This is the last article you can comment on for the month of
October.
What limits seem reasonable to you in terms of abortion, and
which limits simply make the experience needlessly more difficult for the woman
involved? Does acknowledging the fact
that abortion is a tramatic experience for some women just add fuel to the
pro-life side of the argument, or is this necessary information to take into
account, even if you are pro-choice? In
any controversy, when is it important to concede points to the other side and
address ambiguities, and when is it important to simplify the situation in
order to make clear arguments?
The author argues that the abortion process is unnecessarily traumatizing. However, I am afraid that abortion will always be traumatizing, no matter the circumstances. Women should also not subject their feelings to a “box-ticking exercise” that determines whether they are eligible to get an abortion, as such reasons should always remain private, and women should not be obliged to disclose them or to be interrogated about them. All this being said, it is impossible to find an objective criteria as a substitution for it. Moreover I also believe that abortion should represent the last resort, meaning that it shouldn’t be freely used without any reason or instead of contraception, restrictive as it may sound.
ReplyDeleteOne way we can make the abortion process less strenuous, is by creating a safe environment where women are not scared to talk about any bad aspects of their experience, in fear for it may be used against them and their right to have an abortion will be taken away. The fact that pro-life supporters misuse the traumatic story of Lucy Burns to ban legal termination of pregnancies is, at least from my point of view, inhumane. In fact, we should not associate having feelings after ending a pregnancy with regret, because as I previously mentioned, abortion is traumatizing even if fully wanted. Altogether, I agree that listening to women’s feelings, good or bad, should in no way undermine the case for legal abortion. Honestly, any woman who wants to have an abortion will have one – it is only a question of safety. Banning abortions won’t stop women from having them, it will stop them from having them legally. In addition, whether you have an abortion or you go on with an unwanted pregnancy, the negative impact on your mental health will be the same. The abortion process, although in need of some reconstructing, offers at least a safe choice that not every woman has. But who knows… maybe one day instead of trying to establish who is right and wrong, we will focus on creating an environment, where women would be free to make a choice for which they would be accepted and supported – irrespective of what that choice is.
This is a comment from Martin:
ReplyDeleteI always found it a bit difficult to involve myself in the abortion debate as, at the end of the day, I am a man and therefore I will never have to directly experience pregnancy. My stance on it is fairly left-leaning, as I believe women should have the right and freedom to decide what is best for them, especially if they are willing and ready to undergo such a burdensome procedure notwithstanding being aware of its consequences. As Lucy Burn said in the article, the UK’s laws and limitations do not make the already-complicated abortion process any easier. Instead of simply saying “I am pregnant and I do not want to be”, you have to go through the hassle of convincing two doctors that carrying out your pregnancy would be a risk to your physical or mental health. Because this may not always be the case, you can start to see the problem here – a physically and emotionally vulnerable pregnant woman has to convince herself that this is the reality and thus also second-guess her decision-making. Even though this is a very traumatizing experience for some, they choose to remain silent, as they do not want to risk losing their ability by shining the light on the bad parts of having an abortion, often leaving them feeling alone and helpless in their troubles.
However, this is something everyone should fathom, regardless of if you are pro-life or pro-choice. Although this information can be seen as highly favorable for the pro-life argument, it certainly is not to be neglected by pro-choice supporters either. As advocated in the article, talking about the uncomfortable feelings of abortions could help lay a path to a much more suitable and less limiting legal situation in England. We know that women tend to remain silent about their negative experiences, and thus the government never had to rethink their choices, as, in their eyes, the current policies do not have anything wrong with them because they were never properly challenged. New knowledge like this could lead to abortion becoming legal on request, rather than only being legally restricted to certain cases, hence ultimately benefiting pro-choice.