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What is abortion? Is it killing babies? Is it saving lives? Today, abortion is a major political, controversial, and personal topic around the world. Many misconceptions about abortion have led to a negative view of this choice that many women have to make. These misconceptions include that abortion is dangerous, that it causes mental health disorders, that it may cause future infertility, and that it may increase breast cancer (Littman et al. 2014). Some women decide to have this procedure performed because it was normal in their previous country or for personal reasons such as wanting to strive for higher education or simply not wanting children. One woman’s reason is not the same as another’s. When considering whether induced abortion should be legal or be supported by governments, we must evaluate the progress that has been made since legalizing induced abortion as well as the risks. Many women decide to get an abortion because of personal reasons and others do not have the right to make that choice.
Having the Option
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In most countries, abortion is legal and the woman’s choice. The woman is given the ability to decide on how to care for her child. Women with limited resources on contraceptives are likely to get this procedure done more frequently. Cheng Linan, director of the Center for Clinical Research and Training at the Shanghai Institute of Planned Parenthood, has stated that young single migrant women in China lack knowledge of reproductive health. China’s one-child policy enables the network of family planning to be very strong, but when these young women move to bigger cities, they are confused who to ask about contraceptives. Since abortions are so common in China, the procedure is done on a walk-in basis in private hospitals and private abortion clinics (Parry J. 2011). On the other hand, women with more knowledge on contraceptives and the abortion procedure had different reasoning. In a more recent study on the total of 13 countries were surveyed on the main reason for having the procedure done. In six of the 13 counties, the most commonly reported reason was socioeconomic concerns (Chae et al. 2017). Across Africa, two main concerns were listed: married women wanting to postpone/space their children and unmarried women being too young or their family not supporting their pregnancy (Chae et al. 2017). The study continued by categorizing less educated women and more educated women. In Ghana, less educated women reasoned that their partner had second thoughts about the pregnancy while more educated women reported being too young or family objections (Chae et al. 2017). Both of these studies showed that the women had the right to decide without restriction as to reason. Whether the woman was less educated, more educated, not financially stable, or unprepared for a child (or another child), she was given the right to make that choice. By hearing misinformation, it gives women anxiety about the procedure, aftermath, and how they will be viewed by society. A sample of women who presented for a surgical abortion follow-up was invited to participate in a pilot study (Littman et al. 2014). At the end of the study, it was shown that women who received the correct information regarding abortion from a licensed physician were still confused on the risks associated with abortion (Littman et al. 2014). Although women have the option to get an abortion, many have misinterpreted information from various sources.
Not Having the Option
Not having the option to get an abortion can be life-threatening for an unborn child, women carrying the child, and even the doctor handling the patient. Xiomara Argueta, who is a gynecologist working in Ilobasco, has to be very cautious when working with a pregnant patient. If the fetus was to expire in the presence of Argueta, she and the patient can face charges or even jail time. El Salvador is one of the few countries that has banned abortion. According to Salvadoran Ministry of Health, between 2011 and 2014, 14 women died from abortion-related complications, 13 died from ectopic pregnancies, and 63 died from being denied treatment because of the risk to the fetus. Low-income families are impacted by this the most because they cannot afford the travel expenses to make way to life-saving treatments (Sperber A. 2018). In another study on El Salvador it shows that although abortion was outlawed, the abortion rate did not decrease, in fact, it increased. Michelle Oberman saw that three things occurred: abortion remained common and rates did not drop, doctors became involved in law enforcement, innocent women were accused and convicted of abortion-related crimes (Oberman 2018). Before the ban, an abortion was performed by a doctor opening the cervix and suctioning or scraping out the contents of the uterus. Now, women are going through desperate measures. These measures include, but aren’t limited to: inserting a sharp object into the uterus, opening the cervix enough to induce a miscarriage or the “historic” way of using a coat-hanger (Oberman 2018). Not having the option of abortion leads to more dangerous procedures that can lead to serious conditions.
Summary
All the studies above emphasize the measures that women will go through when pregnancy is not the answer for their situation(s). This topic is very sensitive for most women because of the judgmental comments that are heard from society. Personally, I would not get an abortion myself, but shaming other women for doing so is also not on my agenda. Everyone should have the right to make decisions to their own body.
References
Littman L., Jacob A. Negron R. Shochet T., Gold M., Cremer M. 2014. Contraception. Beliefs about abortion risks in women returning to the clinic after their abortions: a pilot study. Volume 90, Issue 1, Pg. 19-22. [accessed 2018 Sep 5] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010782414001152
Michelle Oberman. 2018. The Consequences of El Salvador’s Abortion Ban. Guernica: a magazine of global arts & politics. [accessed 2018 Sep 24]. https://www.guernicamag.com/consequences-el-salvadors-abortion-ban/
Parry J. 2011. Chinese migrant workers are vulnerable to abortion risks, expert says. The BMJ. [accessed 2018 Sep 5]. https://www.bmj.com/content/343/bmj.d6354
Sophia C., Shelia D., Marjorie C., Gilda S. 2017. Reasons why women have induced abortions: a synthesis of findings from 14 countries. Contraception. [accessed 2018 Sep 24] https://www.contraceptionjournal.org/article/S0010-7824(17)30188-9/fulltext
Sperber A. 2018. El Salvador’s total ban on abortion risks women’s health. Egyptian Journal of Medical Human Genetics. Volume 391, Issue 10132 5-11. [accessed 2018 Sept 5]. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673618310006