Abortion and feminism
Melanie asked me below whether being a feminist was inextricably linked with supporting the right to abortion.* My answer would be, unsuprisingly, yes. I support the right to choose because being able to control when and if you have children is a prerequisite for all the other equalities that we take for granted, and some we haven’t got yet. But there are also other benefits to living in a society where abortion and contraception are available:
The legalisation of abortion and innovations in birth control have increased a wife’s clout in the home, according to an economics model that will be presented at the 2005 World Congress of the Econometric Society, which is hosted by UCL (University College London). Results show that all women are better off, including those don’t use birth control, but only if it’s available to single women as well.
The paper by Assistant Professor Sonia Oreffice of Clemson University and Professor Pierre-Andre Chiappori of Columbia University , US , applied mathematical modelling to bargaining power in marriages. Their findings show women have more say in a relationship and more control of the purse strings when birth control is available to all.
More here. Thanks Amanda for the link.
* Please note the difference between “supporting the right to have an abortion” and “choosing the option of abortion for yourself”. It’s a perfectly coherent and feminist position to support the right to choose but because of your own ethical or religious views not to exercise that right yourself.
Choosing not to have an abortion is not unfeminist, but supporting women having reproductive choice is so deeply tied up with feminism. I can understand the pro-life arguments, but for me I think it comes down to this. Could it ever be a viable feminist position to countenance a society in which there is enforced childbirth? I don’t think so, although I fully agree that we need to be working to reduce the number of abortions currently taking place. I don’t know any feminist who takes a “Hooray abortions are fab” attitude.
I agree with the pro-abortion/ pro-female decision stance. In response to Winter’s comment, I feel that one of the ways to help reduce the number of abortions taking place is to not only discuss with young adolescents about effective contraception more openly at all opportunities, but also inform them of what it is actually like to go through an abortion. I really feel that if more people were to know the emotional and physical pain of what an abortion is like, then maybe less will happen. I recently had one and was ridiculously uninformed by the people performing it of what it is like and what to expect. Open discussion of abortion should take place rather than making women feel ashamed of making a decision about their lives.
Abortion is murder, therefore those who support it are no better than Ian Huntley and Liam Brady.
I am not a women and i am not that old but i think the issue of abortion will keep going round in circles, because my personal belief is that abortion is a moral issue and is affected by your own personal opinions and experiences and my view is that in some cases abortion is right and in some its not because how can we know when life begins but who is worthy of the power to end it either? i would like your views as i am doing a course and this is my chosen project thank you