Abortion is certainly a controversial issue, regardless of whether you agree with it or not.
Abortion should be easily accessible to all women who want them, regardless of how far along the pregnancy is, or the woman's reasons for terminating her pregnancy.
Throughout the world it varies drastically on whether
abortions are legal, and under what circumstances. In Japan, a woman must get
consent from her spouse before she is allowed to proceed with an abortion, and
even in Ireland, a first world country, abortions are illegal.
Even in New Zealand, abortion is only legal if it is decided that the pregnancy would cause serious harm to the patient's mental or physical well-being. Most abortions in New Zealand get justified using the mental health argument, which is not entirely accurate and more needs to be done to decriminalise abortion, as many women get abortions for different reasons, such as financial or if an unwanted birth would interfere with their education, for example. Abortion needs decriminalising as well. According to Deborah Russell, current abortion laws in New Zealand are archaic, and assume that women can't make moral decisions for themselves about whether they feel comfortable getting an abortion or not, because they require two the authorisation of two doctors before they are permitted to have one. If a woman doesn't want to have a child, for whatever reason, why would it be beneficial to force her into having one?
Women should have total autonomy over their bodies, without them being politicised or invaded by other people's beliefs. After all, the first article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that 'all humans are born free and equal in dignity and rights', implying that not only should women be free to make their own decisions about their health and bodies, but that an unborn foetus is not a human, 'born free'.
As Tavi Gevinson points out, "37 out of 42 Texas abortion clinics closing would support anti-abortion beliefs, 42 out of 42 staying open supports all beliefs. If someone doesn’t want to get an abortion, they don’t have to..."
Illegal Abortions
Abortion rates don't change in countries where abortion is prohibited or more difficult to get, but the amount of dangerous abortions increases. Banning abortion does not stop or reduce it, encouraging people to make safe decisions and use contraception would protect women.
In Texas, where Wendy Davis completed her filibuster, abortion clinics are closing at a rapid rate, meaning that women will have to travel further to get an abortion, and thus making abortions less accessible. Forcing desperate women to seek illegal and unsafe abortions is a huge moral issue that is barely discussed in the abortion debate. Approximately 219 women die each day from unsafe abortions whereas safe abortion is an extremely quick, safe and relatively painless procedure, in most cases.
www.genderacrossborders.com Chart depicting illegal/unsafe abortions compared to legal ones
The unborn child
The biggest moral dilemma for 'pro-lifers' or 'anti-choicers' as their opposition has renamed them, is the idea that by getting an abortion, you are effectively 'murdering' a human being. However, this view has been strongly criticised, particularly by people arguing that a foetus does not have consciousness or even feel pain until at least around twenty weeks, by which point most unwanted pregnancies have been terminated anyway.
What abortion prevents
Regardless of one's personal views on abortion, it is a 'necessary evil' (in the eyes of some). Abortion can save lives, end pregnancies that have extreme abnormalities and terminate a pregnancy caused by rape or incest. For women who cannot afford to care for a child, an abortion is the only way. To those who consider a foetus to be a human child, what about a neglected child whose own mother couldn't provide for them? From an economic stand-point,
denying women access to abortions is not a good idea. “When a woman is denied the abortion she wants, she is
statistically more likely to wind up unemployed, on public assistance, and below the poverty line,"
explained Dr. Diana Greene Foster.
Pro-Choice Poster http://usilive.org
Abortions need to be legal and accessible so that women
can safely access the healthcare they need. Not allowing women to get an
abortion, or deciding what is right for them in regards to bearing an unwanted
child is demeaning and a breach of their basic human right to freedom. To
anyone against abortion, the best way to reduce the abortion rate is not to ban
abortion, but to encourage contraception and make it widely available, because
prevention is the best way to stop abortion from needing to occur. Abortion
needs to stop being seen as a criminal act, tantamount to murder.
References:
- Ritchie, Samantha. (June 2013) 77% of anti-abortion leaders are men. 100% of them will never get pregnant. Retrieved from: http://usilive.org/77-of-anti-abortion-leaders-are-men-100-will-never-get-pregnant/
- Sankin, Aaron. (November 2012) Abortion Poverty Study Finds Link Between Lack Of Access And Income. Retrieved from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/14/abortion-poverty-study_n_2130890.html
- Anne, Libby. (October 2012) How I Lost Faith in the "Pro-Life" Movement. Retrieved from: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/lovejoyfeminism/2012/10/how-i-lost-faith-in-the-pro-life-movement.html
- Pheo152. (January 2009) 10 Arguments in Favor of Pro-Choice Policy. Retrieved from: http://amplifyyourvoice.org/u/pheo152/2009/01/26/10-arguments-in-favor-of-prochoice-policy
- Hodgetts, Colleen. (October 2009) 70,000 a year die from illegal abortions. Retrieved from: http://www.genderacrossborders.com/2009/10/19/70000-a-year-die-from-illegal-abortions/
