It’s often said that the US is polarized on abortion. I don’t think we are. At one end of the spectrum, we have those who say that abortion is so completely wrong that it should never be allowed for any reason. At the other end, we have those who say that if a woman wants an abortion, she should be able to get one without without being asked why, as the woman’s right not be forced to bear an unwanted child is paramount.
In between are the people who say, “abortion should be forbidden – unless the woman has a good reason,” and the ones who say, “abortion should be available to any woman who wants one – providing she has a good reason”.
Ironically, there’s probably some overlap: some who consider themselves anti-abortion (unless there’s a good reason) would probably allow it in more cases than would some of those who count themselves as pro-abortion (if there’s a good reason).
But just what is a good enough reason? The most commonly cited good reasons seem to be rape, incest, severe fetal abnormality, threat to life of woman, and threat to health of woman.
But… how does the woman prove that she really is a rape or insest victim? What if she didn’t report it at the time? (A great many do not.) How bad a problem must the fetus have? How serious must the treat be to the woman’s health? How do we know her life is really in jeopardy? How can we be sure about the degree of fetal abnormality, or the degree of threat to the woman’s life or health? Do we take a doctor’s word for it? How do we know that we can trust the doctor? A pro-choice doctor might lie, as might one who was sympathetic to a particular woman’s situation.
And the above listed “good reasons” are said to add up to a fairly small percentage of abortions. What about all the other abortions? The ones that are dismissed by many as being “just for convenience”? The ones saught for reasons like, “I’m too young to have a baby,” “I don’t want to have to drop out of school,” “I don’t want to tackle parenthood alone, and the man ran out on me when I told him I was pregnant,” “I already have as many children as I want or can handle,” or “I don’t think my marriage can survive the strain of an additional, unplanned, child.”
Are any of these reasons ever good enough? How young is “too young”? 12 and under? 14? 17? Is the wish to continue one’s education a good reason for a sixth grader? A high school senior? A college student? Is this only a good reason if the student’s grades are good? Etc, etc, etc?
Who decides whose reasons are good enough? Do we set up thousands of “abortion boards” to pass judgement on each woman’s reasons? What if a board is backlogged? A woman who has to wait several weeks before her case is heard my find that by the time she gets permission, it’s too late for an early abortion.
But biggest problem is this: if we decide that abortion will only be allowed for women who have good reasons, what happens to the women whose reasons are deemed not to be good enough? Won’t many of them do exactly what women did before Roe vs. Wade – get illegal abortions? We will be right back to a situation where adult women with means will have access to expensive but reasonably safe illegal abortions, while the young and the poor have to choose between risking a dangerous, painful “back alley” abortion and bearing an unwanted child.
Seems to me it woud be better to just leave the decision to the woman. Those who are opposed to abortion could work to reduce the demand for it. There’s a lot to be done, such as providing better acess to / information about contraception for all, promoting research into better methods of contraception, providing more support for financially strapped parents, etc.
