On Wednesday October 19, 2016, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton met for the third and final presidential debate. There was arguing, talking over the moderator, and Trump threw a few tantrums - much like one would expect. There were also more lies told by Trump in an attempt to appeal to conservative and pro-life voters. As per usual, his claims were false. In order to understand his claims, and to properly understand the "controversy" as a whole, we have to understand abortion and the rights that women currently have in our country. We must understand the history of such laws, how they came into effect, and what they are today.

Abortion laws came into effect in the 1820s which made abortion illegal past the fourth month. Through the efforts of physicians, the American Medical Association (AMA), and legislators, abortions in the US had been outlawed by 1900. This movement was begun by the Comstock Law of 1873, which was enacted in order to combat the "dwindling morals" of American Society. The Comstock Law was called an "Act for the Suppression of Trade in, and Circulation of, Obscene Literature and Articles for Immoral Use". This not only meant the ban and suppression of "dirty books", but also the ban of booklets and information on: birth control, birth control "devices", STD/STI prevention, information regarding sexuality, and abortions. The law was used mostly in cases involving the distribution of information regarding birth control and birth control devices.

A woman named Margaret Sanger, who was a nurse in the 1920s, was privy to the struggles of women in low-income areas and their unwanted/unplanned pregnancies, and the effects on those women and families the pregnancies had. She then made it her mission to provide those women with access to information regarding birth control, and to provide them with birth control options/devices. Her work led to the formation of organizations and groups which, through many mergers and name changes, became Planned Parenthood. She was taken to court in 1936 after lobbying for access to birth control and after one of her clinics purchased a birth control device from Japan, which lead to the federal ban on birth control.

The feminist movement, led by women such as Susan B. Anthony, were against abortion due to the operation's health risks at the time. They too lobbied for access to information regarding contraception and to the devices themselves. The original goal was clear: give women education about and access to birth control, and then they won't have to abort unwanted pregnancies.They believed that only the achievement of women's equality and freedom would end the need for abortion.

However, by the mid 1960s, every state had banned abortion, with some states making exceptions for cases in which: the mother's life was in danger, situations involving rape and incest, or if a fetus was deformed. And even then late term abortions were illegal, which almost boxed in women who fit into those categories, forcing them to carry their pregnancies to term.

In 1973, the Supreme Court ruled on the controversial case known as Roe v. Wade. "Jane Roe", or Norma McCorvey, was a pregnant woman in Texas who was unable to obtain an abortion. She alleged that the State of Texas and its abortion laws went against her constitutional rights and the rights of women in similar positions to herself. The defendant was the district attorney of Dallas County, Texas, Henry B. Wade. The Supreme Court ruled that:

1. In the first trimester, the state (that is, any government) could treat abortion only as a medical decision, leaving medical judgment to the woman's physician.

2. In the second trimester (before viability), the state's interest was seen as legitimate when it was protecting the health of the mother.

3. After viability of the fetus (the likely ability of the fetus to be able to survive outside and separated from the uterus), the potential of human life could be considered as a legitimate state interest, and the state could choose to "regulate, or even proscribe abortion" as long as the life and health of the mother was protected.

These are the rights women in America have when it comes to the decision of having an abortion. These rights were further secured by President Bush in 2004 with the passing of the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. The act states that while there is a second murder charge attached if a woman and her unborn baby are murdered, such a punishment does not extend to a doctor and the mother if both consent to the abortion.

For the people who are still confused: a Republican President upheld the ruling that persecuting a woman and doctor for undergoing a legal abortion is unconstitutional. President George W. Bush stated: "Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the death penalty shall not be imposed for an offense under this section. (1) of any person for conduct relating to an abortion for which the consent of the pregnant woman, or a person authorized by law to act on her behalf, has been obtained or for which such consent is implied by law; (2) of any person for any medical treatment of the pregnant woman or her unborn child; or (3) of any woman with respect to her unborn child."

In general, getting an abortion is not as easy as walking into a clinic pregnant and then walking out not pregnant twenty minutes later. Many states require counseling services, which "educate" women on "links between abortion and breast cancer", the fetus' ability to feel pain, post-abortion mental health risks, and the availability of ultrasounds. Many also have wait periods lasting a minimum of 24 hours and even requiring women to visit the clinic numerous times before having the abortion. Many states limit abortions due to gestational periods - that is, how far along the fetus is in gestation. Some of the strictest laws make abortion illegal after twenty weeks, whereas others go up as far as twenty four weeks.

During the third presidential debate on Wednesday night, Donald Trump stated: "You can take the baby and rip the baby out of the womb in the ninth month on the final day." The simple fact is: late term abortions are rare, and are made in life and death situations. Women do not decide after nine months that having a baby isn't actually what they want to do - there are health risks and complications involved, involving the fetus, the mother, or perhaps both.

A majority of abortions (64.5%) are performed before 8 weeks gestation, with the percentages lowering from there. Only 1.3% of abortions are performed on or after 21 weeks. Donald Trump was speaking of a procedure known as a "dilation and evacuation procedure", in which the woman's cervix is dilated and the fetus extracted. Such procedures make up only 0.2% of abortions. Such abortions are performed in circumstances where the health of either the fetus, the mother, or both, is in danger. It is not something that is done on a whim or just because. A doctor cannot simply reach into a woman's uterus and rip out the baby.

It is one thing to be pro-life for the sake of one's religious beliefs. It is one thing to suggest that women adopt instead of abort. It is one thing to carry one's own pregnancy to term no matter the circumstances due to personal beliefs. It is not okay, however, to spread ignorant lies and misinformation for the sake of winning a presidency or furthering a conservative agenda. It is not okay to spread such falsities with the intent of scaring voters into voting for a president who is not fit nor willing to accept the responsibilities that come with living in the White House. The slander and prosecution of women who deal with abortions and unwanted pregnancies and their situations is not acceptable.

Be what you want, and believe what you want, but be educated.