Patrick Ma / Edge columnist
Throughout history, certain countries have neglected to enact mandatory abortion laws, repealed them, or have made or kept them illegal as governments and their people believe that it is immoral to abort an unborn fetus. The absence of these laws endanger the health and well being of women and children.
The American Supreme Court is deliberating over whether to overturn the 1973 landmark legal case, Roe v. Wade — a monumental legal case that guarantees a woman’s right to a safe abortion, causing panic across the United States and Canada. According to an article released by the Guttmacher Institute by Elizabeth Nash and Lauren Cross titled, “26 States Are Certain or Likely to Ban Abortion Without Roe: Here’s Which Ones and Why,” “If Roe were overturned or fundamentally weakened, 22 states have laws or constitutional amendments already in place that would make them certain to attempt to ban abortion as quickly as possible.” If Roe v. Wade is overturned, it would set a disturbing precedent and may have an effect on other countries’ stances on abortion. However, Canadians do not need to worry, on May 11, 2022, Health Canada released a statement saying “The Government of Canada firmly believes that everyone should have access to safe and consistent reproductive health services, including abortion.”
Abortion is a very common and essential medical procedure; however, when governments decide to criminalize it, it causes people to turn to unsafe methods. According to the American National Health Institute article published by Lisa Haddad and Nawal Nour titled “Unsafe Abortion: Unnecessary Maternal Mortality,” “Every year, worldwide, about 42 million women with unintended pregnancies choose abortion, and nearly half of these procedures, 20 million, are unsafe.”
According to the above article, “Some 68,000 women die of unsafe abortion annually, making it one of the leading causes of maternal mortality (13%). Of the women who survive unsafe abortion, 5 million will suffer long-term health complications,” those long-term consequences include, “poor wound healing, infertility, consequences of internal organ injury, loss of productivity and psychological damage.”
An Amnesty International article titled “Key Facts On Abortion,” states that “Preventing women and girls from accessing an abortion does not mean they stop needing one. That’s why attempts to ban or restrict abortions do nothing to reduce the number of abortions, it only forces people to seek out unsafe abortions.” Showing that the act of criminalizing abortion does not go without consequences and that the inability to access safe abortions causes long-term and possibly life-threatening health issues, needless suffering, and preventable deaths. Furthermore, this shows that a governments efforts to restrict access to abortion are made in vain, do not work, and force females to turn to unsafe methods of abortion.
As reported by the WHO article titled “Abortion,” “developing countries bear the burden of 97% of all unsafe abortions,” and that “[imposing] financial burdens on women and girls. Regulations that force women to travel to attain legal care, or require mandatory counselling or waiting periods, lead to loss of income and other financial costs, and can make abortion inaccessible to women with low resources.” This demonstrates how the lack of access to safe abortion disproportionately affects third world/poorer countries. Additionally, this proves that women who are unable to access safe abortion have to deal with possible financial burdens. To make matters worse, if the person affected is already in poor financial standing, the financial burden of seeking a safe abortion may put the female in a more dire financial situation or prevent them from seeking treatment altogether.
According to the Amnesty International article “Key Facts On Abortion,” claims that, “Under international human rights law, everyone has a right to life, a right to health, and a right to be free from violence, discrimination, and torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment,” and that, “Human rights law clearly spells out that decisions about your body are yours alone – this is what is known as bodily autonomy. Forcing someone to carry on an unwanted pregnancy, or forcing them to seek out an unsafe abortion, is a violation of their human rights, including the rights to privacy and bodily autonomy.” If the mother’s pregnancy is life threatening and causes her immense pain, being unable to provide a safe abortion would be violating her right to life, right to health, right to be free from violence, torture or cruel, inhumane treatment.
The lack or mandatory abortion laws in certain countries violates a plethora of human rights, causes unnecessary pain, suffering, and death. Moreover, it places financial, physical, and psychological burdens on not only the one seeking the abortion but the people around them.
Sources:
26 States Are Certain or Likely to Ban Abortion Without Roe: Here’s Which Ones and Why