On September 29th, 2021, a law banning most abortions went into effect in Texas. This law bans all abortions after six weeks or once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which is why it is called the heartbeat bill, with no exceptions for rape and incest. The law relies on private citizens rather than the government to enforce it. Under this new law, people who receive abortions cannot be sued; however, anyone who helps them get the abortion (e.g., the doctor performing the abortion, the Uber driver that drove the patient to the clinic, the friend that lent them money for the abortion, etc.) can be sued by almost anyone. If successfully sued under this law, people who perform/help someone receive an abortion after six weeks can face a penalty of up to 10 years in prison [1].  

Abortions are a medical or surgical procedure that terminates a pregnancy before the embryo/fetus can be born [2]. This procedure is performed with the intention of ending the pregnancy for the patient as the pregnancy is unwanted (whether it was caused accidentally or due to a traumatic event). People who oppose the legality of abortions object on the basis of religious and ethical reasons. They state that the fetus is a human being from the moment of conception [3] and that abortion is a cruel form of termination to a viable human life [2]. Those in support of abortions and a woman’s right to choose argue that the ability to access safe and legal abortions is a human right [2].

Regardless of whether an abortion is morally or ethically acceptable, restricting the right to have an abortion has proven to be dangerous to the health of both children and women all around the world. When abortions are performed in an unsafe environment, they cause one in six maternal deaths annually [4], and approximately 7 million women are admitted to hospitals due to complications from unsafe abortions every year [5]. Complications caused by unsafe abortions include hemorrhages, infections, septic shock, uterine and intestinal perforation, and peritonitis [5]. Unsafe abortions are also more likely to result in infertility and chronic reproductive tract infections for the patient [5]. It has also been shown that unsafe abortions negatively affect the health of children, their well-being, and their development as it causes an increase in the risk of poor birth outcomes, as well as neonatal and infant mortality [5].

Being able to access legal and safe abortions have far more positive consequences compared to negative ones. The WHO (World Health Organization) found that countries with broader legal grounds for abortion had fewer deaths and complications from unsafe abortions [4]. Additional research has shown that having an abortion (in a medical setting with medical personnel) does not increase a women’s risk of secondary infertility, pregnancy-related hypertensive disorders, preterm birth, breast cancer, mental health disorders (anxiety, depression, PTSD, etc.), or drug, tobacco and alcohol use as some pro-life supporters have argued they do [5, 7].

However, as stated above, (legal and safe) abortions do have adverse effects, such as an increased risk of very preterm birth (<28 weeks’ gestation) in the first birth of women who have had two or more vacuum aspiration (suction) abortions [7]. Additionally, if the time period between abortion and subsequent conception is less than six months, there is an increased risk of preterm birth [7]. Nevertheless, the development of major complications from abortions is extremely rare, with it occurring in less than ¼ of one percent (< 0.25%) of abortion procedures (this makes abortions much safer than having wisdom teeth removed) [8].  

Women have been getting abortions for hundreds of years, even before it became a topic of discussion in society. Getting an abortion, nowadays, is much safer and more beneficial towards a woman’s overall health than ever before. By restricting or banning abortions, women will be forced to find other more dangerous approaches to terminating unwanted pregnancies, which will lead to a rise in health complications and maternal mortality. From 2010 to 2014, 97% of unsafe abortions occurred in developing countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America [9]. Only one in four abortions was considered safe in countries where abortions are either completely banned or permitted only to save a woman’s life [9]. On the contrary, in countries where abortions are considered legal (on broader grounds), nine out of every 10 abortions were performed safely [9]. 

There are several reasons why a woman would want an abortion (e.g., to cut ties with an abusive partner, not being financially capable of taking care of a child, etc.), but a common motive is that the benefits outweigh the risks. Abortion restrictions place a burden on women and by limiting access to medical abortions, an increasing amount of women are turning to self-induced abortions (pills, herbs, inflicting abdominal trauma, etc.) which can be dangerous and life-threating. Extensive research in the medical, psychological, epidemiological, and sociological field have proven that abortions are safe for women [8]. So why are governments still enacting laws severely restricting abortions and claiming they are meant to improve the health and safety of women? 

References

1. Oxner, R. (2021, October 29). The Supreme Court will hear arguments over Texas’ near-total abortion ban Monday. Here’s what you need to know. The Texas Tribune. https://www.texastribune.org/2021/10/29/texas-abortion-law-supreme-court/ 
2. Abortion topic overview. (2018). Gale. Retrieved October 20, 2021, from https://www.gale.com/open-access/abortion
3.  Thomson, J. J. (1971). A defense of Abortion. Philosophy & Public Affairs, 1(1), 47-66. https://eclass.uoa.gr/modules/document/file.php/PPP475/Thomson%20Judith%20Jarvis%2C%20A%20defense%20of%20abortion.pdf
4. Berer, M. (2017). Abortion law and policy around the world: In search of decriminalization. Health and Human Rights Journal, 19(1), 13-27. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5473035/

5. Ishola, F., Ukah, U. V., & Nandi, A. (2021). Impact of abortion law reforms on women’s health services and outcomes: A systematic review protocol. Systematic Reviews, 10(192), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-021-01739-w
6. McCammon, S. (2019, September 19). With abortion restrictions on the rise, some women induce their own. NPR. https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/2019-09-19/with-abortion-restrictions-on-the-rise-some-women-induce-their-own
7.   National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Health and Medicine Division; Board on Health Care Services; Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice; Committee on Reproductive Health Services: Assessing the Safety and Quality of Abortion Care in the U.S. (2018). The safety and quality of abortion care in the United States. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK507237/
8. Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health. Abortion restrictions put women’s health, safety and well-being at risk. https://bixbycenter.ucsf.edu/sites/bixbycenter.ucsf.edu/files/Abortion%20restrictions%20risk%20women%27s%20health.pdf
9. Worldwide, an estimated 25 million unsafe abortions occur each year. (2017, September 28). World Health Organization. Retrieved November 11, 2021, from https://www.who.int/news/item/28-09-2017-worldwide-an-estimated-25-million-unsafe-abortions-occur-each-year
10. WHO. (2017). Distribution of abortions. [Infographic]. https://www.who.int/news/item/28-09-2017-worldwide-an-estimated-25-million-unsafe-abortions-occur-each-year