AbortionWHY IS ABORTION ILLEGAL IN SOME CULTURES AND LEGAL IN OTHERS?WHAT HAPPENS WHEN ABORTION IS BANNED?

Definition & Methods Abortion: intentionally terminate a pregnancy Treatments depend on how many weeks pregnant, ability to be under anesthesia, etc.

First Trimester◦ Abortion Pill: taking medicines to terminate pregnancy◦ Surgical Abortion: considered a minor operation; performed awake, sedated, or asleep

Second Trimester: medicinal abortions not available in US >> need surgery Third Trimester: illegal in many states except in certain medical situations

◦ Most medical communities say the fetus is “viable” at 24 weeks gestation◦ Where available: Induction Abortion & D&E (a.k.a. Partial Birth Abortion)

Legal Status Around the World Major Categories:

◦ Save woman’s life / prohibited altogether [25.5% of world’s population; 66 countries]

◦ Preserve health [13.8% world’s population; 59 countries] ◦ Incest◦ Rape◦ Age◦ Including Mental Health: Algeria, Colombia, Thailand

◦ Socioeconomic Grounds [21.3% world’s population; 13 countries◦ Capacity to care for child: age, economic status,

marital status◦ Without Restriction As To Reason [39.5%

world’s population; 61 countries]◦ Primarily North America, Europe, central & eastern

Asia, including China ◦ Most have gestational limits

Other Categories◦ Spousal Consent Required: Turkey, Saudi

Arabia, Morocco ◦ Parental Authorization for Minors: USA,

Spain, Saudi Arabia, Poland, Norway ◦ Selective Sex Abortion Prohibited: China &

Nepal ◦ Permitted for fetal impairment: Mexico,

Iran, Poland, England, Colombia

United States Abortion Laws 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision: SCOTUS ruled that a woman, in consultation with her doctor, has a constitutionally protected right to choose an abortion in early stages of pregnancy

◦ Upheld in Planned Parenthood v. Casey 1992◦ Protected by inherent right to privacy

Physician & Hospital Requirements – 38 states require abortions to be performed by licensed physicians; 19 in a hospital; 18 require second physician

Gestational Limits – 43 states prohibit abortions after a specified point in pregnancy, most often fetal “viability”

Partial-Birth – 19 states prohibit partial-birth (late term) abortions Public Funding – 17 states use own funds to pay for all/most medically necessary abortions for Medicaid enrollees; 32 states prohibit use of state funds except when woman’s life is in danger or is victim of rape/incest

US Abortion Laws – Part II Coverage by Insurance – 11 states restrict coverage of abortions in private insurance plans except in cases where it endangers woman’s life

Refusal – 45 states allow individual health care providers to refuse abortion State-Mandated Counseling – 17 states mandate women be given counseling before an abortion

Waiting Period – 28 states require woman to wait, usually 24 hours, between counseling & procedure

Parental Involvement – 38 states require some type of parental involvement in a minor’s decision to have an abortion; 25 states require one or both parents to consent

New Jersey Surgical abortion must be performed by licensed physician Must be done in a hospital if at 14 weeks Partial Birth banned – permanently enjoined Publicly funds all or most medically necessary abortions (for people on Medicaid) Providers may refuse to participate in abortion coverage (individual & private) Parental involvement required for minors – notification only, but policy not in effect by court order

No laws on◦ Second Physician◦ Prohibition except in cases of life or health endangerment◦ Restricting private insurance coverage◦ Mandated counseling

2011 – 6 million pregnancies among 63M women age 15-44

◦ 67% resulted in live birth◦ 18% abortions◦ 15% miscarriage

In New Jersey:◦ 178,700 pregnancies◦ 59% live birth◦ 26% induced abortion

Pro-Choice Arguments Women should have control over their bodies

◦ Empowers women◦ Central to her independence

Right should not be limited by government or religious authority◦ Supreme Court stated Constitution gives

“guarantee of certain areas or zones of privacy … broad enough to encompass a woman’s decision to … terminate her pregnancy”

Woman’s Right > Embryo’s Right If illegal, women would resort to unsafe, illegal abortions

◦ 39 maternal deaths from illegal abortions in 1972

◦ WHO estimated 68,000 worldwide in 2004 Conception begins after fetus becomes “viable” – able to live on its own outside the womb◦ Your age is calculated from birth date, not

conception date◦ “Person” does not include the unborn

Fetus does not feel pain◦ Cortex, necessary for feeling pain, does not

function until at least the 26th week (2012 American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists)

Pro-Choice Part II Modern procedures are safe & do not cause cancer or infertility

◦ Less than 0.25% lead to major complications (Obstetrics & Gynecology, 2015)

◦ Pregnancy-related complications more common with childbirth than abortion

Women less likely to suffer mental health problems from abortions than women denied services

◦ Denied = more likely to be unemployed, on public welfare, poverty line, & domestic violence

