The debate about when life begins is a multifaceted one. Is it when sperm hits egg? Is it when the fetus develops a brain or a heartbeat? Is it when the baby is born? This divisive debate, and the repercussions its verdicts pose, is the reason abortion laws have been and continue to be prominent in society. Abortion bans have a variety of implications and are less effective and more dangerous than is commonly understood. Even so, there are more restrictive bans coming into effect quite often, such as the recent Texan abortion ban. Additionally, it may be plausible to predict a spike in abortion bans worldwide, as other countries potentially follow suit with this latest legislation.
In Canada, abortions are legal at all stages of pregnancy for any reason. However, this was not always the case. Having an abortion was considered a crime until 1988, after which the law criminalizing abortion was deemed unconstitutional and thus unenforceable. It was contended as going against the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, specifically a woman’s right to life, liberty, and security. As for other countries, abortions can be fully illegal, legal under certain circumstances, or fully legal. Examples of circumstances under which countries may allow abortions are: to save a woman’s life, to preserve the mental health of the woman, for social or economic reasons, due to gestational limits, in cases of rape or incest, and as a result of fetal viability or impairments. Countries that do implement abortion bans, often do so in an effort to prevent abortions from happening. Despite this, abortion rates, in reality, have been shown to be roughly the same with or without abortion bans. Thus, the only difference between legalizing abortions and criminalizing them comes within the safety of the actual procedure. When abortions are made unavailable it does not stop them from being sought out, rather it encourages unsafe abortions that can result in the death of the woman. Almost half of all abortions (35 million) a year are done unsafely, resulting in an estimate of 23,000 preventable deaths a year.
Not only are abortion bans dangerous and ineffective, but they also infringe upon a woman’s reproductive rights. When an abortion ban is in place, women lose their right to equality, privacy, and bodily autonomy/integrity all of which are considered human rights under the United Nations Human Rights Commission. This can further be noted as a form of patriarchal control. Throughout history, there have been perpetual attempts to control women, communicated through examples such as men having control over all forms of property, women not gaining the right to vote in Canada until 1916, and women carrying the expectation of staying home with the children over participating in the workforce. Today, this control is more discrete, frequently masqueraded as the pro-life movement, insidiously working to further control over the female body as part of an engraved patriarchal system.
Abortion bans are more common in certain parts of the world than in others. Areas within Africa and South America tend to have more restrictive abortion bans than the Western parts of the world. Therefore, this may lead people to operate under the impression that affluent and developed countries provide accessible and safe abortion procedures. However, the United States disproves this assumption as it has multiple states that enforce restrictive abortion laws including the recent abortion law changes in Texas. 43 out of 50 states have banned abortions at some stage of pregnancy. Mississippi banned abortions at 20 weeks and many states followed suit, with 16 states banning abortion at 22 weeks, 4 states at 24 weeks, 1 state at 25 weeks, and 20 states at fetus viability. The final ban (implemented in Texas) is the most restrictive, taking place at only 6 weeks. This degree of restrictive abortion ban will likely set a precedent for other states and potentially even other countries to follow, mimicking the pattern noted earlier.
It is arguably apparent that many countries tend to follow suit with the United States. The U.S. has historically been seen as a powerful, influential country. Due to the country’s scope of influence, this wave of restrictive abortion bans in the United States, markedly the recent ban in Texas, may cause other states and countries to pursue similar policies. In most G7 countries and other U.S. states, the most restrictive abortion bans have historically been at 12 weeks. Today, with the sudden introduction of 6 weeks, any jurisdictions that have attempted an earlier restriction could look to Texas as a justification for enforcement. Texas’ ban is also distinct from other states because it permits citizens to file civil lawsuits against those who help someone get an abortion. This renders a further divisive and fearful precedent. There are many other cases where countries see other domestic policies and then attempt to mirror them in their home country. For example, Poland only allows abortions in cases of incest, rape, or where the pregnancy threatens the mother’s life. Slovakia has tried to follow Poland’s lead. Although the bill has failed so far in Slovakia, the attempt still points out the dangers of setting models of this sort. The U.S. can also be looked on as carrying more weight than Poland internationally, so it may be fair to assume that other countries could look to follow the U.S. in the realm of furthering restrictive abortion measures.
In conclusion, tightening restrictions on abortion clearly fosters predominantly negative effects and may provoke a cascade of similar policies in other countries. This could have very heavy implications on society and specifically, on women’s rights. Abortion bans continue to evolve and circumstances continue to shift amongst many countries. Only time will tell whether United States’ decisions on abortion bans will impact the international community.
Edited by: Misbah Lalani
Hi I’m Jenna Hicks. I am a third year student studying International Development with a minor in Political Science at McGill University. I have a strong interest in human rights issues as well as feminst related topics and I look forward to being able to share these interests with the Catalyst audience.