An Arizona state Senator in the United States has shared with her colleagues the reasons she is choosing to terminate her pregnancy this week.
On Monday night, Senator Eva Burch gave a rare and unprecedented speech in front of several US lawmakers, opening up about her “rough journey” with fertility and pregnancies in a bid to advocate for abortion rights in the US.
“I’m choosing abortion because I’m pregnant, and for reasons that I should not have to explain to you, or to the church, or to the state of Arizona, I need to not be pregnant anymore,” Senator Burch said.
Senator Burch experienced her first miscarriage more than 13 years ago, she told her colleagues on Monday night, and she has been pregnant “many times since”.
She has successfully carried two pregnancies to term, giving birth to two boys, but has struggled with several other pregnancies. After visits with doctors and healthcare professionals, her most recent pregnancy has been deemed “not viable”.
“I don’t know how many of you have been unfortunate enough to experience a miscarriage before, but I am not interested in going through it unnecessarily,” Senator Burch said.
“And right now, the safest and most appropriate treatment for me, and the treatment that I choose, is abortion.”
Eva Burch, a state senator in Arizona, this week detailed barriers she faced trying to get an abortion for a recent pregnancy she learned has no chance of survival. She's among the Democrats there focusing on abortion access, as Republicans pivot away. https://t.co/jmTmqpHNSW pic.twitter.com/NyFrNaNhOe
— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 20, 2024
Senator Burch said she knows she is not alone in experiencing the difficulties of abortion access in Arizona and in many other parts of the country.
Abortion laws in the US significantly limit access to the procedure in several parts of the country, following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the 1973 Roe v Wade decision.
Since then, 14 states have explicitly criminalised abortion, while just four states enshrine abortion rights in their constitution. In Arizona, the state that Senator Burch represents, abortion is illegal after 15 weeks.
“I’m really grateful that I am privileged to be able to make the right decision for myself and my family,” Senator Burch said.
“I caught my pregnancy early. I can afford all those doctor visits. I can take time off work when I need to.
“But I call on this legislative body to pass laws that make sure every Arizonan has the opportunity to make decisions that are right for them.”
Senator Burch said she decided to open up to her colleagues about abortion to help the “countless others” who are in the same position as her.
“I don’t think people should have to justify their abortions,” Senator Burch said, “but I’m choosing to talk about why I made this decision, because I want us to be able to have meaningful conversations about the reality of how the work that we do in this body impacts people in the real world.”
Earlier this week, President of the US Joe Biden announced the government will commit $200 million USD ($304 million AUD) to research on women’s health.
At the press conference, Vice President Kamala Harris, who has been vocal on her position on women’s reproductive rights, said the announcement was timely as Americans face legislation that makes “decisions about their own body”.
“At this moment in states across our nation, we are witnessing a full on attack against hard won freedoms and rights, including the right of women to make decisions about their own body and not have their government tell them what to do,” Vice President Harris said.