Over the years, women have had to fight for many things to find a place in a world primarily run by patriarchal ideals. Women have been conveniently thought of as objects and have been kept away from basic human rights. One such right is the Right to Abortion. Society has a very traditional look towards institutions of marriage and family. Women have been considered suitable only for child-rearing and childbearing. Therefore, the concept of abortion is lost to many. The fight for not only the right to abortion but the acknowledgement of it as a necessity by society and the legal and safe measures taken by the hospitals and clinics has been a part of the feminist discourse since the beginning.
Women’s ability to access safe and legal abortion is prohibited in many countries. Countries that do allow it have poor facilities that hinder women’s health. Apart from this, abortion is not accepted by society and it makes a woman wary of making that choice. Feminists believe that women should be allowed the right to abort because in many cases the pregnancy is a result of rape. They argue that women have the right to decide independently in such matters. They consider the right to abort a human right. It is saddening that 13% of maternal deaths worldwide are due to unsafe abortion. Many women are oftentimes forced to carry a child which further leads to health issues in the mother. In many nations, the act of abortion is has been criminalized by the nation runners and thereby, denied.
State of Right to Abortion in India
The nation of India has always seen the concept of abortion as a shameful act, culturally speaking. Despite the societal notions, India seems to have a largely progressive regime for abortion, on paper. There have been many instances where abortion has been denied to people. Women in India have had to resort to unsafe abortions which ultimately ruin their health and lead to infertility or death in many cases. Most women in India are hardly aware of the concept of abortion and where it is offered. Around 2-4% of women are forced to get abortions in India due to the preference of sons over daughters. In a country like India, the awareness and the act of it has been more like a privilege. Abortion centres are not well-maintained and it reflects the ideals people have about abortion.
The National Advocates for Pregnant Women (NAPW), which is a small nonprofit group leading the research and defence of such cases, tabulates that some eight hundred “arrests and equivalent deprivations of liberty” of pregnant women have been made since 2005, for crimes including murder, manslaughter, and foeticide.
State of Right to Abortion in Poland
Recently, the Constitution in Poland has ruled that an existing law allowing abortion of malformed foetuses unconstitutional. This has provoked an outcry from women and pro-choice activists. The tribunal’s president Julia Przylebska said that permitting abortions in the case of fetal deformities legalized “eugenic practices concerning an unborn child, thus denying it the respect and protection of human dignity.” Since the Polish constitution assures a right to life, Przylebska argued that an abortion based on a fetal malfunction was “a directly forbidden form of discrimination.”
Before the ruling, Poland had permitted abortion in three scenarios: for fetal abnormalities, in the case of a threat to a woman’s health, and the case of incest or rape. But, the latest court rulings argued that abortion due to abnormal fetal abnormalities is unconstitutional, which stirred up unrest among the people. Since the ruling, protesters have gathered around demanding a reversal of the ruling.
State of Right to Abortion in the USA
In the first months of this year, nearly 30 states in the United States introduced an abortion ban. Fifteen of these states have been working to pass bills that will ban abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. Earlier in May, Alabama lawmakers passed a bill to ban abortion entirely and Missouri’s sole abortion clinic remains engrossed in a legal battle to keep its operating license from the state health department. If they lose, Missouri will become the only US state without an abortion clinic.
The US movement against abortion has been raging since the 1800s. It has largely been led by Catholics and conservative religious groups. Ever since the abortion ban was introduced, many people, especially women have protested against this decision. Celebrities have been seen taking to social media to express their anger. Many celebrities have decided to stop working in the states which have completely banned abortion. Disney has decided to quit Georgia over abortion law and “Netflix” has decided to rethink its operations in Georgia.
The Fight for the Right to Abortion Continues
Most believe that the right to abort is a human right and the decision to abort should be solely given to women who are the child-bearers. Throughout this fight, we have seen the various governments picking out specific parts of the concept of abortion and creating opinions but what they fail to understand is that, at the end of the day, women are the ones bearing the child and they are on the receiving end of the consequences stemming out from unwanted pregnancies. Banning abortion entirely or allowing it only for specific reasons which may be acceptable to only a group of law-makers is only another way to oppress women.
The fight for abortion has been an age-old fight. Many generations of women have led movements against any government banning abortion. Even in the 21st century, when women are being told what to do, how to use their body and whether or not to carry children in their wombs, it largely feels like women are losing the long-fought battle against the ban of abortion. The importance of the right to abortion and the need for proper clinics that follow all medical protocols are not yet known to the people. The way people look at it gives us a peek at the devastating condition of women in the world and makes the fight difficult every day.
Featured Image: Reuters (Jakub Wlodek/Agencja Gazeta)
