First, a hard truth for some of you: you will never get the number of abortions performed in the United States to zero. You just won’t. Put whatever regulations, laws and bans you want out there; women will find ways to do it anyway. I suspect people have been doing this since we discovered certain plants and herbs produced certain effects in the body.
But do you really want to at least bring down the number of abortions performed to smaller and smaller numbers?
Rather than spending time in a constant unending battle with Planned Parenthood, The National Women’s Law Center, the Center for Reproductive rights and other such organizations; rather than trying to take out Roe (which, incidentally, the majority of Americans support) – might I make a suggestion?
How about using that time, energy and brain power to address the main reasons women seek an abortion in the first place?
The top reason women give for seeking this totally safe procedure is: finances. They already have at least one child that they are already having trouble providing for. And if she proceeds with the pregnancy, she discovers quickly that her first instincts were correct, that her finances just weren’t up for the load; she is then forced to apply for and accept state and federal assistance. In other words: welfare. She is then penalized and ostracized for being a “welfare queen.”
There is a way to solve this conundrum.
Raise Women’s Pay. Pass – and ENFORCE – better equal pay laws. Even us privileged white women are consistently being paid less for doing the same work. I can come up with all types of statistics regarding the amount. In a few moments I can also come up with the current pay gap that is even worse for women of color.
Even if in a traditional, steady, partner relationship, the work load is uneven. I can also spout off the number of women that had to drop out of the work force this past “lost Covid year” because somebody had to stay home with the children and pragmatics dictated that the partner making more money (the man) remained working and the one making less (the women) resigned whatever position she had.
It seems common sense: raise the economic status of women in general and they won’t be so financially overwhelmed with an unexpected pregnancy and correctly concluding there is no way they can handle it right then and thus seek an abortion.
The second reason given for seeking an abortion? One word: men.
The relationship with the father was already rocky. Perhaps he has already shown himself to be unreliable. Perhaps he bolted for the door the second she informed him she was pregnant and she is now facing being a parent alone. See above regarding finances and the lack thereof.
Perhaps he was abusive and she had been trying desperately to escape the relationship already. Now she faces the possibility of being tied to him in some way for the rest of her life.
Both of these scenarios also have solutions. Better enforcement of support payments from those “dead beat dads” would be a good start. A divorced friend of mine virtually never got hers on time. She was told by her lawyer that they were so backed up they wouldn’t even look at her case for months. She was told this right about the time she ran out of money to pay said lawyer. Draw your own conclusions from that.
The second scenario is even more concerning. Women in this situation need more than a safe house to sleep in for a short period of time. They need help rebuilding their lives. We need better support and safety nets for women getting out of abusive relationships. I cannot say that firmly enough.
Closing the “boyfriend loophole” on gun sales and denying guns to those convicted of domestic violence should be a priority. These two measures will save lives. And for goodness sake: RENEW THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT!
These are just a few of the ways we can improve the lives of women of all colors and creeds in this country. Dianna Green Foster, PH.D goes into more detail in her book on the decade long study looking into what becomes of women seeking an abortion in The Turnaway Study. I recommend this reading to anyone no matter what side of this debate they are on. The conclusions were eye opening and not always what I expected.
As busy law-makers, though, I understand you may not have time to fully read a thicker book. So, allow me to sum up for you:
Improving the lives of women will drastically reduce the reasons given for having an abortion. If the reasons for needing an abortion are reduced, fewer women will seek an abortion.
Thus, fewer abortions.
Women are happier and more secure. Those that oppose and want to stop abortions see fewer being done – and they are happy.
Improve the lives of women, and everybody wins.
