Running Head: ABORTION BANS CAUSE DAMAGE Abortion Bans are More Harmful than Abortions Themselves Lauren MacBride Bear Creek Secondary School HSP3U1 J. Robinson Jun 14, 2022 1 Running Head: ABORTION BANS CAUSE DAMAGE Abstract The purpose of this paper is to explore how abortion bans affect women and children, by analyzing research from various credible sources. It focuses on the physical health, socio-economic, and mental health implications of taking away the right to access a safe and legal abortion. Evidence has found that banning abortions results in a poor-quality lifespan of both the woman and the child. This paper also provides next steps in research that should be taken in order to combat the issue of women and children’s well being related to abortion bans. 2 Running Head: ABORTION BANS CAUSE DAMAGE 3 Abortion Bans are More Harmful Than Abortions Themselves Many laws have restricted abortion access by either making it more difficult for a woman to seek an abortion or making it difficult for an abortion provider to legally provide safe services. Abortion bans are physically damaging to a woman’s health. Women are at a greater risk of obtaining unsafe abortions, staying with violent partners, sustaining serious health implications, staying at the poverty level, and having mental health issues. For these reasons, abortion bans are extremely harmful to women and children. The Impact on Women’s Physical Health Unsafe abortions are extremely dangerous and can often result in serious complications. Methods to terminate an unwanted baby by oneself include consuming toxic substances, inserting external items in the uterus, and causing harm to oneself. It has been found that annually, of the abortions that take place around the world, 20 million of them are unsafe. The harsh result of this tragedy is 68,000 maternal deaths (WHO, 2021). When unsafe abortions don’t kill the woman seeking them, harsh health consequences often arise. Hemorrhage is very common, as well as infection to the uterine area and damage to the genital tract (WHO, 2021). Women are often left with very minimal choices, and unsafe abortions are the most concerning options. By having limited access to abortion, women are more likely to stay with abusive partners. Pregnancy and child rearing are stressful themselves under normal circumstances, with a supportive and healthy relationship. A woman who is experiencing abuse prior to her pregnancy will likely continue to experience abuse as stress levels increase. A study done by Roberts et. al found that “terminating an unwanted pregnancy may allow women to avoid physical violence from the MIP [man involved in the pregnancy] while having a baby from an Running Head: ABORTION BANS CAUSE DAMAGE 4 unwanted pregnancy appears to result in sustained physical violence over time” (2014). Data collected from 231 women who were denied an abortion indicated that physcial violence did not decrease. Women who were authorized to acquire an abortion experienced a decrease in physical violence (Roberts et. al, 2014). This research indicates that abusive partners do not become less abusive after a baby is born. This brings a consideration of whether the baby will be exposed to an abusive situation, or be abused. Damage to Women of Low Socio-economic Status Women who live in poverty or under the poverty line struggle to provide for their children and struggle to get abortions from places that do not ban them due to travel costs. A study done by Ohio State University examined two scenarios in Ohio, the first one being where two of five states in the area continued to keep abortion clinics open. The second scenario imagined that none of the nearby states’ clinics were open. In this study, it was found that “travel would be 191 to 339 miles to an abortion provider”, while “In the best-case version, that dropped to 115 to 279 miles away for 62 of 88 Ohio counties” (Science Daily, 2022). These long travel distances make it exceptionally difficult to receive an abortion. When gas, food, potential childcare, and hotel stays are factored in, costs become prohibitive. This gives an unfair disadvantage to women with little financial resources. Having a child when the parents can not afford to provide for them can negatively affect the child’s mental and physical health at birth and as they grow up. Lauren Fasig Caldwell Ph.D. of the American Psychological Association’s Children, Youth and Families Office, highlights research that shows “Children living in poverty experience the daily impacts that come easily to mind — hunger, illness, insecurity, instability — but they also are more likely to experience low academic achievement, obesity, behavioral problems, and social and emotional development Running Head: ABORTION BANS CAUSE