The Current Threat to Abortion Rights

by Miranda Gent

Currently it is legal in the UK for a woman to receive a clinically safe and monitored abortion in a hospital, which I believe is just as it should be. However, the same cannot be said for the rest of the world.

In fact, abortion is still considered a criminal offence in a total of 26 countries, and 41 countries only give women the right to abortion if their lives would be seriously endangered by the continuation of their pregnancy. Most of these countries are less economically developed ones such as Iraq and Madagascar, but one example of a country that still views abortion as illegal expect in life-threatening situations is Southern Ireland, which, in 2019, I frankly find shocking.

Perhaps even more shocking though is that, in 2019, the President of America, Donald Trump, has re-enacted the ‘global gag rule’, a policy which halts any funding from the states to all the clinics abroad that provide or even mention abortions, which will have numerous devastating effects. By stripping clinics such as Planned Parenthood of their government funding on which they are so reliant, Donald Trump is preventing them from providing their fundamental, life-changing and lifesaving work.

Indeed, by forcing clinics to turn away people who desperately need an abortion, this ‘gag’ policy will leave numerous women in extremely difficult situations, in which many women feel that there is no other option than to terminate their pregnancies themselves.

Evidently, these attempted abortions are unsanitary, dangerous, extremely unpleasant and often fatal, as 30,000 deaths are caused each year by women attempting to self-induce abortions in countries where they are still illegal.

The methods that women use when endeavoring to terminate their pregnancies are all completely horrific, some examples being using illegal drugs, violence (such as being punched in the stomach or stamped on), razors and even bent coat hangers.

All of these methods are far more commonly used than I think that we realize and appreciate, not just in poorer countries or countries where abortions are illegal, but in developed countries too where professional abortions are available. So why do girls feel the need to put themselves through such emotionally and physically damaging situations even when help is available?

The main reason seems to be that women feel unable to ask for help or too scared to admit their issue and determined to keep it hidden, which could be out of shame or a determination, particularly for young girls, to keep it a secret from their parents as they feel unable to talk to them about such a thing. For example, one girl was so horrified by pro-life protesters yelling things such as, “You’re going to hell!”, outside of the abortion clinic that she went too that she was too ashamed and intimidated to be able to go into the clinic and get the help that she needed. The same girl was also desperate to hide her pregnancy from her parents, so resorted to illegal drugs in order to terminate her pregnancy. She was 17.

Another reason that may cause women to not seek a professional abortion is because of the cost of the operation itself and the travelling to and from an abortion clinic in countries like America where you may have to travel long distances. Again, this could particularly be an issue for younger girls who rely on their parent’s financially and have no way of earning money for themselves. So, girls try to find other ways of obtaining an abortion, some of which are listed above, the nature of which clearly demonstrate how desperate they are to end their pregnancies.

This desperation is understandable as, even for a perfectly healthy pregnant person whose life is in no danger by continuing their pregnancy, the emotional and physical strain of having a child against your will is classified as a form of torture by the UN, and women are evidently willing to risk their lives in both emotionally and physically horrific ways in order to escape it.

In Britain we are very lucky that this form of torture that we would hope is not often endured, as it is relatively easy to obtain an abortion, assuming that you can find a way to get the help that you deserve if you are restricted by factors such as pressurizing, shaming, a need for secrecy or a need for money.

However, there are women all over the world who do not have this privilege, as that is what abortion currently is, and the women who do not have this privilege suffer terribly because of it which, in my opinion, has to change.

From my research, it seems to be that the laws deeming abortion as a criminal offence were actually mostly passed in the 19th century and have not been changed since, which clearly demonstrates how dated the view that women should not be able to make their own decisions about their own bodies is, and how backwards society must still be today if we have not managed to move on from this ugly and aged mindset. Indeed, the fact that atrocities such as the methods of non-professional abortions listed above can still continue is pure proof of the little value that we place on female lives even to this day.

A woman’s entire life can be completely de-railed by an unwanted pregnancy. Therefore, I firmly believe that the right to abortion should be a human right, and I sincerely hope that one day this will be a reality.