Abortion: An Overview
by Aambar Agarwal
Abortion has been and continues to be a hotly contested topic in American politics; to better understand the debates today, here is a quick rundown of everything you need to know.
Abortion: the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, most often performed during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy.
To put this into context, there are roughly 40 weeks in a pregnancy. Many states in the US ban abortion after the 20th or 24th week, including Ohio, unless the life of the parent is at risk. The 24th week is around when the fetus reaches viability (its ability to survive or live successfully), and nearly all the rest of the US states ban abortion after the fetus is viable unless the parent’s life is at risk.
However, as technology progresses, the viability age will go down, meaning that parents will be banned from abortion earlier and earlier. This will give parents less time to consider whether or not to abort the baby, thus restricting their freedom.
There are many safe methods for abortion: suction abortion, dilation and evacuation, and pills being the most common. Suction abortion and dilation and evacuation are done in clinics and performed by using a suction to empty the uterus. Abortion pills are a combination of mifepristone and misoprostol, both prescribed by a doctor; mifepristone blocks the body’s progesterone (a necessary female hormone), while misoprostol induces cramping and bleeding of the uterus (where the baby resides).
Parents abort for a plethora of reasons – fetal abnormalities, life endangerment of the parent or child, rape, incest, etc. – but sometimes, they are not able to access abortion due to all the legal restrictions currently placed on abortion. This is where the debate starts.
Roe v. Wade (1973): established a woman's right to have an abortion without undue restrictive interference from the government.
This case was crucial to the abortion debate by helping legalize abortion in the US, making it safer and more accessible. Despite this, the ruling allowed states to determine when or if to allow the parent to get an abortion during the second and third trimesters, hence the debate about current restrictions.
Under this, any blatant attack on the right to abortion is technically unconstitutional. For example, since the new bill introduced in Ohio to completely ban abortion (unless the parent’s life is at risk) would disregard Roe v. Wade, it is unconstitutional. Nevertheless, conservative lawmakers anticipate that by prohibiting abortion in Ohio, they can start a chain reaction, leading to the conservative-majority Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.
Hyde Amendment (1976): ban on federal funding for abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or threat to the parent’s life.
Between 1973 and 1976, Medicaid (federal and state health care program that assists low-income individuals and families) funded abortion services in the US, making it easier for everyone to afford an abortion. However, the Hyde Amendment barred this; instead, parents must pay for abortions out-of-pocket when it is not for one of the three exceptions.
Paying out-of-pocket makes abortions less safe and accessible; often, parents may resort to unsafe or illegal methods of abortion (e.g., self-induced abortion, going to unlicensed practitioners) as these are typically more affordable. These methods, most times, give rise to complications that could have been avoided by going to a licensed medical practitioner. While many states do not completely follow the Hyde Amendment, Ohio does.
Pro-life: opposing abortion.
Pro-choice: advocating legalized abortion.
These are the two sides to the abortion debate. While there are many arguments on each side, another simple way of defining pro-life and pro-choice would be, respectively, for fetal rights and for women’s reproductive rights. The pro-life side finds the practice of abortion to be inhuman, and the pro-choice side sees abortion to be a fundamental human right. Compromising between the two beliefs proves to be a struggle.
Republicans in the US are usually associated as being pro-life, while Democrats are seen as pro-choice, causing the issue of abortion to be partisan. Thanks to the conservative-majority Supreme Court and Republican president, it is likely that Roe v. Wade and other important abortion legislation could be overturned in the coming years.
While abortion is legal in all states, certain individuals and institutions are allowed to deny a parent an abortion based on their private beliefs, including in Ohio, making it even more complicated for parents to seek an abortion. Moreover, before parents can get an abortion in some states, excluding Ohio, parents are required to be given counseling about a breast cancer risk (despite the absence of a direct link), fetal pain (despite the lack of evidence), and the negative psychological effects on the parent associated with abortions.
As shown by this visual, in the previous years, abortion clinics and restrictions have fluctuated, with a net change of fewer clinics and more restrictions. The reduction of clinics could be explained by the lessening of abortions, most likely due to the increasing effectiveness of birth control. However, the implementation of more abortion restrictions is additionally contributing to the decrease of clinics; if more and more parents are restricted from getting an abortion, then how will they access the clinics?
This year, US states, like Ohio, have been trying to restrict abortion laws even further, such as through heartbeat bills, but all have failed (for now) due to state judges blocking their attempts. Will these eventually become successful? Maybe. Will these affect you? Undoubtedly; whether directly or indirectly, you will feel the consequences. If we want to preserve our reproductive rights, we need to take action now.
More readings:
https://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/overview-abortion-laws