My body, my choice

It has been 30 years since the U.S. Supreme Court made its landmark decision in the case of Roe v. Wade - legalizing abortion.

The Supreme Court justices knew what they were doing when they made their decision. Before Roe v. Wade, many people lost a mother, sister or daughter to a "back alley butcher."

One of the most divisive issues in almost all societies, abortion continues to stir controversy throughout the world. Women should be able to exercise their right to privacy and their right to protect their health. In the world in which we live, no one should be prevented from receiving safe medical help from professionals, even if that help comes in the form of an abortion.

Unwanted pregnancies are a fact of life in the world today; roughly 49 percent, or 80 million per year, of all pregnancies are unintended. Approximately 43 percent of all women will have had an abortion by the time they reach the age of 45.

It is estimated that 46 million women have an abortion every year, with 26 million in countries where abortion is legal and 20 million in countries where abortion is illegal. Of those 46 million, more than 80,000 women die from complications caused by unsafe abortions, constituting at least 13 percent of the global maternal mortality rate.

According to the World Health Organization, 55,000 abortions take place around the world every day. These figures illustrate the fact that women will go to any means necessary to terminate their unwanted pregnancies, regardless of whether or not abortion is legal.

Contrary to popular belief, abortion is one of the safest and most commonly performed medical procedures. According to the American Medical Association, when conducted by a trained professional in a medical environment, the abortion procedure is 10 times safer than carrying a pregnancy to term.

In fact, the risk of death from abortion is lower than that of a penicillin shot. Medical research also suggests that abortion does not increase the risk of future pregnancy complications or that of breast cancer, as has been suggested by many anti-abortionist groups.

Another abortion myth is that women experience severe psychological reactions and trauma as a result of having an abortion. The American Psychological Association found that the majority of women experienced mixed emotions after abortion, but that positive feelings are dominant.

Numerous studies consistently show that women who have abortions are satisfied with their decision to do so, and that women who do experience negative psychological reactions tend to have histories of depression.

Despite all of the statistics and research, legislators and anti-choice groups continue to try to have legislation passed that would make it difficult for women to receive safe abortions.

Many states have passed laws that involve required counseling sessions, mandatory waiting periods and parental consent. Limited funding for abortion providers and violent attacks led by anti-abortionists have led to limited access to abortion providers. In fact, 86 percent of all counties in the United States have no abortion provider.

There are many different reasons why women choose to have an abortion, including rape, incest, abusive relationships, financial difficulties or health problems. Of all the reasons, there is one commonality-the pregnancy is unwanted. A study published by the MIT Press in The Quarterly Journal of Economics found that 40 to 60 percent of unwanted children that are born are more likely to grow up in negative family environments without the love, support and nurturing that every child deserves. Unwanted children are more likely to endure physical, emotional and psychological abuse and, as a result, have an increased risk of committing violent crimes. Children born from unwanted pregnancies are more likely to grow up in single-parent households, be on welfare and live in poverty.

The Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade made it safe for women to receive abortions; the Alan Guttmacher Institute found that between 1973 and 1997, more than 35 million legal abortions took place. However, proposed laws such as those before the Texas Legislature could have the devastating repercussions that were seen before abortion was legalized. Reports released by the AGI and the Family Planning Perspectives magazine estimate that during the 1950s and 1960s, anywhere from 100,000 to 1.2 million illegal abortions took place. There are no accurate statistics that report exactly how many women died from illegal abortions, but many medical professionals estimate that thousands of women died as a result of the primitive methods and unsanitary conditions of illegal abortions.

Requiring teenagers to receive parental consent for an abortion could possibly lead to higher abortion mortality rates. Teenagers, who make up 20 percent of all abortions, are especially at risk due to their desire for extreme confidentiality. Many of them go to desperate measures to secure a secret abortion, resorting to running away from home, seeking "back alley" abortions or even self-induced abortions.

The underlying central debate over abortion is concerned with whether or not life begins at conception. Anti-abortionists and certain legislators make many claims that are based upon the assumption that life begins at conception. This belief, however, is just that-a belief. Physicians, theologians and philosophers have yet to reach a consensus regarding this issue.

Why then, should our government be able to pass laws based on assumptions and personal beliefs? Laws that restrict access to safe abortion are clearly passed without consideration of those who the laws will affect. In a country where "unalienable rights" are cherished above all else, the right to privacy should be safe-guarded at all costs, no matter who is offended. If the KKK is guaranteed the right to say whatever they want, then women should be allowed the freedom to choose whether or not they want to bring a child into the world.

Abortion will continue, whether or not it is legal. Will women be able to have safe, sanitary abortions performed by professionals in clinics, or will they have to face the seedy "back alley butchers" who leave them at death's door?

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