Abortion is a safe procedure, even safer than childbirth, but for years’ pro-life supporters have been working hard to create the myth that abortion is an unsafe murderous procedure. In this piece, I hope to debunk a few of the myths that pro-life supporters would want you to believe.
Abortion is Murder
Pro-life supporters’ largest argument is that abortion is murder. This is simply not true. First off under the legal definition of murder a person needs to be killed. Because a fetus is not a person the requirements for murder are not met. Pro-life supporters also make moral arguments that abortion is murder. However, in most cases abortion is performed in the early stages of pregnancy where a fetus would not be viable outside its mother. On cases where is abortion is done late term, typically after 20 weeks, the fetus normally has a severe defect, or the mother will die if she continues the pregnancy.
Abortion is an Unsafe Procedure
As I mentioned in my introduction an abortion is safer than childbirth. A first trimester abortion has less than a .05% chance of complications that will require medical attention at a hospital. The risk of death during an abortion increases the further along the woman is. However, women who get an abortion at 18 weeks or later Pro-life supporters have also created myths that abortion increases a woman’s risk of breast cancer, or her likelihood of having children in the future. These claims are false and there is no scientific evidence to back them.
Plan B is Abortion
Pro-life supporters also claim that Plan B, otherwise known as the morning after pill, is abortion and therefore murder. However, plan B is nothing like an abortion. Plan B is administered 72 hours after unprotected sex and prevents the release of an egg from the ovary. Plan B may also work to insure that an egg is not fertilized or that a fertilized egg does not attach to the wall of the uterus. None of these acts constitute abortion. Plan B will not work to detach an embryo or fetus from the uterine wall.
The Abortion Rate in the United States is Rising
Contrary to popular belief the abortion in the United States is actually on the decline. Thanks to long term contraceptives such as IUD’s women are able to prevent pregnancy easier. However, if the war against birth control continues we could see an increase in abortion. Unplanned pregnancy can be easily avoided by using birth control, but without proper access to these contraceptives women are more at risk for becoming pregnant.
Abortion is “Black Genocide” or Racist
One of the most harmful narratives put forth by pro-lifer supports is that abortion is “black genocide”. Pro-life supporters fake empathy for people of color by claiming that abortion is “killing their race” and that blacks are targeted or coerced into getting an abortion. However, these myths are insulting and ignorant. In fact, people of color face unique challenges that make their access to abortion difficult. This myth is insulting and another furtherance of the stereotype that black women are overly sexually and need abortion more often.
There are so many more myths that I could dispel, but that would take more than a blog post. The above myths show that pro-life supporters are desperate to paint abortion as a dangerous procedure that no woman should endure. However, abortion allows women to decide the number and spacing of children they have free from coercion. No woman should have to bear a child unwillingly.
