Abortion Laws: Why Banning Them Is Immoral And Unjust

Abortion laws are a highly debated topic, with people divided into two groups: pro-choice and pro-life. The debate centres around the question of whether abortion should be a legal option and, if so, under what circumstances. While some argue that abortion is a safe medical procedure that protects lives and allows people to exercise their right to bodily autonomy, others believe that life begins at conception, making abortion equivalent to murder. Furthermore, some argue that abortion laws infringe on a country's constitutional authority and that abortion promotes a culture in which life is disposable. On the other hand, abortion bans have been shown to endanger healthcare for those not seeking abortions and create wide-ranging repercussions, including unsafe abortions and maternal deaths.

Abortion bans can endanger the lives of pregnant people not seeking abortions

Abortion bans can endanger the lives of pregnant people who are not seeking abortions. Here are some reasons why:

Limited Access to Safe Abortions

In places where abortion is restricted or banned, people are forced to resort to unsafe abortions. This can lead to fatal consequences such as maternal deaths and disabilities. According to the World Health Organization, unsafe abortions are the third leading cause of preventable maternal deaths worldwide. The criminalisation of abortion has a compounding impact on those who are already marginalised, as they may not be able to afford to travel or seek private care.

Delays in Emergency Reproductive Health Care

Abortion bans have led to delays in emergency reproductive health care, even in cases where abortion is necessary to save the life of the pregnant person. Clinicians have reported being required to wait until patients become "sicker" to qualify for care, which can result in increased health complications and risk of death.

Deviation from Standard Medical Care

Abortion bans have led to deviations from standard medical care, as clinicians are unable to provide the full range of reproductive health care options. This includes delays or denials of treatment for ectopic pregnancies, molar pregnancies, miscarriage management, and cancer treatment.

Impact on Maternal Health and Mortality

Abortion bans have been linked to increased maternal mortality rates, particularly in states with more restrictive laws. The inability to access safe abortions can lead to increased health risks for pregnant people, including hemorrhage, psychiatric dysfunction, infections, and lacerations.

Limited Training and Provider Shortages

Abortion bans have also impacted the training of new clinicians and retention of experienced providers. Clinicians have reported feeling unable to provide comprehensive training in abortion care, particularly in procedures such as dilation and curettage (D&C) and dilation and evacuation (D&E), which are important for miscarriage management and emergency care. Additionally, some providers have chosen to leave states with restrictive abortion laws, exacerbating existing shortages of healthcare providers.

Abortion bans deny bodily autonomy and have wide-ranging repercussions

Abortion bans deny people the right to bodily autonomy, which is a basic human right. Everyone should have the right to control their own fertility and exercise reproductive autonomy. This is especially important for women, girls, and anyone who can become pregnant.

Abortion bans create barriers that prevent people from seeking abortions, including criminalisation, social stigma, and intersectional discrimination and marginalisation. These barriers can lead to unsafe abortions, which can have fatal consequences such as maternal deaths and disabilities. In places where abortion is restricted or criminalised, people may resort to unsafe and clandestine abortions, increasing the risk of illegal procedures and police prosecution.

Abortion bans also have a disproportionate impact on marginalised communities, including low-income individuals, refugees, migrants, LGBTI people, and racialised and Indigenous people. These communities often face additional barriers to accessing safe and legal abortions, such as travel costs and social stigma.

Additionally, abortion bans can delay emergency medical care and put pregnant people's lives at risk. For example, in Georgia, USA, at least two women died after they couldn't access legal abortions and timely medical care due to the state's abortion ban.

Abortion bans also affect the availability of dilation and curettage (D&C) procedures, which are used to treat miscarriages and save lives. In states with abortion bans, doctors may be hesitant to perform D&C procedures out of fear of prosecution, even when they are medically necessary.

Finally, abortion bans can have political repercussions, influencing the selection of judicial nominees and the confirmation process.

