Bodies and Power: Abortion

While everyone is entitled to their own opinion, making informed decisions is incredibly important; especially when it comes to abortion and pregnancy. 

One of the major arguments that anti-abortionists sustain is the idea that IUDs cause spontaneous abortions. This stems from the false idea that an IUD will still allow an egg to become fertilized, but destroy the cells before maturation. Conservative anti-abortionists adapt the definition of what it means to be human based on this finding, stating that life begins when the sperm and egg bond. Arguments have even been extended to include that life begins with the ejaculation of a man into a woman. The inclusion. I know. 

In addition, the pro-life movement has not aided their cause by creating sensationalized literature that is, in some cases, inaccurate. And why does it appear like pro-lifers seem to place emphasis on care life inside of the womb, not out? 

There has been no empirical evidence that suggests miscarriages or ‘spontaneous abortions’ are linked in any way with an IUD. This, of course, must be based on a firm definition of abortion, without which, as Takeshita suggests, all religions and cultures (Takeshita only mentions Christianity) would be against all intra-uterine devices. The US department of health issued a definition still used widely by anti-abortionists: “all the measures which impair the viability of the zygote at any time between the instant of fertilization and the completion of labor.” 

 

In contrast, a year later in 1965, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) defined conception as the implantation of a fertilized egg. Anti-abortionists argued that, by that definition, an egg may be unattached but fertilized before it sloughs off due to the intra-uterine contraceptive or, as they put it, “abortifacient.”

Research conducted in the 70s found that the IUD, being a foreign object in the uterus, created an inhospitable environment for sperm and ovum to survive. In the 80s, scientists observed severely incapacitated sperm following the implantation of the IUD. Conclusions from both these studies, among several others, pointed to the IUD creating an unstable environment for the sperm and ovum to complete the fertilization and migration process, thus disproving the theory that an abortion is likely to occur due to the IUD. However, since several people still held the belief that life began at the conjoining of sperm and egg, the view that IUDs caused abortions was prevalent. Why might this be?

The lack of information and proper response to pregnant women by the pro-life movement is incredibly disheartening and may contribute to the confusion around abortion.

Just by googling “pro-life,” I came to a sensational website displaying graphic abortions, what the Bible says about abortion and sin, Pro-Life marches in Washington, resources for pregnant women carrying to term, pushes for women to remain pure, and of course, many opportunities to “donate to the pro-life movement.” What is most upsetting is perhaps the lack of tact when displaying images and details attacking women who chose to have an abortion. 

What’s more, the website also does nothing to inform its readers of the ‘pro-life’ stance; instead, it simply attacks the ‘pro-choice’ movement. Focus on the Family, a conservative Christian organization, published an article detailing the findings of a 2015 study which focused on women who attend church and their view on abortions. 

The distrust of the Church’s response in condemning abortions has had a significant impact on women who go to church and abortions. Over 4 in every 10 women who have had an abortion are regular churchgoers, with two-thirds of the women surveyed say that church members judge single women who are pregnant. A majority of the women would not recommend discussing an unplanned pregnancy with anyone at church (Green, 2018). 

The prolife movement has focused most of their attention on ‘protecting life’ within the womb with little plan and activism for children outside of the womb. A popular argument among the pro-choice movement is that those who consider themselves ‘pro-life’ are actually only ‘pro-birth,’ after that, you’re on your own. 

One pastor’s rebuttal to the argument that unwanted children experience a lower quality of life and have the potential of ending up in foster care is that foster care gives children hope for the future; ‘many’ parents are looking to adopt or foster. 

I so wish this were true. 

In 2016, there were an estimated 437,465 children in foster care with less than half of children in non-relative homes in the United States (Child Welfare, 2018). In addition, 45 percent of those who left the foster care system were under the age of one year and of the 250,248 children who left the system, only 23 percent were adopted. 

So what? When life begins is a philosophical question that can be argued from many different stances; the same can be said for the definition of abortions. Empirical evidence based on philosophical and moral standings can only go so far in convincing the general public one way or another. 

My argument is that all positions on the matter of abortion and when life begins are true and valid. We are still figuring out how our bodies work and respond to different treatments/devices/implants etc. What evidence we do have needs to be taken into serious consideration when it comes to the health and well-being of ourselves and the creation of life.

But.

Everyone is entitled to their own choice. Let’s keep it that way. 

References:

Child Welfare. Children’s Bureau (2018, April). Foster Care Statistics 2016. Retrieved November 4, 2018. 

Green, L. C. (2018, June 21). Survey: Women Go Silently From Church to Abortion Clinic. Retrieved November 4, 2018, from https://www.focusonthefamily.com/pro-life/pre-born/survey-women-go-silently-from-church-to-abortion-clinic

Lindsey, A. (2018, January 03). Answering 'pro-birth, not pro-life' criticism. Retrieved November 4, 2018, from https://studentsforlife.org/2017/10/30/answering-pro-birth-not-pro-life-criticism/

Takeshita, Chikako. 2012. The Global Biopolitics of the IUD: How Science Constructs Contraceptive Users and Women’s Bodies. MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts.