I don't profess to know all there is to know about the situation in the US. And I certainly don't intend to speak on behalf of women - it's your body, your choice.

But there is simply no way to reconcile the "pro-life" argument with the way the US treats its citizens.

In 2020, 45,222 Americans died from gun-related injuries, including homicide as well as suicide.

That equates to more than 120 people a day.

Research also indicates gun violence is the leading cause of death for American children and teenagers, with 4357 deaths in 2020 alone - around 12 a day.

Yet there remains little movement on restricting high-powered weapons despite regular and repeated calls to address the issue.

Instead, just last week the Supreme Court ruled to expand gun rights, saying New York laws requiring proof of a "proper cause" to carry concealed firearms "violates the US Constitution".

That "constitutional right to bear arms" penned in 1791 seems to carry more weight than the constitutional right to privacy that led to the historic Roe v Wade decision in the far less outdated 1973.

Now that decision has been overturned, sending women's rights back several generations.

Some might argue that the Supreme Court ruling puts the onus back on individual states rather than banning abortion outright.

However, news reports have outlined that nearly 25 states are expected to implement bans immediately and that 13 states had already adopted laws that would come into force as soon as the Supreme Court decision was handed down.

Far from "saving lives", this decision puts many more at risk, with women choosing an abortion now forced to cross state borders to access services, or heaven forbid take measures potentially even more perilous to their health.

For the US Supreme Court to prioritise the rights of an unborn foetus over a woman's right to choose, to prioritise fewer restrictions on carrying weapons than the lives of schoolchildren across the country, is unconscionable.

- Ben Smyth, Editor