With society today, old white men are making decisions politically based on their opinions and religions, not thinking about others. Being one of the most hostile topics right now, people are extremely uneducated on the topic, here's what you need to know.
Abortion is pretty common.
30% of American woman will have an abortion by age 45, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a leading sexual health organization. You may not know anyone who's had one...or you do, and they haven't told you. Women of all races and social status get abortions.
You're VERY unlikely to die from one.
Less than one woman dies every 100,000 LEGAL abortions. However, 15.9 women per 100,000 died from pregnancy-related issues in 2012. The risk of dying from abortion does increase the longer someone is pregnant, but around/before week 13 is generally safe.
Abortion is also very unlikely to affect a woman's future fertility. With any medical procedure, there is a risk, but if it is done safely there should be no effect.
Most people don't regret getting an abortion.
Generally, people who get abortions are thankful they were able to. For many people, they're "not ready" or "can't sustain the rinks" While regret is always a possibility, it is generally a feeling of relief.
Child-free women aren't the only ones getting abortions.
59% of women who have abortions already have other children.
Getting an abortion doesn't mean you're "irresponsible."
No. Just no. The stereotype in today's society is that you're sleeping around and get pregnant which is why there is a need for an abortion. Although a lack of or misuse of birth control does make up for 41% of unintended pregnancies, it's never about being irresponsible, but it is being human.
"Don't have sex if you don't want to get pregnant" is always used, and easier said than done. Punishing someone for human nature is impossible. Nothing is foolproof.
Pro-choice doesn't mean "Yes I would get an abortion."
Being Pro-Choice doesn't always mean that this person would get an abortion. You can be Pro-Life for yourself but pro-choice for others. It's entirely about not making other people's choices for them. It also all depends on the situation, for myself, at my age and stage of life it would likely depend on the "who."
However, a 16 or 17-year-old would be more likely to get the abortion because she would be unable to give the child the life it needs.
It isn't always "I don't want this pregnancy" as it is "I can't continue this."
Sometimes it is. However, there are also women who put their life or their child's life at risk by carrying the pregnancy.
The fetus doesn't feel pain.
According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, "fetal perception of pain is unlikely before the third trimester" which starts at week 28. That part of the brain doesn't exist. And only 1.4% of abortions happen at or after week 21.
Access to safe and legal abortion is actually a public health issue.
Whether people seek abortions for physical or mental reasons, abortion is public health. With that, ending abortion VIA laws will NEVER end abortion, it will just end safe abortion. In the 1950s and 1960s, there were somewhere between 200,000 and 1.2 million illegal abortions. Roe V. Wade passed in 1973, after this, the number of abortion-related deaths dropped.
Although the issue is pressing as well as complex, in the end, it is a personal choice, not governmental. Realistically, it comes down to giving people the tools they need to be physically and mentally healthy.
