What you erased

I am young.
I am still a teenager.
I still have time to make choices.
I still have time to figure out my future.
I still have time to do what I want to do.
But there are now things that have been taken away from me,
rights
that have been taken away from me,
that impact my youth,
my life,
​just like many others'. 
I used to be able to live anywhere in this country,
anywhere I want,
and be able to make mistakes
without being punished for them,
without being met with consequence.
As if writing with a pencil,
I could erase if I wanted to,
if I needed to.
Now,
as the right to have an abortion has been taken away
in many places,
that pencil has been rid of its eraser. 
Now, 
that pencil can only write.
Now, 
whoever writes with that pencil,
whoever was born a female,
cannot make mistakes,
cannot change decisions. 
Now,
females can only go down one path,
without looking back,
no matter the circumstance.
How is this alright?
How,
after seeing how much women have fought
and contributed
and discovered
and lost,
is this still alright?
How is it alright to take away more?
How is it alright to allow every other person 
in this country 
to write with their pencil,
to erase anything they want with their pencil,
and leave us with a piece of lead?
Taking away our choice is ridiculous.
It is wrong,
and it is moving us in the wrong direction. 
Leaving us with the fact that we have to fight again,
that we have to fight harder,
is moving us in the wrong direction.
Knowing that there are so many who have suffered,
and still diminishing this right 
is moving us in the wrong direction.
So please realize,
whoever feels that the country is better 
when women are forced to do something that 
they may not want to do,
when women’s bodies don’t have as many rights
as they deserve,
that taking away our eraser isn't going to take away the mistakes.
Taking away our right to an abortion isn't going to take away 
the number of unwanted pregnancies that occur. 
It is going to take away the trust
and safety 
and loyalty 
that many used to feel
towards this country.
That is what you took away from us.
That is what you erased from our lives.