Spring Break
America and the Abortion Conundrum
Ashley Mitchell '11
Issue date: 5/6/09 Section: Opinion
According to a July 2008 report by the Guttmacher Institute, over 45 million legal abortions have been performed in the United States in the past 35 years. Although the number of women who have elected to have abortions has declined in recent years, the United States still has one of the highest abortion rates in the Western world: there are approximately 21 abortions for every 1000 women per year in the US. The rate is 17 in Northern Europe and only 12 in Western Europe.
Since the Supreme Court handed down its landmark decision in Roe v. Wade, conservatives and anti-abortion groups have focused their energies on either overturning the decision or advocating for restrictions on abortion rights. Over the last 36 years, there have been a number of attempts to restrict abortion laws: from 24 hour waiting periods to parental notification laws, conservatives have tried to decrease the availability of abortions while they advocate for the Roe decision to be overturned. While liberals and supporters of the pro-choice movement have met these efforts with indignation, members on both sides of the issue would agree that reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies is a worthwhile goal. Are stricter regulations actually more effective in reducing the number of abortions? And why do Western and Northern Europe-areas with similar laws to the US (or, in some cases, with even more liberal laws)-have lower rates of abortion than the United States?
The number of induced abortions has declined worldwide in recent years, from nearly 46 million in 1995 to 42 million in 2003. Interestingly, this decline coincides with the liberalization of abortion laws in sixteen countries between 1998 and 2007. This may seem to suggest that broader abortion laws lead to decreases in abortion rates. But is this really the case?
Based on recent data, there is no correlation between the type of abortion law and abortion rate. The Guttmacher institute reports that the abortion rate is 29 per 1000 women in Africa, where the procedure is illegal in many countries and in most circumstances. However, the overall rate in Europe is 28, where abortion is legal in most countries and permitted on broad grounds. (It should be noted, however, that infections and other complications occur at a much higher incidence in places where abortion is illegal or restricted). Thus, the nature of abortion regulations of a country has little to no influence on the abortion rate. Yet the abortion rate in the United States is higher than its Western and Northern European counterparts, even though their laws are comparable. There must be other differences-social, political, and cultural-that account for this difference.
Since the Supreme Court handed down its landmark decision in Roe v. Wade, conservatives and anti-abortion groups have focused their energies on either overturning the decision or advocating for restrictions on abortion rights. Over the last 36 years, there have been a number of attempts to restrict abortion laws: from 24 hour waiting periods to parental notification laws, conservatives have tried to decrease the availability of abortions while they advocate for the Roe decision to be overturned. While liberals and supporters of the pro-choice movement have met these efforts with indignation, members on both sides of the issue would agree that reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies is a worthwhile goal. Are stricter regulations actually more effective in reducing the number of abortions? And why do Western and Northern Europe-areas with similar laws to the US (or, in some cases, with even more liberal laws)-have lower rates of abortion than the United States?
The number of induced abortions has declined worldwide in recent years, from nearly 46 million in 1995 to 42 million in 2003. Interestingly, this decline coincides with the liberalization of abortion laws in sixteen countries between 1998 and 2007. This may seem to suggest that broader abortion laws lead to decreases in abortion rates. But is this really the case?
Based on recent data, there is no correlation between the type of abortion law and abortion rate. The Guttmacher institute reports that the abortion rate is 29 per 1000 women in Africa, where the procedure is illegal in many countries and in most circumstances. However, the overall rate in Europe is 28, where abortion is legal in most countries and permitted on broad grounds. (It should be noted, however, that infections and other complications occur at a much higher incidence in places where abortion is illegal or restricted). Thus, the nature of abortion regulations of a country has little to no influence on the abortion rate. Yet the abortion rate in the United States is higher than its Western and Northern European counterparts, even though their laws are comparable. There must be other differences-social, political, and cultural-that account for this difference.
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grace920419
Grace
posted 5/09/09 @ 10:48 PM EST
We cannot agree on everything concerning abortion, which is a sensitive issue, but I do think that lowering abortion is a value that many people share. (Continued…)
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