|
Before I began this investigation into the subject of abortion, I considered myself pro-choice. I saw abortion as acceptable, even necessary, under certain circumstances; rape, incest, financial reasons, and the health of both mother and child all seemed like perfectly good reasons to abort a fetus. I was perfectly okay with the decision that many women come to. Face to face with myself, I did not quail in my choice of opinion. Two weeks ago, the answering service I work at began taking calls for an abortion clinic. I speak with women who sound uncertain, afraid, and sad but resolute.
Unexpectedly, I met face to face with instinctual disgust in myself, not for the women and the men who call in for them, but for the act itself. Immediately, the question came to my mind; how can I feel this aversion to abortion and still believe in its virtues? I had to find out its facts; the history, the statistics, the methods, and the specific issues.
The definition of abortion is a “premature exit of the products of conception from the uterus”. (“Definition of Abortion”) It was legalized on January 22 in 1973 with the case of Roe vs. Wade, establishing that the laws against abortion violate a constitutional right to privacy. Jane Roe, or Norma L. McCorvey as is her real name, joined with attorneys Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington against district attorney Wade. McCorvey cited rape as the cause of her pregnancy. Ironically, years later, McCorvey admitted to lying about the rape and switched sides. She re-opened the case with McCorvey vs. Hill in 2003. Judge David Godbey ruled that the motion was not made within a “reasonable time”, and the Supreme Court ended McCorvey’s appeal. In 2005, she held a press conference and claimed she was the “pawn” of Weddington, who was “looking for a plaintiff to challenge the Texas state law prohibiting abortion.” (“Roe vs. Wade”) It is interesting to note that even the leader of the legalization of abortion cannot overturn the law made on her behalf.
I took this question of abortion to ten individuals, five men and five women. Four out of five men were pro-choice. None had children, and only one was married. The one that was married said that “no one else has the right to force their views on someone else”, and the three left that were pro-choice cited that “no one has the right to tell a woman what to do with her body.” The one who was pro-life said that it is not “right for anyone to choose death for anyone else, regardless of their status as a ‘person’.”
In contrast, the women had a myriad of different answers. Two were pro-choice, two were pro-life, and one was undecided. Three women were married, and of these, one was pregnant and another had a child. The one that was undecided stated that “a pregnancy dangerous to the mother such as an ectopic pregnancy, or something of that nature is perfectly fine”. She was the one who was married and pregnant. One woman that was married but without children was pro-choice; she said she thinks “it should be up to the individual(s) involved, not the government. I also think maybe there should be a penalty for people who have frequent abortions instead of using birth control.” The other pro-choice woman stated “no one should be forced to do anything they don’t want to. Also, different people handle situations differently and live with different circumstances so it’s unfair to restrict everyone based on the resources and circumstances of a few.” She was one of the two unmarried and childless women. The other woman without children or a husband was pro-life; she stated “I know there are certain circumstances…but life starts at conception in my book.” The other pro-life woman, who was married and had a child, stated that abortion is okay “only when the mother's life is in danger or if the fertilized egg is not developing in a way that it will ever be able to live (no heartbeat, no brain activity, blighted ovum...)”
From this, it would appear that gender makes a big difference in the difficulty of deciding to be pro-choice or pro-life. The reasons for being pro-choice or pro-life were more complicated, and the one undecided was a female. Marriage seems to play a secondary role to this decision. Of the four married people, two were pro-choice, one was pro-life, and one was undecided. Alternately, four of the six remaining and unmarried participants were pro-choice. The last two were pro-life. Finally, the age group was approximately 20-30 years. This did not seem to be a major player; the eldest and the youngest were both pro-choice.
The statistics of abortion are, to me, staggering. One in six women in America have had an abortion. Since legalization, 35,000,000 fetuses have been aborted. (“Abortion Information…”) That’s roughly 1,500,000 a year, and over 4,000 per day. (“How Are…?”) Fifty-six percent of these are first abortions, and forty-four percent are second or more.
The methods for abortion become increasingly wicked from month to month. The first, which can be used for up to the second month, is simply taking a drug called RU-486. (“How Are…?) This basically induces a miscarriage, and the side effects are nausea, severe cramping, vomiting, and bleeding. Then there is the Suction-Aspiration method. (“How Are…?”) The cervicle muscle ring must be paralyzed and stretched open. A hollow tube is inserted, and the fetus is sucked into a bottle. The next step is Dilation and Curettage, or the “D and C” method. (“How Are…?”) This involves a loop-shaped steel knife inserted into the woman, and the fetus and placenta are cut into pieces and scraped into a basin.
After the third month, women are reduced to more drastic measures to extract the unwanted fetus. Laminaria sticks, or seaweed that is sterilized and compressed into sticks, are inserted. They absorb moisture and expand. Pliers are then used to grasp arms and legs and tear them from the body of the fetus. This is done until the head remains, which is then crushed and removed. Nurses are given the task of re-assembling the parts, to make sure everything is there. This is called Dilation and Evacuation. (“How Are…?”)
