By Britney Lopez
CCC Journalism Program
Vice President Kamala Harris has stated it is her mission to protect women’s reproductive rights if she’s elected as the next president. Former President Donald Trump has stated the government and the states should have more control over these rights. Here’s what students at Camden County College had to say about stances on in vitro fertilization treatment, abortion, birth control and family planning.
Jessica Rivera, a 19-year-old criminal justice major at CCC, says, “I do not use birth control but understand it’s an important necessity for women. I think Kamala Harris policies reveal that she’s in favor of easy accessibility and affordability on birth control. Harris in the office would make me feel at ease knowing it’s there if I ever needed it. With Donald Trump’s policies, I think his restrictions are not in my best interest and I would feel unsafe with him in office.”
Daniel Cabrera, a second-year liberal arts and science major at CCC, says about the topic, “I don’t take birth control but I know women around me do. My friends live with stress on abortion bans. Restrictions on birth control would be another one of their worries. It affects me personally when I have to see my friends worry about their health without it.”
About IVF treatment, Cabrera notes, “Restrictions that Trump plans to enable on IVF treatment are unsafe to families currently in the process of it and I agree with Harris that treatment should be covered by insurance.”
Rivera says, “Trump’s IVF ban on treatment can be extremely harmful to families who struggle with infertility and want to have children.”
Cabrera also favors Harris’ stance on abortion rights. “Those in government who want to dictate what a women should do with her body are older men who don’t understand the experiences women encounter that lead them to have an abortion. Harris knows this and her statement on women having that choice shouldn’t be touched,” Cabrera says.
Rivera concurs. “Government shouldn’t have a say on abortion. Harris believes women can decide what’s best for them. Trump’s decision to sentence women to jail is harmful and morally wrong. A woman shouldn’t go to jail for putting her health first nor have their rapist’s child.”
Voting for the next president will conclude on Nov. 5.