DAMAGE 5 difficulties” (Haynie, 2014). This perpetuates a cycle of poverty because the child born into poverty will likely experience the same thing. It is more challenging for the child to break the cycle of poverty. Sometimes the best option for women who can not afford to have a child is to receive an abortion. Abortion bans take this choice away from women, especially women of a lower socio-economic status. The Mental Health Impact of Abortion Bans Though it would seem that anxiety may be common in pregnancies because of the life changes that are soon to come, research shows that the levels are heightened in cases where a woman wanted an abortion and was denied one. Data taken from the Turnaway Study, which interviewed 956 women showed that “Levels of anxiety symptoms were initially higher among those denied an abortion compared to those receiving one” (Foster et. al, 2015). This shows that being denied an abortion can greatly affect a woman’s anxiety and stress levels. This is detrimental because the health of the woman and child can be affected. Premature birth, low birth weight, loss of appetite for the mother, and substance abuse can all be threatening results (March of Dimes, 2019). This sets the baby up for a lifetime of mental and physical health issues. This begs the question: if a state is going to prevent abortions, are they going to support the child in their mental health needs? Unhealthy coping mechanisms may arise in women who are denied an abortion to help them deal with an unwanted pregnancy. Alcohol abuse has extremely negative effects on a developing child, as well as the woman carrying it. Research shows that carrying out an unwanted pregnancy caused some women to binge drink, which in turn caused implications both during and after the pregnancy (Roberts et. al, 2015). It makes more sense to support women in Running Head: ABORTION BANS CAUSE DAMAGE 6 their choice to end an unwanted pregnancy, rather than to deny them an abortion, and risk their mental health. Abortion bans are harmful and cause women and their children to suffer unjustifiably. These negative impacts can easily be avoided by allowing women to choose what happens to their bodies. The choice of if a child is going to be born should not be anyone’s decision but the woman’s, and the fact that outside parties are deciding this is causing severe mental and physical health problems. Future research should focus on holding men accountable for their part in this issue. Ways that men can financially, emotionally, and medically support the women involved in the pregnancy should be researched more and communicated. Further, more research on the men involved in the pregnancy should arise, specifically focusing on potential impacts o their mental and physical health, and their financial status. Ultimately, the final decision is the woman’s, but the impact this has on men should not be ignored. Abortion bans negatively impact women and children’s physical health, socio-economic status, and mental health. Taking away the right to make decisions about one’s own body teaches women and girls that they have no power over themselves. Running Head: ABORTION BANS CAUSE DAMAGE 7 References American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Childhood poverty, living below the line. American Psychological Association. Retrieved June 18, 2022, from https://www.apa.org/pi/ses/resources/indicator/2014/06/childhood-poverty#:~:text=Childr en%20living%20in%20poverty%20experience,difficulties%20(Malhomes%2C%202012) Foster DG;Steinberg JR;Roberts SC;Neuhaus J;Biggs MA; (n.d.). A comparison of depression and anxiety symptom trajectories between women who had an abortion and women denied one. Psychological medicine. Retrieved June 18, 2022, from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25628123/ Roberts, S. C., Biggs, M. A., Chibber, K. S., Gould, H., Rocca, C. H., & Foster, D. G. (2014, September 29). Risk of violence from the man involved in the pregnancy after receiving or being denied an abortion. BMC medicine. Retrieved June 18, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4182793/ ScienceDaily. (2022, April 20). Studies detail current, future obstacles to abortion care. ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 18, 2022, from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220420151639.htm Stress and pregnancy. Home. (n.d.). Retrieved June 18, 2022, from https://www.marchofdimes.org/complications/stress-and-pregnancy.aspx#:~:text=Stress% 20may%20lead%20to%20high,you%20respond%20to%20certain%20situations. Running Head: ABORTION BANS CAUSE DAMAGE World Health Organization. (2021). Abortion. World Health Organization. Retrieved June 18, 2022, from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/abortion 8
