Nearly every instance of genocide begins with someone denying the personhood of a group. This reasoning was the song behind every gunshot fired by Nazi troops and fueled the ferocity behind the slave driver’s whip. One will find remnants of the same ideology in deeming women unfit to vote and making African-Americans sit at the back of the bus. Why do pro-choice advocates fail to realize their arguments are identical to the ones that impeded past civil rights movements?

They have formed a definition of personhood that is not rooted in science. A baby’s heartbeat can be detected five weeks after conception. According to researchers at the University of Utah School of Medicine, the most primitive response to pain, the spinal reflex, develops at eight weeks gestation, which indicates that the child does feel pain during the procedure. While pro-choice advocates ignore these facts, at least 38 states have fetal homicide laws.

Returning to the subject of civil rights, the Roe v. Wade decision has negatively impacted African-Americans, disabled individuals and women more than any other recent ruling. In 2012, the New York City Department of Health recorded 31,328 abortions of African-American babies and only 24,758 live births in New York City alone. Many have failed to consider how the act of abortion inhibits the diversification of our communities and nation.

Additionally, the selective termination of babies with anticipated disabilities is barbaric. Firstly, one cannot begin a debate about abortion in a crowded room without at least one person coming forward as a false positive for Down syndrome, but more importantly, our culture’s mindset that individuals with disabilities are less deserving of life is our generation’s greatest prejudice. As scientists work to develop a prenatal test for autism, we are fortunate that Albert Einstein, who likely had Asperger’s Syndrome, preceded these “advancements.”

As for my fellow women, it is an abomination that our generation has been duped into glorifying abortion. Even if one is not pro-life, it baffles my mind that abortion would be viewed as anything less than a somber act. Instead, pro-choice rallies are full of pink sparkles and snarky signs. Words like “empowering,” which is defined as “to make (someone) stronger and more confident,” are now more synonymous with terminating one’s child than performing some great deed.

The pro-choice agenda also attempts to prevent women from fully understanding the gravity of the decision. They are against women undergoing an ultrasound prior to the procedure and fail to mention that the International Journal of Epidemiology estimated that 15 percent of first-trimester miscarriages are attributed to a prior abortion. They won’t admit that the Scandinavian Journal of Public Health found young women who have abortions are more likely to experience depression and anxiety than those who carried to term.

While the National Center for Health Statistics has consistently shown that abortions due to rape and/or incest only comprise 1 percent of all terminations, I must note that these individuals are some of the greatest victims of the pro-choice movement. Advocates for abortion must stop painting termination as less emotionally taxing than adoption. Some women feel extremely guilt-ridden after the procedure, but they are swept under the rug to not jeopardize an agenda.

Norma McCorvey, the plaintiff behind Roe v. Wade, is now the most ardent advocate for the sanctity of life. According to LifeNews.com, McCorvey says the entire court case was based on lies that she was manipulated into telling by her “feminist” lawyer. Pro-choice advocates are living a lie. In fact, McCorvey has never had an abortion. If abortion wasn’t good enough for the woman who legalized it, why don’t our daughters deserve better?