Option to not bring fetuses with profound abnormalities to full term

◦ Some conditions guarantee death before or shortly after birth◦ Anencephaly – brain is missing◦ Limb-Body Wall Complex – organs develop

outside body Baby should not be born unwanted Reduces welfare costs to taxpayers Crime rates drop (children born when denied abortions more likely to engage in criminal activity)

Population Control Some religious organizations support choice

◦ United Methodist & Presbyterian Church◦ Unitarian Universalist Association of

Congregations ◦ Bible does not explicitly condemn abortion◦ Exodus – causing a miscarriage is a property

crime

Pro-Life Arguments Personhood begins at conception

◦ Often religiously-backed◦ Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed thee in the

belly I knew thee…” ◦ Hindu holy text Kaushitaki Upanishad –

abortion is equal to killing own parents◦ Buddhism – rejects abortion because it

involves deliberately destroying a life Immoral killing of an innocent human

◦ Unborn babies considered humans by Unborn Victims of Violence Act – about 38 states have similar laws

Unborn child suffers◦ Maureen Condic, PhD. Associate Professor

of Neurobiology & Anatomy at University of Utah School of Medicine – “most primitive response to pain, the spinal reflex” is developed by 8 weeks gestation

Roe v. Wade Decision is Wrong◦ Justice Antonin Scalia – right to privacy is

“utterly idiotic”◦ Rehnquist – abortion is not private

Pro-Life Part II Abortions cause psychological damage

◦ Young women increase risk of depression (2008 Scandinavian Journal of Public Health)

◦ Significantly higher anxiety (BMC Medicine, 2005)

◦ 154% more likely to commit suicide (Southern Medical Journal, 2002)

Unfair to allow abortion when couples are waiting to adopt

Selective abortion based on genetic abnormalities is discrimination

Also disproportionately affects African American babies

◦ Black women 3.3X more likely than whites to have an abortion

◦ In NYC in 2012, more black babies were aborted than had live births (NYC Dept. of Health & Mental Hygiene)

Abortion should not be a type of contraception

Accept responsibility that comes with producing a child

Promotes a culture that human life is disposable

May lead to future medical complications for the mother

Eliminates potential contributions of future human being

Conditional Circumstances Genetic Disorders: May seek to terminate pregnancy of fetus with genetic disorder◦ Permitted legally in some countries: China, Cuba, Cyprus, India, Sri Lanka, South

Africa◦ Religions have flexible approach ◦ Premarital screening for thalassaemia in Iran >> terminate in first 16 weeks

Rape◦ Pro – did not consent to action that led to pregnancy◦ Con – does not erase memory of the rape; it is still a life◦ Case 2015: 11-year old Paraguayan girl not allowed to get an abortion after raped by stepfather &

had the baby… Incest

◦ Pro – most likely a bad environment in which to raise a child◦ Con – it’s a life

InfanticideWHAT HAPPENS WHEN ABORTION IS ILLEGALOR WHEN GIRLS ARE UNDESIRABLE

Infanticide Definition Killing of infant

◦ Outright or passively (Starvation, abandonment, etc.)◦ Not same as selective-sex abortion, although that’s also

controversial◦ WHO lists it as a type of violence against women

Gendercide – intentional killing of a person based on gender Girls more likely victim than boys

◦ Sociocultural factors:◦ Dowry◦ Earning power◦ Potential Pensions ◦ Carry on surname◦ Caste ◦ Government Policy (One Child Policy in China)

Has been practiced on every continent & every people, but today most problematic in China & India

Infanticide Statistics: China In 2005, more than 1.1M excess births of boys occurred

◦ 88% single Chinese between 35-39 were male◦ 99% women in the same age group were married

Girls 2x as likely to die in first year of life as boys; up to 3x in rural areas Risk of death is 3x higher for second-born girls Parents who remarry are known to abandon child to have their own new one 40,000 orphanages in 1995 3,001 American adoptions of Chinese children in 2009, more than any other country

Marriage law prohibits female infanticide …

Infanticide Statistics: India Economic constraint: daughters will require a sizeable dowry (although illegal) in order to marry

◦ But not confined to those in poverty or lower classes◦ Even higher rates in Punjab, India’s richest state [85% of deaths among infants 7-36 months]

Regarded as temporary members of the family◦ “Bringing up a daughter is like watering a neighbor’s plant

Many female fetuses are terminated The Hindu newspaper reported average of 105 infants killed every month in Dharmapuri district throughout 1997

Estimated 6,000 female babies poisoned in Kallar villages in past decade Belief if you kill your baby, the next will be a son Second, third, or fourth-born girls are at higher risk

◦ First-born daughters help with chores

Video Clips Female Infanticide – India [16 min] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnmtKLQRh6g 101 East – Female Infanticide in India [9 min] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pIMpFQZo1Y