Essay: It’s Time to Change the Abortion Discussion

Essay: It’s Time to Change the Abortion Discussion – New laws by Republican legislatures is making it clear that our national discourse is all wrong.

-Christopher Carroll

Marking just the latest episode in a line of Republican legislation meant to target abortion, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker signed a new, heavily restrictive, abortion bill into law on Friday.  This new legislation, and the spate of Republican abortion legislation nationwide, is doing damage to the rights and health of women while compromising the relationship between patient and doctor.  Legislators and our national discussion is focusing on the symptoms of a problem, rather than addressing the causes.

The bill, which goes into effect today, forces women to undergo an ultrasound before getting an abortion and requires any doctor who administers abortions to have admission privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the abortion clinic.This will likely result in the closure of both the Planned Parenthood Appelton clinic and the Affiliated Medical Services Milwaukee clinic due to an inability to satisfy the admission privileges requirement of the law.

Ultrasound A 12 weeks 3 days 001 (Photo credit: Amanda’s Adventures)

The Wisconsin bill was signed with very little fanfare or publicity, seemingly buried by Gov. Walker within 17 other signed measures he signed on a long 4th of July weekend. This attempt to avoid press scrutiny and public repercussions reflects the volatility of the subject and the political danger it presents.

Nationwide, the GOP has felt that pushing anti-abortion, or “pro-life,” legislation at the state level is the best way to address the issue post Roe v. Wade, and given the Supreme Court’s recent treatment of “letter of the law” legislation and the emphasis placed on State power and sovereignty, they are likely correct.

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Arkansas and Alabama have both recently seen new abortion legislation blocked by federal judges while the constitutionality of the laws is litigated. The Arkansas bill, the most restrictive in the nation when it was passed in May, banned most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy and the Alabama law, which was signed by Gov. Bentley in April, requires that that physicians providing abortive procedures have admitting privileges in a local hospital.

In North Dakota, Gov. Jack Dalrymple signed abortion legislation in April that bans the procedure after 6 weeks of pregnancy, (before many women know they are pregnant) making the state the most restrictive in the country.

While Wisconsin, Arkansas, Alabama and North Dakota have newly signed laws in place, the issue is being debated in the public eye in State Houses and newsrooms across the country.

New national scrutiny has been focused on Texas and Gov. Rick Perry following Senator Wendy Davis’ marathon filibuster to stop Texas House Bill 2, a bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks, require that they be performed at ambulatory surgical centers and mandate that providers have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles. Currently, only 5 of 30 clinics in Texas would pass these requirements.

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The GOP is pushing these laws, all of which pass in exceptionally strong GOP states, under the pretext of helping women. The ultrasound requirement in Wisconsin is meant to improve “a woman’s ability to make an informed choice that will protect her physical and mental health now and in the future,” said Tom Evenson, a spokesman for Gov. Walker. Meanwhile the “admitting privileges” requirements are meant to make the procedure safer, and, as Gov. Bentley explains, provide “appropriate standards of care.” Both of these concerns are valid and compelling, but the methods and goals of the GOP are questionable.

Roe v Wade (Photo credit: Chris Wieland)

Women, and men, should have a strong understanding of the risks and repercussions of every medical decision, abortions included. However, this is not the job of the government, Gov. Walker, Republicans, or politicians in any state or community; it is the job of the patient and doctor. Dictating what procedures should be done, regardless of whether or not a trained physician deems them necessary, is an extreme example of government oversight. It is a short step from compelling ultrasounds to compelling more permanent medical procedures.

The safety of patients, on the other hand, is a concern of society and government. Both State and Federal governments mandate countless safety requirements in all aspects of our lives, from food regulation and water sanitation, to housing requirements, transportation standards and health care. The Guttmacher Institute, a non-profit NGO, released a report in 2012 claiming that 42,000 women die in the “developing world” each year as a result of unsafe abortions. These deaths are preventable and are a result of poor treatment and, most importantly, an absence of medical options and help. While the United States is not a developing country, the point is well taken: when people don’t have access to medical care, they resort to unsafe and unregulated means of treatment.

Userpage icon for pro-choice (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The legislation that is repeatedly pushed by Republican governors, senators and congressmen, in effect, exacerbates the problem. Their legislation, while laboring under the pretext of making abortions safer, will make abortion services unavailable to thousands of women across the country. The void that this type of legislation leaves in it’s wake is at best misguided and at worst irresponsible.

The legality of abortion is an immensely complicated issue, invoking passion, anger and misunderstanding in those on both sides of the debate. The issue encompasses debate over contraceptives, poverty, health, social equality, sexual equality, age requirements and morals. In the end, nobody likes abortion and nobody wants children to be aborted. Nobody wants a mother to be put in the position where she must choose between a potential life of a child and her own well being. But public debate has been backwards.

Society has become obsessed with the act of aborting, rather than the factors that lead to it becoming necessary.  Instead, lets address why pregnancies are being aborted. Let’s address the education of our children and young adults. Let’s address the destructive repercussions of social inequality and economic polarity. Let’s address the childcare and parenting practices in our country. Our society should be about social activism, not social restriction. Our society should be one in which a woman’s life includes the ability to access safe abortion when faced with the unenviable and incredibly difficult decision to prevent the creation of a new life. Governor Walker and his cohorts should have no place in these decisions and our society shouldn’t let them.