Reproduction Rights and Stigma

Ethics of Abortion: What is "right"? How do we approach this topic in an appropriate manner?

The debate between pro life and pro choice stems primarily from one question: When does life start? Countless amounts of research has been done to find one baseline and final answer that can be made into a universal agreement, but unfortunately that just isn't the case, and likely won't ever be. The answers to when life begins vary greatly from one cultural to another. For example, some cultures hold beliefs surrounding that life starts at contraception, and some cultures believe life begins as late as after birth and once the infant becomes unattached to the umbilical cord. It is a very difficult subject to touch on as it pulls and prods at various natures of cultures which can sometimes be offensive and disrespectful. This is why ethical consideration is extremely important in the topic, discussions, research, and policies made surrounding abortion.

Another important ethical concern is in relation to teens and freedom of choice. Are they educated enough to make their own decisions? Or does there need to be carefully implemented policies in place that include the involvement of an adult (parent or guardian) to help with the decisions. This makes it clear that "freedom of choice" may be better off being limited to a certain age, but then is placing those restrictions not contradicting "freedom"? Regardless, the teen or young women should be fully educated and properly informed before following through with such a dramatic, and possibly traumatizing decision and life choice.

Existing Policies and Acts on the Regulation of Abortion

       Infant Life Act 1292: This act was in place after evidence was found that a woman who has been pregnant for 28 weeks or longer is capable of giving birth to a healthy and living child. This act is detrimental to many discussions on at what point during pregnancy s considered too late to undergo an abortion. After much research and policy making it was established that there would be no advocate of a reform in the Law that would support an operation past three months after contraception. 

The Canadian Medical Association's abortion policy Since Canada does not have an abortion law, the policies are governed by the legislation that deals with other medical procedures. This policy states that abortion can take place for up to 20 weeks of the gestational period.

'Risks of abortion: What is Considered a "Safe" Method?

    It is probably relieving to note that when the operation is a medical or surgical method that is properly carried out by a skilled surgeon, the dangers of encountering major complications is reduced significantly, with nearly no life threatening risk. There are, however, voluntary abortions carried out around the world that are not under any medical supervision and therefore pose large, and major risks to the woman. So, why do these abortions still occur? There are a number of unfortunate circumstances that result in women carrying through with unsafe abortion procedures. One major such cause of this may be accessibility to health care. Certain places around the world may just not have proper access to health care and end up performing abortions is unsafe environments, with inadequate tools or support. The stigma with this exists largely as individuals may be viewed as "murderers" more so than women who undergo the procedure with a medical professional, just on the basis of not having proper access to medical support. Along with lack of accessibility comes being uneducated, as many individuals may not only know where to go for help, but they may not be making informed decisions if they do not understand all of the aspects involved in abortion and all of the proper steps in deciding on how to approach it. 

     There are more reasons stigma exists surrounding the topics of abortion. People fear bringing it up to avoid dealing with conflicting views and disagreements. This makes people who are considering abortion not only feel isolated and down on their self, but also scared to seek help and especially to tell anyone important to them, which may limit their medical and emotional support system. Stigma is a social concern that is relevant to todays society, but it brings more than just emotional and mental damage. It can have such a powerful influence on people to make them keep quiet, and be left extremely vulnerable to make poor and unsafe decisions. This stigma is unfortunate, but will be difficult to completely rid of as the controversies are extreme and continuing.		

Abortion Rates: Trends and Subgroups of Women

     In developed countries, such as in the US, rates of abortion are decreasing, and between 1994 and 2014 the decline was 11%. These changes of rates are quite dramatic, and have come down to what has been considered a historic low. On the other hand, developing nations are experiencing relatively steady rates over the last 25 years, with only a 3% decline. The reasons the almost invisible change of abortion rates in developing nations have lasted for a stable period of time is that they have continued to experience difficulties in having proper access to the needed health care that provides effective contraceptive methods. This is evident just how much impact the socioeconomic status has on the occurrence of unwanted pregnancies. 

Who is getting the majority of abortions? Women who were 20-24 years old accounted for the highest rates of abortion (39.9 in 1,000). 18-19 year olds took up the second highest rate, being 34.7 in 1,000. Women 40 years and older held the lowest rates of abortion, which worked out to 3.2 in 1,000. This trend could be correlated with younger women being more vulnerable and unsafe due to social pressures, or simply lack of education.

The Big Picture

Abortion is a sensitive topic, with people holding extreme views, to people who see the need for balance and consideration to more details. These controversies unfortunately raise the stigma and keep the conversations about abortion uneasy.

Links

http://www.bmj.com/content/353/bmj.i2705

http://tinyurl.galegroup.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/tinyurl/5aGuc3

http://www.womenscareclinic.ca/faq.html

References

Jones, R. and Kavanaugh, M. (2011). Changes in Abortion Rates Between 2000 and 2008 and Lifetime Incidence of Abortion. Obstetrics & Gynecology, 117(6), pp.1358-1366.

Olson, L. and Wenz, P. (1993). Abortion Rights as Religious Freedom. Review of Religious Research, 35(1), p.80.

Thurtle, D., & Birkett, N. (n.d.). Abortion: Right or Wrong? by Dorothy Thurtle Member of the Inter-Departmental Committee on Abortion, and Author of the Minority Report to the Ministry of Health and the Home Office Chairman Public Health Committee, Shoreditch Borough Council with a Preface by Norman Birkett, K. C. London: T. Werner Laurie, Ltd.

Torjesen, I. (2016). Abortion rates stay steady in developing nations but fall elsewhere. BMJ, p.i2705.

Womenscareclinic.ca. (2017). Women's Care Clinic - Frequently Asked Questions - Abortion Services - Toronto. [online] Available at: http://www.womenscareclinic.ca/faq.html [Accessed 28 Nov. 2017].