If you truly care about reducing the number of abortions (as they will never be entirely eliminated, whether legal or not), you can start by understanding the root causes and trying to alleviate them. Women don’t have abortions for fun, and most don’t have them repeatedly and uncaringly as a primary form of birth control. Most of the women I know who have had abortions had them because they felt they had no other options available. So if you want abortion rates to go down, start by providing real options.
Many women who have had or are considering abortions are living in poverty or are financially dependent on someone (their parents, their boyfriends or even husbands) who would threaten or cut off support if they knew about the pregnancy, or would use the pregnancy to keep the woman in what may be an abusive situation. Single women who continue with a pregnancy also risk social stigma, employment and housing discrimination, and have to consider all of these factors while dealing with what may very well be the worst thing that could have happened to them (the pregnancy). An easy answer is to blame the women and say they shouldn’t have had sex, but this doesn’t take into account those who are incest or rape victims - including marital rape - or have been trafficked. And in the cases of women who had consensual sex, saying that puts you in the position of judging the woman (God’s job, not ours) rather than treating her with compassion (as I suspect Jesus would want us to do).
If you want the abortion rate to go down, help address the problem of how many women and children are living in poverty. Help reduce the stigma that society places on unwed mothers - and, even more unjustly, on their children. Provide resources so that women can keep their children if they choose to do so, and help reform the adoption system so that it is a more viable option for those who decide to give birth but not become a parent. Help by being part of a real solution, and going beyond just pointing out the problems. Create a society where young women from all socioeconomic backgrounds are valued and their self-respect is nurtured. Educate yourself on issues like human trafficking which targets young women, especially those who are economically disadvantaged or otherwise vulnerable, and teaches them that their bodies are not sacred but are for the use and abuse of others and that their sexuality is not a special gift, but a commodity for others to benefit from. (And if you’re asking yourself what this has to do with abortion rates
… please feel free to message me.)
Those who call themselves Pro-Lifers and those who call themselves Pro-Choicers are never going to agree no matter how loudly each side shouts, because they are having two different arguments. Pro-Lifers care about children and their lives - and hopefully their quality of life. But that doesn’t mean that Pro-Choicers don’t care about children too. Pro-Choices care about women and their sexual health and the quality of their lives. And so should Pro-Lifers. What is important to realize is how much common ground we have. Both sides can care about women. Both sides can care about children. And both sides can work together to create a society with better resources for women and children.
Scare tactics and anger and bomb threats and harassment and trying to shame women who are already hurt enough is never going to reduce the abortion rate. I would love to see all of the Pro-Lifers who normally picket abortion clinics spend that same time and energy and money doing something to help women and children instead. And I would love to see the Pro-Choicers who spend so much time, energy and money ardently “defending the right” to abortion spend that same time, energy and money trying to make societal changes that would greatly reduce the demand for abortions. If you want to really do something about abortion, this is how you start. And if you’d like more information, please check out
www.feministsforlife.org and find out why these Pro-Life Feminists “Refuse to Choose” because “WomEn Deserve Better.”
. This is one of the higher educated estimates, but it jibes with my experience of coming near death from mine, and a loved one going through the same thing.