There is an interesting story in the Daily Telegraph about organizations that help women to obtain abortions in countries where abortion is illegal, by using “abortion pills” mifepristone and misoprostol. There are some genuine and interesting questions about the dangers that women are facing as a result of taking the drugs without the normal supervision women get in countries where abortion is legal. But first, I wanted to start with this quote from an anti-choice representative about these types of services:
But the anti-abortion group Comment on Reproductive Ethics said it was taking abortion “into the shadows”.
Spokeswoman Josephine Quintavalle told the BBC: “This is very worrying indeed. It represents further trivialisation of the value of the unborn child.
“It’s like taking abortion into the shadows. These drugs have side-effects and tragedies will increase.”
Okay, jackass, listen up. And I know that you have great difficultly listening to women who aren’t yourself, so I’ll speak very slowly: you took abortion into the shadows when those following your ideology decided to make abortion illegal in countries all over the world. Abortion in these countries is already in the fucking shadows — these services aren’t taking it there, they and the women they help are simply working within the shadow that misogynists like you created, and trying to lose as few lives as possible in the process.
But I have to love that in a story about how illegal abortion can cause harm to women, this woman is chattering on about how it trivializes “the value of the unborn child.” Right. Because outlawing abortion and then saying tough shit to those women who harm themselves in the process of trying to obtain one isn’t trivializing the value of the woman carrying that “unborn child” at all.
As for the larger question about the safety of sending women drugs to induce abortion when they will not have the proper medical oversight, there are of course risks. The risks are larger than in countries where abortion is illegal. And that women are facing those risks is horrible. But whether or not sites like Women on Web are being irresponsible is a whole different story.
The article cites a recent study about Women on Web’s work, and found that 11% of respondents had to seek out additional medical care after attempting to medically induce the abortion. However, there is no mention of any deaths, and whether or not the women experienced grave medical complications is not discussed — simply that most women who sought medical care did so because of an incomplete abortion or because of excessive bleeding.
The danger is stemming from the fact that while the patient speaks to a doctor through the web, he or she does not actually get to examine the patient. This means that desperate women will lie or answer questions incorrectly out of genuine ignorance — about how far along their pregnancy is, about risk factors they have, and so on.
However, as Women on Web notes, the risks are significantly lower than other methods of illegal abortion. I’d rather have women taking mifepristone or misoprostol without doctor supervision than have them inserting clothes hangers into their uteruses, drinking bleach, taking other drugs not intended to induce abortion, and/or paying loads of money to a backstreet abortionist who may not even know what the fuck he/she is doing. And these options are the only ones women would otherwise have — and they would be used.
Are the illegal abortion using mifepristone and misoprostol dangerous? Comparably yes and comparably no. Illegal abortion is dangerous business. It always has been and always will be. But the women who have access to services by sites like Women on Web, services which cost a voluntary donation and include actual support from a real doctor and an extensive web list of potential complications and how to handle them, they are the lucky ones. And thanks to Women on Web, illegal abortion is safer than it ever has been.
The fact that it is much more dangerous than legal abortion isn’t reason for Women on Web to pull their service — it’s a reason to acknowledge that no matter how great this service is, it will never be enough. Women in many countries where abortion is illegal couldn’t dream of having internet access. Abortions performed under these conditions are still too risky. The window in which the drugs can be used safely is too small to accommodate all who need help. It’s not enough. Women on Web doesn’t believe or claim that it is.
That illegal abortion is safer than it ever has been and is still not safe enough is reason to keep fighting for abortion rights and to take it out of the shadows. Because shadow or not, people of malicious or ridiculously wishful thinking, abortion isn’t going away.
{ 4 comments }
GREAT post! Why can’t people stop trying to control the lives, bodies, and so-called morals of others? Where is the respect for the woman in all of this?
Here’s hoping we get Obama elected – I’m scared what the alternative to women’s rights could be.
Gee Cara I could barely get through this…Every time I think about pro-birth (will not refer to them as pro-life because they don’t give a shit about the child after it is born or the health of the mother) I damn near develop a splitting fucking headache. Nothing sends me over the edge more than someone who thinks that they should have the right to control another persons body. Fuck the arrogance of that assumption and what it ultimately leads too…Sorry to be so crude but this is a sensitive issue with me.
You know, the only way their “Eeeee, but these drugs are teh dangerous to women!” argument holds water is if they follow it up with “…and here is how we plan to offer better medical services (exams, monitoring, U/S to determine the success of the termination) to ensure that women are SAFE.”
I’m not going to argue that using these drugs without medical supervision is safe, because I don’t think that it is. They don’t always work the way they’re supposed to (personal experience talking, here).
Clearly, however, they are WORLDS SAFER than other techniques currently used to terminate pregnancies when women have no other choices. Not only did you hit the nail on the head with that one, Cara, you pounded it right through the motherfucking wall.
It’s so stupid. If these people are REALLY so concerned about the safety of women, why don’t they improve the choices? Improve the life circumstances? Improve the medical care offered to women? No, no, we can’t have any of that, because we all know the drill: It’s not about helping women or saving babies, it’s about controlling women’s bodies.
Other than choice is better for the lives of all potential babies, to argue the case of women to women who value the potential baby more, remember this; Half the potential babies will one day become women, and if women’s rights are not respected, they are only saving the potential babies that will be men, and so ultimately it is about the right of the patriarchy.
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