The Pro-humanity Debate

Compare this to Faith’s abortion story. Faith is a 21 year old woman living in Nigeria. When she found out she was pregnant, she stole the equivalent of about $40 to pay for a secret abortion. The abortionist inserted a hot iron into Faith’s uterus to kill the fetus, causing a considerable amount of pain for Faith. Her so-called doctor was unqualified to perform abortions, and unsafe abortions of this type can kill women. In Nigeria, abortions are only legal to save the mother’s life, or to protect her mental or physical health. However, even in such cases, most women cannot afford a safe abortion. At a doctor’s clinic, abortions cost the equivalent of about $170; the median weekly salary of Nigerian women is less than $60. Untrained individuals, such as the one Faith visited, offer abortions for as little as $4. These “doctors” use non-sterile equipment and medically unsafe procedures, such as using s sharp stick to break the amniotic sack and pull out the fetus or pumping a poisonous mixture of Alligator peppers and a myriad of lethal chemicals into the uterus to induce a miscarriage. Many women go into toxic shock and die within a few days of the procedure.

These are not isolated incidents, nor are unsafe abortions unique to Nigeria. In Brazil, abortion is illegal on all cases except to save the life of the mother and in cases of rape and incest. Women in Brazil who otherwise would not be able to receive abortions have turned to a perscription drug called misoprostol, approved in the United States for treatment of ulcers and known to cause miscarriages. Side effects of taking this drug include uterince cramps, which can be strong enough to expel a fetus. In the United States, a similar drug is frequently used under close doctor supervision; however, women accessing this drug and using it for abortions without consulting a doctor run the risk of a failed abortion. In approximately 20% of the cases, misoprosol is not strong enough on it sown to abort the fetus. In the United States, at this point, the doctor can either prescribe mifepristone, also known as “the abortion pill,” or perform a surgical abortion to remove the fetus; in Brazil, women by law cannot receive a surgical abortion if misoprostol fails and they do not have access to the abortion pill. And while it is true that this method of abortion is far safer than inserting a hot iron or Alligator peppers into the uterus, a failed abortion can result in a child born with birth defects. The fetus is not the only one affected by the mother’s use of musoprostol, however. Side effects often include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, and chills, and in some cases can cause extremely low blood pressure. Additionally, is the woman guesses the dosing wrong, she could end up hemorrhaging, or even dying as a result of septic shock from a partially failed abortion.