Next is Prostaglandin, a hormone which induces labor. (“How Are…?) The fetus usually dies, but if it is old enough, the fetus will be born alive. This is called a “complication”. Abortionists sometimes use a “feticide”, which is injected into the unborn fetus’ heart to prevent this complication.
Last is Dilation and Extraction. (“How Are…?) This is used for women who are four to nine months along. The fetus is positioned in breech, which is feet down. The fetus is pulled out except for the head. The doctor then uses a blunt pair of surgical scissors and inserts them into the base of the skull. The skull is pulled open, and the brain is sucked out.
These are hard and ugly facts to face, and many refuse to believe them. I myself was one of those. Every time I heard about such methods, I had seen it as a kind of propaganda; an exaggeration or outright lie to sway people’s opinions. But I discovered that these are indeed facts, and facts are impartial to what people believe of them. Facts stand on their own. You can either face them, or you can turn away from them.
There are many issues that come with the subject of abortion, and like being in the presence of a train wreck, I could not simply turn away from an issue I stumbled upon almost by chance. Like the methods of abortion, this is also an issue that cannot be ignored in making the decision to be pro-choice or pro-life.
The American Birth Control League was founded by Margaret Sanger in 1921, (“American Birth…”) both front-runners for the feminist movement…and front-runners for the eugenics movement. The official definition of eugenics is the “study of hereditary improvement of the human race by controlled selective breeding”. By 1924, three thousand people had been involuntarily sterilized in the United States according to the standards of eugenicists. (“Race and…”) In Article 8 in the “American Baby Code”, Margaret Sanger states;
“Feeble-minded persons, habitual congenital criminals, those afflicted with inheritable diseases, and others found biologically unfit should be sterilized or in cases of doubt should be isolated as to prevent the perpetuation of their afflictions by breeding.” (“American Baby…”)
Nazi Germany observed this uprising of the use of eugenics in America, and developed the T-4 Euthanasia Program in which about 200,000 Germans who were mentally and physically disabled were killed, and about 400,000 were sterilized. (“Race and…”) It is therefore thought that the eugenics movement in America contributed to the occurrence of the Holocaust. After the full horror was revealed to the public after World War II, the American Birth Control League changed its name to Planned Parenthood.
Planned Parenthood is now the largest abortion provider clinic in America. An astonishing seventy-eight percent of their clinics are located in or around minority neighborhoods. (“Planned Parenthood”) Minority women only account for about 13% of the female population, but they undergo about 36% of abortions in America. Every day, 1,452 African-American babies alone are aborted. (“Abortion and…”)
But this issue of race and eugenics is, of course, not taken into consideration by most of the individuals involved, both would-be mothers and abortionists alike. A woman who runs an abortion clinic in the South chose to remain anonymous in an interview with Frontline, and had this to say about making the decision to become an abortionist and start her clinic;
“I prayed about it, and I said: ‘If I'm intended to go and to do this, show me. Please just show me that I'm supposed to do this.’ And I went into the bathroom, and on the stall was, ‘If men got pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament.’ And for me, that was the decision to go, to come…” (“Abortion Clinic…”)
The possible physical affects of abortion are as follows; future miscarriages, future ectopic (or tubal) pregnancies, uterine rupture, infection, disseminated intravascular coagulation (or a sudden drop blood clotting ability), and death. The effects on mental health that have been reported are long-term grief reactions, guilt, anger, flashbacks, sexual dysfunction, memory repression, anniversary reactions, suicidal ideas, hallucinations, difficulty keeping close relationships, and increased alcohol and drug use. (“Abortion Risks”)
One long-term effect of having an abortion is the increase of the risk of developing breast cancer. During pregnancy, cells rapidly grow and form a system of branching ducts and glands to produce milk. If the pregnancy is stopped in the first trimester, this development in the breasts is stopped at a crucial and unstable point. The risk of breast cancer is almost doubled for women having their first abortion. For women having their second or more abortion, the risk is tripled or quadrupled. (“Effects of…”)
Abortion is an incredibly complicated and controversial subject. Rather than go through nine months of pregnancy to give a child up for adoption, women often find abortion to be preferable. It provides a solution for women who cannot afford to be mothers, or who feel they are not yet mature enough to raise a child, or had become pregnant through rape. Unfortunately, the positive points of abortion pale in comparison to the price of the history and the effects of abortion. If the choice to abort a fetus for anything less than danger to the mother’s life is allowed to continue, the general health of future generations of women will decrease, perfectly healthy fetuses will continue to be destroyed, and the minority population will continue to decline. This must be stopped; we must find a better solution.
Works Cited
“How Are Abortions Done?”
“Abortion Risks”
“Definition of Abortion”
“Abortion Information You Can Use”
“American Birth Control League”
“Eugenics”
“The American Baby Code”
“Race and Intelligence” (paragraph 23)
“Abortion and the Black Community”
“Planned Parenthood”
“Abortion Clinic Owner”
|
