There exists in the world so much hate, so much judgement, so much simplifying of deep and complex issues. So much skewing of the facts, so much talking about topics that one knows nothing about, has never experienced, and in fact does not care to actually do anything about.
In the past couple of years since becoming a nurse, many of my experiences in Guatemala and Honduras have troubled me. There are children born day in and day out into horrendous circumstances, growing up to perpetuate those same circumstances they were born into. And there aren't enough people willing to help; to reduce the rate of unintended pregnancy and to help those in crisis pregnancy situations. I've lost count now of how many months my mind has been spinning, trying to think of solutions to this deep and complex issue.
Recently, I watched the first episode of Season 8 of Call the Midwife, a series based on the real life of Jennifer Worth who was a midwife to the underserved population in east London in the 1950s- 1960s. This series deals with the realities of life, the harsh realities. And when I watch an episode, my mind always spins. With this newest episode, my mind continued to spin with this deep and complex topic that I mentioned above.
And I have been seeing, everywhere I turn, that not everyone who is anti-abortion is also pro-life. In fact, I would argue that most of the former are not the latter.
In the textbook Women's Gynecologic Health by Schuiling and Likis (2017), the authors explain the following:
I realize that the reasons for choosing abortion are vast, and that unwanted pregnancy is by no means the only reason. Again, this is only one part of very complex issue, but I believe an important one.
In the past couple of years since becoming a nurse, many of my experiences in Guatemala and Honduras have troubled me. There are children born day in and day out into horrendous circumstances, growing up to perpetuate those same circumstances they were born into. And there aren't enough people willing to help; to reduce the rate of unintended pregnancy and to help those in crisis pregnancy situations. I've lost count now of how many months my mind has been spinning, trying to think of solutions to this deep and complex issue.
Recently, I watched the first episode of Season 8 of Call the Midwife, a series based on the real life of Jennifer Worth who was a midwife to the underserved population in east London in the 1950s- 1960s. This series deals with the realities of life, the harsh realities. And when I watch an episode, my mind always spins. With this newest episode, my mind continued to spin with this deep and complex topic that I mentioned above.
And I have been seeing, everywhere I turn, that not everyone who is anti-abortion is also pro-life. In fact, I would argue that most of the former are not the latter.
In the textbook Women's Gynecologic Health by Schuiling and Likis (2017), the authors explain the following:
"Significant disparities in rates of unintended pregnancy and abortion in United States have been identified. Women who are between the ages of 18 and 24, unmarried, Latina or Black, with incomes less than 200% of the federal poverty level, or without a high school diploma experience both of these reproductive health events at disproportionate levels relative to older, married, white, more affluent or more educated women... a majority of women (61%) who have abortions have had one or more previous births (p. 415)."
These facts tell me that whether abortion is legal or illegal isn't the problem. Abortion is illegal in Honduras and largely illegal in Guatemala (only permitted if the life of the mother is in danger). But abortion still exists in these two countries, and many women die because it is done in an unsafe and unregulated manner. Just as pro-gun advocates argue that strict gun laws won't decrease mass shootings or prevent "bad" people from having guns, use the same logic here: making abortion illegal won't stop abortion. It's not stopping, even where it's illegal.
Yes, laws can help bring safety and order. It may reduce the number of abortions, but that does not solve the actual problem of why the abortion was deemed the best option in the first place. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "Morality cannot be legislated, but behavior can be regulated. Judicial decrees may not change the heart, but they can restrain the heartless." This is a reason why laws can help. But with abortion, we must look deeper; we must not see these woman as "heartless" or "immoral." Many times, it is not even the mother's choice, but rather she is forced, as reproductive coercion is all too common.
Yes, laws can help bring safety and order. It may reduce the number of abortions, but that does not solve the actual problem of why the abortion was deemed the best option in the first place. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "Morality cannot be legislated, but behavior can be regulated. Judicial decrees may not change the heart, but they can restrain the heartless." This is a reason why laws can help. But with abortion, we must look deeper; we must not see these woman as "heartless" or "immoral." Many times, it is not even the mother's choice, but rather she is forced, as reproductive coercion is all too common.
What if we stopped looking at this issue from a legal/illegal standpoint, and starting looking at it from a standpoint of trying to solve the problem from the root of the issue? Women and girls in crisis pregnancy need support. The statistics stated above tell us who is most at risk for unwanted pregnancy (in the U.S). What if we started making efforts to prevent unwanted pregnancy, and supporting those who find themselves in this situation? Then it wouldn't matter what the law says, because we would be preventing the need for abortion in the first place.
I realize that the reasons for choosing abortion are vast, and that unwanted pregnancy is by no means the only reason. Again, this is only one part of very complex issue, but I believe an important one.
The textbook continues, "Three-fourths of women who have an abortion report a religious affiliation. Many of these women identify themselves with religions that typically prohibit abortion: 28% of women who have abortions are Catholic, and 15% are Born-Again, Evangelical, or Fundamentalist (Jones & Kavanaugh, 2011, p. 415)."
I know from the religious culture I grew up in, everyone is so busy fighting about the laws and judging people, that they don't have time to be compassionate and support people in need. know that if I had found myself pregnant as an adolescent, I would have felt that abortion was my only choice. Of course, this is hypothetical and I only know for sure what would have happened if I did experience that, but this is just to say how I remember feeling. My experience in the conservative Christian culture is that it is so full of judgement and so lacking in love. But my experience has given me the ability to understand one of the reasons why many may find abortion to be their only option.
This anti-abortion culture demands that women are forced to give birth, whether the pregnancy was a result of her choices or not, yet the vast majority are unwilling to help these women who are unable to care for their baby, they are unwilling to support the family, or foster/ adopt these babies that they demand be born but have no one to care for them. In the past 4 years, the number of children in foster care has increased every year, with more than 437,500 children in the foster care system in the U.S. at the end of the year 2016, and only 57,000 of those children were adopted. And every year, about 20,000 children age out of the foster system with no family. I understand that many families are on a wait-list to adopt a newborn. And that is only in the U.S. That is not to mention the global orphan crisis; the orphanages that are filled with millions of children who are neglected and abused, suffering and dying alone.
What does that tell me about most anti-abortion people? That they aren't really pro-life. People, we have to put action behind our words.
This anti-abortion culture demands that women are forced to give birth, whether the pregnancy was a result of her choices or not, yet the vast majority are unwilling to help these women who are unable to care for their baby, they are unwilling to support the family, or foster/ adopt these babies that they demand be born but have no one to care for them. In the past 4 years, the number of children in foster care has increased every year, with more than 437,500 children in the foster care system in the U.S. at the end of the year 2016, and only 57,000 of those children were adopted. And every year, about 20,000 children age out of the foster system with no family. I understand that many families are on a wait-list to adopt a newborn. And that is only in the U.S. That is not to mention the global orphan crisis; the orphanages that are filled with millions of children who are neglected and abused, suffering and dying alone.
What does that tell me about most anti-abortion people? That they aren't really pro-life. People, we have to put action behind our words.
To those of you who are are not anti-abortion, but are pro-life with your actions, thank you. You are what life is all about.
References
Jones, R. K. and Kavanaugh, M. L. (2011). Changes in abortion rates between 2000 and 2008 and lifetime incidence of abortion. In Women's gynecologic health (3rd ed). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Schuiling, K. D., and Likis, F. E. (2017). Women's gynecologic health (3rd ed). Burlington, MA: Jones &
Bartlett Learning.
