Life is probably one of the most precious
things we as humans create. Through some miracle of biology, we are able to
bring a new life into the world. Thus, abortion is a very controversial issue
because in the act of performing an abortion, we are denying some newborn the
right to life before it has had the chance to experience it. Unfortunately, the
current abortion argument presents a false dichotomy, framing the argument as
the mother’s choice to give life and the child’s right to live when in reality,
the issue is much more complex. Abortion is a major decision that will have a
significant impact on two lives, the mother and the yet unborn child and unless
we recognize the issues in this new framework, we do not do justice in
understanding the complexity of the abortion issue.
Before
delving into the moral issue of weighing the life of a child against the choice
of the mother, we need to understand the threats to the mother’s life that
comes from pregnancy. Medical advances have significantly reduced the maternal mortality
rate, in especially developed countries, under the fifth Millennium Development
goal to improve maternal health. The number of deaths globally dropping from
more than 500,000 a year in 1980 to 343,000 a year in 2008 and deaths declining
at a rate of about 1.4% a year.[1]
Maternal health has improved significantly in developing countries, the
maternal rate dropping by 34% between 1990 and 2008.[2]
However, the 2011 assessment of the MDGs did find that the vast majority of
maternal deaths are avoidable, “the largest proportion of such deaths are
caused by obstetric haemorrhage, mostly during or just after delivery, followed
by eclampsia, sepsis, complications of unsafe abortion and indirect causes.”[3]
Should abortion become legalized and incorporated into general medical practice,
the likelihood of unsafe abortions would decrease and maternal health would
improve as a result.
However,
there are many more complications than simply the threat of death that result
from denying women the right of abortion. Public health researchers and UC San
Francisco ANSIRH conducted a collaborative study called the “Turnaway Study”
used data from 956 women who sought abortions at 30 different abortion clinics
and conducted intensive interviews for the 182 women who were turned away. Two
years into the planned five year study, the group reported that “there are no
mental health consequences of abortion compared to carrying an unwanted
pregnancy to term,” but found that “even later abortion is safer than
childbirth and women who carried an unwanted pregnancy to term are three times
more likely than women who receive an abortion to be below the poverty level
two years later.”[4] According
to the Turnaway study, at the time of abortion 45% of women were on public
assistance and two-thirds had household incomes below the federal poverty level
and the main reason for abortion was money.[5]
Of the women who were denied an abortion, 86% were living with their babies a
year later but were also much more likely to be on public assistance, 76% being
on the dole as opposed to 44% who got abortions.[6]
Furthermore, of the women denied abortions, 67% lived below the poverty line
and only 48% had a full time job as compared to their counterparts where 56%
lived below the poverty line and 58% had full-time jobs.[7]
From the study, we can conclude women denied abortions are more likely to be in
need of public support and thus denying women the right to abort forces us as a
society to foot the bill for a new child.
Although
society may seem willing to sponsor new life, there are other social costs that
impact both the mother and child’s lives. Women who were denied abortions were
more likely to stay in a relationship with an abusive partner, the study
believing that “getting abortions allowed women to get out of such
relationships more easily.”[8]
Although women did not experience increased mental health disorders from, women
denied abortions faced greater health risks such as seizures, fractured pelvis,
infection, and hemorrhage with 38% experiencing limited activity for 10 days on
average as opposed to abortion where 24% experienced limited activity for a 2.7
day average.[9] Even
if we as a society are willing to “sponsor” these babies, it is the women who
have the suffer the physical stress of not only giving birth but being responsible
for looking after the baby.
One
more issue I would like to highlight is that abortion is not an easy choice for
women. According to Turnaway, 97% of women who obtained an abortion felt it was
the right choice and 65% of turnaways wished they had been able to obtain one.[10]
However, the women who did have abortions did report that although they felt
relieved, many also felt sad and guilty afterwards. The abortion procedure
itself is quite invasive, the abortion pill only available for up to 8 weeks
after the last menstrual period. For abortions in the first trimester,
aspiration involves inserting a tube into the woman’s uterus and using suction
to remove the pregnancy.[11]
For the second trimester, D&E is used where dilators are inserted into the
women to allow the doctor to evacuate the remove the pregnancy the second day,
third if the pregnancy is more advanced.[12]
These are highly invasive procedures that women will not want done on them
unless they are very sure that at their current mental, physical, and/or
financial situation, they cannot be responsible for caring for another human
being.
The
right for women to choose to abort moves beyond the superficial weighing the
value of women’s right to their bodies and the child’s right to life. The
balance it between the woman’s right to her body; her mental, physical, and
financial capability to look after another human being; and her ability to
provide a safe environment for her child to grow up in and the child’s right to
a fulfilling life. Beyond merely having the right to live, every person should
have the right to equal opportunities to pursue their individual goals and
dreams, Sen arguing that the purpose of life being to maximize our “freedoms”
to choose. However, the reality of our current socio-economic system is that
ability to pursue goals in our lives is determined by our social circles and
financial situation. How fair is it to be a child coming into a world with a
mother who may still be in an abusive relationship, may not have really wanted
you to be born, and does not have the financial resources to care for your
well-being? Women who chose to abort consider not only the short-term
implications but also the long-term implications of having a child and it
should not be our role as a society to tell them exactly what they can do with
their bodies. Such a law infantilizes women as individuals who do not have the
capability to make significant decisions about their own body and lives.
Our
society tends to believe that everyone has the obligation to have children and
continue the human race. Not only do we now suffer from issues resulting from
overpopulation and the unequal distribution of resources, we devalue the role
of the parent. Becoming a parent is not an obligation but a privilege because
parents have the most important impact on our lives. Our parents shape the type
of people we become and their actions have significant impact on our lives. We
as a society should not force women, especially women who are not financially
or mentally prepared to care for another human being, to become parents. Rather,
women and their partners need to have the resources and support structure
necessary to look after new life that is brought into the world.
By Khan Kikkawa
[1] Simon Rogers,
“Maternal mortality: how many women die in childbirth in your country,” Data Blog,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/apr/12/maternal-mortality-rates-millennium-development-goals
[2] United Nations,
“The Millennium Development Goals Report 2011,” United Nations, p. 29
[3] United Nations,
“The Millennium Development Goals Report 2011,” United Nations, p. 29
[4] Annalee Newitz,
“What happens to women denied abortions? This is the first scientific study to
find out,” i09, http://io9.com/5958187/what-happens-to-women-denied-abortions-this-is-the-first-scientific-study-to-find-out
[5] Newitz, “What
happens to women denied abortions? This is the first scientific study to find
out,” i09
[6] Newitz, “What
happens to women denied abortions? This is the first scientific study to find
out,” i09
[7] Newitz, “What
happens to women denied abortions? This is the first scientific study to find
out,” i09
[8] Newitz, “What
happens to women denied abortions? This is the first scientific study to find
out,” i09
[9] Newitz, “What
happens to women denied abortions? This is the first scientific study to find
out,” i09
[10] Newitz, “What
happens to women denied abortions? This is the first scientific study to find
out,” i09
[11] FWHC Services,
“Type of Abortion Procedures,” FWHC
Services http://www.fwhc.org/abortion/ab-procedures.htm
[12] FWHC Services,
“Type of Abortion Procedures,” FWHC
Services
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