Recording (some of) my extended thoughts, first, a few links that are pretty informative and pretty non-political:
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/06/24/what-the-data-says-about-abortion-in-the-u-s-2/
https://qz.com/1910532/the-reasons-why-us-abortion-rates-are-falling/amp/
I have always maintained that I want abortion to be legal because:
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/06/24/what-the-data-says-about-abortion-in-the-u-s-2/
https://qz.com/1910532/the-reasons-why-us-abortion-rates-are-falling/amp/
I have always maintained that I want abortion to be legal because:
- Safety. We know laws don’t tend to affect demand for a thing that history demonstrates simply doesn’t go away, and abortion is no different. We’ll now have more issues with unsafe, dangerous, shady “providers”.
- The abortion rate has dropped steadily since 1973. As access to women’s reproductive care increases, abortion rate decreases. As access to contraception increases, abortion rate decreases. Providers like the vilified Planned Parenthood have helped with the lowering of the abortion rate. Now, watch as “pro-life” “Christian” and most definitely private women’s care providers pop up and most assuredly have public money funneled their way. There’s always a money grab in this. Always. And guess what, while the services provided might mirror those of planned parenthood (minus abortion procedures and medications), they will not erase demand, meaning as well-intentioned as they may be, a woman who wants an abortion just became a woman more likely to seek an option less safe.
- Again, the rate has declined, and before we change laws, understanding why should be paramount in the discussion. To my mind, this is the point of separation of church and state—to ensure the guaranteed “space” for flat, unemotional pragmatism unroofed to whatever extent possible in wide-varyingly-interpretable faith-based stuff. Studies show that abortion rate lowering coincides with democratic leadership. Okay, why? Well, it seems that access to basic healthcare increases as does access to contraception—thus lowering the demand. There are many factors, of course, but access to preventative care in any area of health—dietary care for example reducing blood-pressure and cardiovascular-related issues.
- It is alarming, simply terrifying, how many women in our society are raped. And we know most rapes go unreported for myriad reasons. I have some very personal insights into this that I’m going to refrain from expanding on here, but I think they’re informative and consistent with studies on the issue.
- I’ll pass along what happened just two days ago, though. While I was at work, my partner took our 9 month-old girl for a walk to a park five blocks from our home. A pickup truck occupied by two men passed by them and catcalled my partner. That, alone, can be terrifying for a woman. But that wasn’t the end of it. The men circled the block to pass by again, this time very slowly, again catcalling, asked her name, asking if she’d like “another baby”. Thankfully that was the end of it. But what if it wasn’t? What if they raped her? What if the rape resulted in pregnancy, in part because she couldn’t access immediate care including an abortion pill option?
- Relating to above… one of the central arguments for legal and safe abortion is to allow a woman to have agency over her body. Men have full agency. There really is no decision a man is unable to make about his body. That’s a privilege women would like to have as well. I realize privilege is a loaded word for a lot of people, but think of the definition in the most benign, flat terms. Affording a group of people LESS privilege than another group effectively lowers their perceived (and real) power in society. Women just became even more—arguably—second-class citizens. And the moment that become clear—consciously or subconsciously, they tend to become even more targeted for sexual violence. Roe afforded women greater agency over their body, closing the gap between a man’s agency over his body and a woman’s over hers. This is something. I think men, speaking general which is always risky for the expectant triggered reaction, could try harder to understand.