is a nightmare, in which I encourage you to stay protected.
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Condom: a latex or non-latex (if allergic to latex, I highly recommend) sheath covering the male’s penis, unless using the internal one for inside the vagina!
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Birth Control Pill: True commitment to take this daily but worth the benefits
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Birth Control Implant: A long term choice, which can last up to 5 years
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Or, as some suggest, Abstinence, an option some find strenuous.
These are only a few of the multitude of options available for us women.
As an adolescent, they develop sexual characteristics and experience puberty, which can be confusing and, at large, a burden to figure out, but we all have been there. The monthly visit from mother nature can come as a happy signal for some and, on the other hand, to women who are trying to conceive an unpleasant letdown.
In Louisiana, the laws for abortion have been restricted dramatically. Rules that make abortion even harder; therefore, our decisions feel made, and society’s ideals weigh down on us heavily.
Birth is a gift God bestowed upon woman, to accept or decline. All women should have the opportunity to choose, because rightfully so, the decision is ours. Our bodies are precious and valuable, so, despite the forces that attempt to expunge our rights, we have the options. I say it’s our duty to defend what’s ours. Be it birth, protection, abortion, understand that we as women have to rise. For more than ourselves but the generations, we will nurture for generations on.
This article was inspired by my psychology professor.