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.
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