<\body> Stories in America: Death and Denial: Unsafe Abortion and Poverty

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Death and Denial: Unsafe Abortion and Poverty

Unfortunately, yesterday's story about Britain defying the United States by funding safe abortions provided by organizatins that have been cut off from US funding, has received little coverage.

The decision came in response to a report by the International Planned Parenthood Federation called, "Death and Denial: Unsafe Abortion and Poverty."


The report found that this year alone, 19 million women and girls will face the deadly consequences of unsafe abortions. Nearly 70,000 of these women and girls will die, and hundreds of thousands will be left with lifelong injuries as a result. Over 96 percent of these women live in the world's poorest nations.
Unsafe abortion is a cause and consequence of poverty; it is also intimately linked to gender inequality within societies. It is the inability of women, especially young women and girls, to fulfil their basic sexual and reproductive rights, and to have control over their own bodies, which forces upon them a stark choice - face social exclusion or risk their lives and health through unsafe abortion.
The so-called 'pro-lifers' will never admit that restricting access to abortion does not make it go away; it only makes it unsafe.

We're spending more time than ever discussing Roe v. Wade; what we don't discuss is the fact that many women, married or unmarried, have no control over their sexual lives. Not only do they not have access to birth control, they lack control over their own bodies, just as they lack decision making power within their male dominated societies.

Then there's sexual assault. Almost 50 percent of sexual assaults worldwide are against adolescent girls of 15 years of age or below, according to the report.
They are powerless in relationships where older men control their lives. This not only puts them at risk of unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortion, but it is also a significant factor fueling HIV infection rates amongst young women in many countries.
There are 211 million global pregnancies annually; 87 million women become pregnant unintentionaly, with approximately 46 milion pregnancies ending in induced abortion. Of the 46 million women who choose to have an abortion each year, 78 percent are from developing countries and 22 percent are from developed countries.

Women choose to end their pregnancies for similar reasons:
*They don't want more children
*They're too young or can't afford to raise a child
*They want to complete their education
*They want to postpone childbearing
*Their relationship with their partner has ended or is unstable
*Childbearing would adversely affect their health
*The pregnancy was a result of rape or incest
*Social or religious beliefs make it impossible for unmarrid women to continue pregnancy

Anti-choice and anti-women policies from the United States, the Vatican and other conservative governments ensures that universal access to reproductive health services remains a distant hope for the majority of the world's poor women. The fact is, they will continue to die until the United States changes its position.

I'll highlight data from specific countries later today or tomorrow.

8 Comments:

At 2/07/2006 1:28 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

send this to your politicians. this is what we're going to face if roe v. wade is overturned. this is a disgrace. 'pro-life' policies are killing women.

 
At 2/07/2006 3:11 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Under "anti-choice" I see listed the policies of the United States, the Vatican, and other "conservative governments."

No mention of Islam? How'd that one slip by?

Islamic teaching on abortion:

Under normal health conditions, and particularly when the foetus is developed enough (that specialists consider it a live body), abortion amounts to deliberate killing and therefore, not allowed.

Abortion or even prevention of conception for fear of economic hardships, is the negation of the basic article of Islamic faith that God is sole Provider and Sustainer of every living soul. That being the reason, the act will be un-Islamic.

Seeking abortion for no "good" reason at all, and saying that the "mother" or "father" just does not want that baby - is inhuman and cruel thinking. No sane person would allow that.

If even the conception is the result of extra-marital union or forced rape, abortion is not allowed, because the (innocent) baby to be, has the right to life, that can not be denied. The biological parents - both or either one - or else the society/state is responsible to take care of such "un-wanted" or illegal births.

 
At 2/07/2006 4:39 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

has anyone in the anti-choice community responded to this?

 
At 2/07/2006 4:40 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'd say Islam falls under the conservative category. duh.

 
At 2/07/2006 5:20 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well, it doesn't fall under "conservative governments"...It's not a government, it's a religion.

Duh.

(Besides, why do they always call it "Radical" Islam?)

 
At 2/07/2006 5:37 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Perhaps the "anti-choice" contingent are
preoccupied watching all those "conservatives" protesting Bush's administration.

Like these conservatives here...

http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/010091.php

 
At 2/07/2006 5:46 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yeah, I meant religion. So timmy, are you against abortion? in favor of overturning roe v. wade? you don't believe a woman has the right to make her own choices? if she's not capable of making her own choice, why is she capable of having a baby?

 
At 2/07/2006 7:51 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Yeah, I meant religion."

I was referring to the original post that mentioned only the Vatican, and the policies of the United States and other "conservative governments" as anti-choice.

I was just wondering why the Vatican was mentioned, but not Islam which actually has more followers than Catholicism. Not to mention that beheading thing that's so popular with the Islamic crowd.

As for my view on abortion...I don't like it....but I don't necessarily think it should be outlawed.

I must say however, I'm more than a little appalled at the overwhelming and disproportionate number of females that are exterminated due to abortions. There's not many of them, but for the few feminists that are pro-life, I can sympathize.

"if she's not capable of making her own choice, why is she capable of having a baby?"

I'm not sure I get the logic here.

 

Post a Comment

<< Home