Juan Cantos's List: Abortion

• In addition, statistics indicate that restricting access to abortion does nothing to reduce the number of abortions that take place; instead it causes major public health risks and discriminates against the poor.
• Additionally, the decision about whether or not to have an abortion is one that should be left up a woman herself, since she alone bears the complex impact of pregnancy and childbearing.
• Out of desperation, they may seek help from unqualified, unregulated providers who work in unsanitary conditions and provide no post-surgical care. Equally dangerous, women may attempt to induce miscarriages themselves or otherwise self-terminate. When this happens, the potential complications are numerous and frightening: they include inflammation, infection, hemorrhage, kidney failure, infertility, and an increased tendency toward future miscarriages.
• It is estimated that up to 78,000 deaths occur each year as a result of the approximately 20 million illegal and unsafe abortion procedures that take place worldwide.
• Since the rights to life, health, health care, and security of person are considered fundamental human rights under international law, restricting access to abortion is a pressing human rights issue.
• In the United States, this effective class discrimination is made even starker by legislation such as the Hyde Amendment, a bill passed in 1976 that denies federal funding for abortions except in certain restricted situations (such as rape or incest, or when the woman is experiencing dangerous complications of pregnancy).
• For example, women may choose to delay giving birth until their life circumstances, including their level of income, allow them to raise their children in better environments.
• Ensuring access to abortion for all makes it more likely that women will have children only when they are ready, willing, and able to raise them.
• Mifepristone is a safe, effective medical abortion drug that allows women to avoid the complications of surgery. The drug also has fewer negative side-effects than most drugs on the market.
• The decision about whether or not to become a parent is a deeply personal one that affects a woman's physical health, emotional life, economic status, work opportunities, and many other aspects of her life. The consequences of the decision impact a woman for her entire life.

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  Furthermore, despite the shifting legislative trends, a recent "Newsweek" poll found that 54 percent of people in the United States were sympathetic to the pro-choice argument.

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• The right to have an abortion is a necessity if women are to participate fully and freely in society.
• There needs to remain a clear line between the government's authority and a woman's autonomy in choosing to have a child, which the United States Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade ensures.
• A woman's ability to control her own reproductive activity is a fundamental right that impacts every aspect of her life.
• Anti-abortion laws impact the poor more than any other group, since those with sufficient financial resources can afford to find safe ways to deal with unwanted pregnancies.
• regnancy and motherhood affect every aspect of a woman's life -- public and private, emotional and physical
• Recent research outlines the number of important factors women consider when choosing whether or not to undergo an abortion: financial instability or debt, conflicting career goals, and problems with spouses or boyfriends all affect a woman's decision to become a mother.
• Family planning and abortion rights have allowed women to be more independent and productive in work and school, thus allowing them to better provide for themselves and their families.
• A number of studies indicate that children in the United States have enjoyed a higher quality of life since the legalization of abortion.
• Without the burden of unintended or unwanted pregnancy, families are less likely to suffer from poverty, and are more likely to maintain two-parent households without the benefit of welfare.
• In 1965, for example, almost 200 women died from illegal and unsafe abortions -- today, abortion is eleven times safer than giving birth to a child.
• In 1965, illegal abortion was so dangerous that the unregulated practice accounted for 17 percent of all pregnancy-related deaths.

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