Illustration by Jon Harguindeguy/For the Daily Titan

There are few topics that trigger as strong of a reaction as abortion. It remains one of those hot-button topics that continues to be passionately debated no matter what the political climate is like.

Recently, abortion has come into the public consciousness once again, this time paired with another issue that has been the subject of controversy: the proposed health care reforms.

Last month, Democrat Bart Stupak offered an amendment to health reform that is meant to work as a sort of compromise for members of the House who are still hesitant about the health care bill.

The amendment would forbid women who rely on government aid to obtain health care plans from choosing a plan that would cover abortions. This also applies to women who purchase public option plans (which will presumably be cheaper than other options) with their own money.

True, current government laws also restrict the use of federal money to finance the procedure, but some argue that the Stupak amendment contains harsher guidelines than the system that is now in place.

Under the current laws, abortion is a legal procedure, meaning that its restrictions pack the additional punch of being not only an ethical issue in terms of medicine, but a legal one as well.

The so-called Stupak amendment was passed through the House in November, causing an uproar among abortion rights activists.

Among the many voices of dissent, a company known as Credo, and known for donating to “progressive causes,” has started a petition on its Web site.

Credo promises to send one coat hanger for each digital signature on its petition to each of the 20 Democrat representatives the organization believes to have remorse over voting in favor of the Stupak amendment.

“We know what happens when women are denied access to reproductive health care including abortion, and we can’t go back to an era of coat hangers and back alley abortions,” states the petition’s Web site.

The government, no matter how morally opposed to the subject of abortion a majority of its members may be, ultimately should not have the right to control the decisions women make in regards to their own, individual health. Like other medical procedures, it should be up to an individual to decide what is the right course of action for herself and her own life.

Turning an issue such as abortion into something black and white (either it exists or it doesn’t) not only trivializes the issue by turning it into something simplistic (when it’s anything but), it also makes it potentially more dangerous.

As paranoid as it may sound, if we allow the government to interfere with the medical procedures that Americans are allowed to receive, at what point do we draw the line?

Stupak’s amendment is now undergoing the scrutiny of the Senate.

While even Stupak himself is doubtful that his clause will pass, that does not mean that there is nothing to worry about.

Whether pro-life or pro-choice, let the individual decide what is right for her – not the government.