Higher abortion rates where it's illegal

From the AP via the Houston Chronicle:

Abortion rates are higher in countries where the procedure is illegal and nearly half of all abortions worldwide are unsafe, with the vast majority in developing countries, a new study concludes.

Experts couldn't say whether more liberal laws led to fewer procedures, but said good access to birth control in those countries resulted in fewer unwanted pregnancies.

And

About 47,000 women died from unsafe abortions in 2008, and another 8.5 million women had serious medical complications. Almost all unsafe abortions were in developing countries, where family planning and contraceptive programs have mostly levelled off.

More here.

I think I've been pro-choice from the moment I first understood what the abortion debate was all about. For me personally, it's always been about principle: the government and society end where my skin begins, unless, of course, I give government or society permission to pass that boundary. Thus, it is up to the individual entirely as to deciding whether to have an abortion.

Of course, the public discourse on abortion includes much, much more than pondering the concept of civil liberties. Indeed, pro-choice activists have for decades made the argument that the social, economic, familial, and personal pressures involved with unwanted pregnancies guarantee that legislating against abortion rights will not end abortion. Instead, these advocates have always argued, surgical pregnancy termination goes underground, hence the term "back alley abortion." That is, unlicensed hack doctors will take a desperate woman's money and cut her up, which may or may not actually end the pregnancy, and which may or may not end the woman's life or seriously injure her.

That's why pro-choicers proclaim "Keep abortion safe and legal!"

The study cited in the above linked article now lends a great deal of real life proof in support of this argument. When women don't have safe and legal alternatives, they get back alley abortions. And they do it in large numbers. And it kills and severely injures them.

Of course, the study's authors speculate that the higher abortion rates in countries where abortion is illegal may very well be a result of social attitudes against birth control, but it is fair to observe that attitudes about abortion usually walk hand in hand with attitudes about birth control. That is, if you're against abortion, there is a very good chance that you're also against wide and ready access to birth control. GOP presidential candidate and fundamentalist favorite Rick Santorum stands as an example of such thinking.

At any rate, the debate is now over. If you support making abortion illegal, then you support more abortions. And these kinds of abortions kill fetus and pregnant woman alike. If you want the abortion rate to go down, you must necessarily support abortion rights. Whether you think it's moral or not. Case closed.

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