As we celebrate the anniversary of Roe in 2006, we must take into consideration the legislation that is being passed to limit and eventually criminalize abortion. Clearly, those who are anti-choice would prefer to force women with unintended pregnancies into fetal slavery than allow women the privacy to make life-altering decisions about what should remain and what should be removed from their bodies. The recent legislation that limits abortion access shows that they prefer to see women who do not want to be pregnant forced to carry to term as a punishment for sexual intercourse"regardless of consent. This type of rhetoric is continuing to dominate not just conservative political motives in America but across the spectrum. Granted, most pro-choicers would like nothing more than to see the need for abortion vanish, but that does not come from the women who procure abortion but rather from a society that leaves little alternatives and offers nominal support. To be candid, there will always be women who simply do not want to be pregnant, and there are others who would like to continue the pregnancy but find health risks and/or assistance to be lacking. Whether this assistance is economic, social, or through the relationship with their partners, there are always underlying factors causing women in the latter category to abort. These women tend to be the ones who suffer depression and anxiety after an abortion. These women are the ones who regret their decision. These are the women on whom we should focus our efforts. State and federally-funded programs are in place, but offer little solace for poor women who would like to carry to term and either parent or give their children up for adoption. The social stereotypes and deficient funding are not the only hurdles these women need to overcome; for the most part, the reason why they apply for these programs is lacking paternal support. A double-income household is more financially stable that a single one and everyone would agree that parental influence from 2 people is better than one. Of course, no man should be forced into parenting either, and, if a father chooses to remit and relinquish his paternal rights, there is little left for a poor single mother to do than struggle if she decides to carry to term, chooses abortion, or adopts her child out. Since the states cannot directly decide who can and who cannot have an abortion, it seems that said limitations are able to indirectly choose for women. Parental consent laws, waiting periods, a shortage of abortion providers, and biased medical information all display how the government has diminishing confidence in women's abilities to make this private medical decision. (Alito himself voted for spousal notification, which was thankfully struck down, but the very idea for forcing a woman to tell her partner shows how much some people distrust women's decision-making abilities as well as the lacking concern for the context that surrounds each individual case.) If forcing women to carry to term or forcing them into abortion continues, we will see women's equality before the law shatter. The decision to have a baby is generally based in three areas: finances/career, a stable partnership, and desire. (I say desire because, as I said earlier, some women who have stable careers and a loving partner simply do not want children.) Stated differently, the Alan Guttmacher Institute researched and found most women who choose abortion are under 30 years old, and the reasons they have abortions are filtered under the categories of "economic", "social", and "personal". However, what is interesting about this contemporary juncture within the ongoing debate over abortion is that the need for abortion has decreased. 1980 saw the most abortions performed; since then, abortion is relatively on a decline. There might be several factors for this. Quality sex education seems to be slowly returning to classrooms, contraception and the morning after pill are more available, Roe is still firmly accepted by the general populace (seen in this recent Gallup Poll), and there is a steady flow of donations being given to abortion providers. Also, almost 90 percent of all abortions are done between six and 12 weeks gestation, and 8 percent done in 12-20 weeks (according to the Alan Guttmacher Institute; the remaining 2%, considered "late-term abortions", are generally done only when there is a health-risk to the mother), which seems to make Roe more favorable to America society. However, any way we choose to look at the abortion debate, what is clear is that legislative limitations are causing women hardships in terms of procuring an abortion; lacking social aid and/or their partners' presence for women who want to carry to term seem to cause these women to have an abortion. In an ideal world, no one should be forced into abortion or childrearing, and yet in the society we have now, both are occurring. Abortion must be considered a private medial procedure and decriminalized in all aspects and society must offer better aid to those who want to carry to term but do not have the means to do so on their own. While this is unlikely to occur, America must learn to trust its women in making the best decision for themselves and their families. Until this occurs, the abortion debate will rage on regardless of whatever side of the spectrum you fall on. |
