The Pro-humanity Debate

Approximately 46 million abortions are performed each year, an estimated 20 million of which are performed unsafely. In impoverished countries, even if abortions are legal, safe abortions are largely unavailable due to cost. Religious beliefs, concerns over social morality, and lack of funding are just a few of the issues that block access to abortion. South America is largely Catholic, and Catholic teachings prohibit abortions in all but a few rare cases. Many politicians in Africa believe that allowing access to abortion would result in the breakdown of morals in society. And, even if abortions were made legal in these impoverished countries, most women would still not have access to safe abortions because of the distance to safe medical facilities and the cost of the procedure. Without assistance from the UN, women desiring an abortion must either perform one on their own or seek out a “backyard butcher” to perform one for them. Horror stories have been told around the world of women performing abortions at home witha coat hanger or having someone punch them in the stomach until a miscarriage is induced. Attempts to insert foreign objects can result in septic shock or punctures in organs. Receiving blows to the abdomen can also damage organs. Other methods, such as ingesting or douching with toxic substances can poison the mother or cause fetal birth defects. Nonetheless, women persist in using these methods for abortions where safe abortions are not available.

Women in North America and Europ have easy access to abortions. They can go to an abortion clinic, have the procedure done, and walk away with few, if any, side effects a few minutes later. A woman identifying herself as Elizabeth described her abortion as a positive experience in her life. She had only been “serious” with her boyfriend Michael a few weeks when she discovered she was pregnant, despite using both birth control and condoms. Elizabeth, an American, was living in another country with Michael, and he was worried that is she had the child, she would want to return to the United States to be with her family. She did not want to restrict Michael from his child, but did not want to have to raise a child without the support of her family if the relationship ended. They came to the conclusion that having the child would end their relationship, so they decided that the best course of action would be to have an abortion. They live in a country where abortion is illegal, but had the financial means to travel to the UK and have a sage abortion.