This story was originally published in the GenZeal feature of LNP on Sunday, December 17, 2023.
By Isabella Rodriguez ’24
Abortion is a polarizing issue. Both sides argue that the other perspective harms women, but a deeper dive shows that abortion, even when done in a clinical, legal setting, harms women.
Women deserve to know the facts about the global impact of abortion. According to a 2022 editorial in The Lancet Regional Health – Americas that cites World Health Organization statistics, “Every year, about 73 million induced abortions take place worldwide … with more than 25 million considered unsafe.”
Some might argue that abortion is health care for women, but in reality health care doesn’t hurt women the way that abortion does. In parts of the world, unsafe and unsanitary abortion procedures are often performed by doctors who do not have hospital admittance privileges, meaning that if something goes wrong, it is more difficult for the woman to get access to the aftercare they need.
The Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian law firm “committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, marriage and family, parental rights, and the sanctity of life,” argues that the abortion industry drives down standards for women’s health care. If women have access to abortion, less emphasis is placed on having quality care before pregnancy even occurs, or on ongoing care when it does — especially for women in low-income neighborhoods.
Clinics that provide abortions are strategically placed in areas that are, as Planned Parenthood itself would note, are “medically underserved.” In these instances, woman could have easier access to abortion services than to regular fetal check-ups, making the hurdles of caring for an unborn child seem insurmountable.
It makes sense that, as The Lancet Regional Health – Americas notes, “75% of women seeking an abortion (worldwide) are of low income and residing in hostile states.” We should support these women in raising their children, rather than ending their pregnancies.
In addition to the quality of health care provided being questionable, legal abortion also promotes a culture in which life is disposable. I define life as beginning at conception, which makes abortion murder. Whether you personally agree with this definition, multiple studies have found that many women who choose to have an abortion end up feeling the weight of their decision after the fact.
Abortion is a practice that harms women. Especially in developing countries, these procedures are often done without pain medication or anesthesia. This means that the women who get an abortion must suffer as the child’s life is ended. Our world would be safer and healthier if abortion were not an option.
Abortion should be Banned Worldwide for Health Reasons
This story was originally published in the GenZeal feature of LNP on Sunday, December 17, 2023.
By Isabella Rodriguez ’24
Abortion is a polarizing issue. Both sides argue that the other perspective harms women, but a deeper dive shows that abortion, even when done in a clinical, legal setting, harms women.
Women deserve to know the facts about the global impact of abortion. According to a 2022 editorial in The Lancet Regional Health – Americas that cites World Health Organization statistics, “Every year, about 73 million induced abortions take place worldwide … with more than 25 million considered unsafe.”
Some might argue that abortion is health care for women, but in reality health care doesn’t hurt women the way that abortion does. In parts of the world, unsafe and unsanitary abortion procedures are often performed by doctors who do not have hospital admittance privileges, meaning that if something goes wrong, it is more difficult for the woman to get access to the aftercare they need.
The Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian law firm “committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, marriage and family, parental rights, and the sanctity of life,” argues that the abortion industry drives down standards for women’s health care. If women have access to abortion, less emphasis is placed on having quality care before pregnancy even occurs, or on ongoing care when it does — especially for women in low-income neighborhoods.
Clinics that provide abortions are strategically placed in areas that are, as Planned Parenthood itself would note, are “medically underserved.” In these instances, woman could have easier access to abortion services than to regular fetal check-ups, making the hurdles of caring for an unborn child seem insurmountable.
It makes sense that, as The Lancet Regional Health – Americas notes, “75% of women seeking an abortion (worldwide) are of low income and residing in hostile states.” We should support these women in raising their children, rather than ending their pregnancies.
In addition to the quality of health care provided being questionable, legal abortion also promotes a culture in which life is disposable. I define life as beginning at conception, which makes abortion murder. Whether you personally agree with this definition, multiple studies have found that many women who choose to have an abortion end up feeling the weight of their decision after the fact.
Abortion is a practice that harms women. Especially in developing countries, these procedures are often done without pain medication or anesthesia. This means that the women who get an abortion must suffer as the child’s life is ended. Our world would be safer and healthier if abortion were not an option.
Sources:
https://adflegal.org/issues/sanctity-of-life/abortions/key-issues/women-deserve-better-than-abortion
https://usafacts.org/articles/some-states-move-restrict-abortion-heres-look-data/
https://usafacts.org/articles/which-states-passed-new-abortion-laws-in-2022/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6207970/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3929105/
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanam/article/PIIS2667-193X(22)00122-3/fulltext