Does Anybody Know????

[abluelady]

The right wingers keep talking about aborting babies for a mother's convenience. I am totally pro-choice for any and every reason; however, all the young women I know who chose abortion did so after quite a large amount of anguish because of the baby's or mother's health being compromised. Are there any real statistics out there that show a large number of women are using abortion instead of birth control, which is what the right wingers seem to be saying. I was just curious.

[BonnieJW]

1. I think teenagers and young unmarried women

may use it when they experience a birth control failure. If a 16-year-old ends up pregnant and doesn't want to give birth, they get an abortion. If a 21-year-old college student is unmarried, uninsured and pregnant, she may also elect to end the pregnancy. Having that choice available saves lives.

[sinkingfeeling]

2. They used to base their belief on the number of women having more than one abortion. Most women I

know who have had one, wouldn't want to do another. Having had an abortion when I was about 5 weeks pregnant, I know it is a physically painful experience. Or at least it was in 1978.

[Control-Z]

3. I actually met a girl/woman

who appeared to use abortion as her birth control. She had had 6 abortions by the age of 25. She was a ditzy type, who viewed her body as her only real asset. But she is the one exception to every other woman I have known (who has had the procedure). And I've met and spoken to a lot of women who have.

I don't know her reasons for so many abortions. I didn't know her well or for long. But I would say that most women would not and do not use abortion in place of traditional birth control methods. I don't have any real stats, though.

[Ilsa]

6. I had a boyfriend who had an ex-girlfriend from Brazil who used abortion

for birth control. Her excuse was that the Catholic Church forbade use of "artificial contraception." With logic like that, it just goes to show that some people probably shouldn't reproduce at all.

[Iris]

4. I know plenty of women who've had abortions for reasons other than health

either their own or the fetus's.

[uppityperson]

5. I do not have statistics, but women have abortions for a large number of reasons

Some use it as primary birth control, but I have only met one in my 30 yrs dealing with these issues. It depends on what is meant by "mother's convenience" as that is not the same as using it for primary birth control.

Does "convenience" mean a woman whose partner beats her and her existing child? Does it mean a woman who is working minimum wage job, going to school, and if she is forced to stop school due to a difficult pregnancy will not be able to raise that child without going on welfare? Does it mean a woman who was pregnant with twins and miscarried one, rather than waiting to miscarry the other (which her ob doc said she would), came in for an abortion instead? Does it mean the woman who is severely depressed and cannot mentally deal with a pregnancy or a(nother) child?

What do they mean by "convenience"?

Women have abortions for a large number of reasons. Economic, health, societal, sanity are a few of them. But in all my yrs dealing with women's health issues such as this, I have met only one woman who used it for primary birth control, and that only for a year (she had 3 abortions in 1 yr). The other hundreds had other compelling reasons.

Don't know of provable statistics.

[PeaceNikki]

7. I hate this argument

Two-thirds of women who abort say they cannot afford a child. Not just "oh, I won't be able to go to Aspen twice a year" can't afford... but no medical insurance, working 60 hours a week at $7.00 an hour can't afford!

Also... WHY women make this choice is seriously nobody's fucking business. All anti-choice laws should be repealed.

I refer you here: (PDF) http://www.arcc-cdac.ca/action/repeal.pdf

No country needs to regulate abortion via criminal or civil law. Only when abortion has the same legal status as any other health procedure can it be fully integrated into women’s reproductive healthcare.

by Joyce Arthur

The repeal of abortion laws is supported by evidence from Canada, the only democratic country in the world with no laws restricting abortion since 1988. Abortions have since become earlier and safer, and the number of abortions has become moderate and stable. Current abortion care reflects what most Canadians are comfortable with, and women and doctors act in a timely and responsible manner, with no need for regulation.

Several legal arguments help build the case for abortion law repeal. A constitutional guarantee of women’s equality can be used to overturn abortion laws, and ensure that abortion is funded by the healthcare system as a medically-required service. Freedom of religion, the right to privacy, and the right to self-defense can also be used to strike down laws. All anti-abortion restrictions are unjust, harmful, and useless because they rest on traditional religious and patriarchal foundations. Laws kill and injure women, violate their human rights and dignity, impede access to abortion, and obstruct healthcare professionals.

Solutions for Repealing Anti-abortion Laws
Here’s some suggested solutions to get rid of harmful anti-abortion laws:
? Guarantee women’s equality in countries’ constitutions.
? Collect evidence of laws’ harms, find plaintiffs, and challenge laws in court.
? Lobby government against abortion restrictions (meet with legislators, submit briefs).
? Educate media, government, health professionals, and public about the harm and futility of abortion restrictions.
? Challenge the religious basis of anti-abortion laws, and keep church and state separate.
? Change the rhetoric: Abortion is not a “necessary evil.” Abortion is a moral and positive choice that liberates women, saves lives, and protects families.
? Empower women in society by changing public policies.
? Change patriarchal attitudes about women and motherhood through advocacy and education.
? Prioritize childcare and child-rearing as a universal concern, not a “woman’s issue.”

Some of these proposed solutions are obviously very difficult and would take many years. But one has to start somewhere.

To conclude, no country needs any laws against abortion whatsoever. We can trust women to exercise their sensible moral judgment; we can trust doctors to exercise their professional medical judgment, and that’s all we need to regulate the process.

[Warpy]

8. That idea just makes me a little crazy

and shows that reproductive slavery people are non thinking morons.

Who would ever use an expensive and very painful surgical procedure instead of taking a pill or wearing a patch?

The idea that they think this little of women is an outrage.