Abortion bans are based on junk science

Secondly, abortion bans are often based on the assumption that abortion is unsafe and dangerous. However, this is not supported by scientific evidence. For example, data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that complications from abortion are minimal. Out of 652,639 abortions reported in 2014, only six women died from medical complications related to abortion. This is further supported by studies from reputable organizations such as the University of California, San Francisco's Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH) center, which found that abortion is extremely safe.

Thirdly, abortion bans are sometimes justified by the claim that they are necessary to prevent mental or physical health problems in women who have abortions. However, this claim is not supported by scientific evidence. For example, the ANSIRH's 'Turnaway Study' found that having an abortion was not associated with long-term mental health harms. Additionally, leading medical organizations such as the American Psychological Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) have stated that abortion does not cause mental or physical health problems.

Fourthly, abortion bans are sometimes based on the assumption that abortion is linked to an increased risk of breast cancer. However, this claim has been discredited by leading medical groups such as the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute, and ACOG, which have all released statements confirming that this is a myth.

Finally, abortion bans are sometimes justified by the claim that a fetus can feel pain at 20 weeks after fertilization, which is used as a basis for banning abortion at this point in pregnancy. However, this claim is not supported by scientific evidence. Leading medical groups such as ACOG and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists agree that a fetus cannot feel pain until after viability, which occurs around 24 weeks' gestation.

In conclusion, abortion bans are often based on junk science and misleading or false claims about the safety and effects of abortion. These claims are not supported by scientific evidence and leading medical organizations, and they ignore the fact that abortion bans can have negative consequences for the health and well-being of pregnant women, particularly those from marginalized communities.

Abortion bans disproportionately affect poor women

In places where abortion is legal and accessible, and where there is less stigma, people can get abortions safely and with no risk. However, in places where abortion is stigmatised, criminalised or restricted, people are forced to resort to unsafe abortions, which can lead to fatal consequences such as maternal deaths and disabilities.

Abortion restrictions are a form of economic subjugation and disempowerment, as they are often enacted alongside other policies that suppress worker power and collective bargaining, such as anti-union and anti-collective bargaining policies. These policies, in conjunction, keep working people economically disempowered.

Abortion restrictions also have a disproportionate impact on women of colour, who already face steep economic disadvantages, from labour market discrimination to gaps in wages and earnings.

Abortion bans are not a "race-neutral" policy, and the enforcement of mass incarceration is highly racialised. Black people are incarcerated at a rate nearly five times higher than their white peers.

Abortion restrictions also have a detrimental impact on the health and educational outcomes of children, as they are more likely to live in poverty when their parents are denied access to abortion.

Abortion bans ignore women's actual realities

Women face numerous barriers when seeking abortions, including criminalisation, social stigma, and intersectional discrimination and marginalisation. These barriers are particularly harmful to those from historically marginalised communities, who already face limited access to healthcare services. For example, in Morocco, where abortion is criminalised, women from low-income backgrounds are unable to afford clandestine abortions and are forced to carry unwanted pregnancies to term.

Abortion restrictions also fail to account for the reality that many women do not realise they are pregnant until after the legal limit for abortions. In Florida, for instance, the six-week abortion ban means that by the time many women discover their pregnancy, they no longer have the option to terminate it legally. This is especially true for women with irregular periods, who may not realise they are pregnant until after the legal cutoff.

Furthermore, abortion bans often include narrow exceptions that are confusing and difficult to invoke, even in cases where the pregnant person's life is at risk. Healthcare providers fear criminal prosecution and hesitate to act, even when termination is necessary to save the patient's life. This dynamic further endangers the lives and wellbeing of pregnant people, particularly those from marginalised communities who already face barriers to accessing quality healthcare.

The impact of abortion bans extends beyond individual women's lives. Restrictive abortion laws contribute to a broader crisis in maternal health, particularly among women of colour. Black women in the United States, for instance, die of pregnancy-related causes at nearly three times the rate of white women. Abortion bans further exacerbate this disparity, as evidenced by the higher maternal mortality rates in states with more restrictive abortion laws.

Abortion bans ignore the realities of women's lives and fail to protect their health, wellbeing, and fundamental human rights. Instead, they compound existing inequalities and endanger the lives of those who are most vulnerable.

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