#87: Pro-Life for ALL Life (PART 2)

【Social Inequality】
Throughout history and even today, many women with unintended pregnancy seek unsafe abortion often carried out on her own. This remains true especially in countries and regions where abortion is banned.
 
Globally, 17 million unsafe abortions without the professional medical care are performed every year, and 70 thousand women die from them. Due to the lack of professional care, not only the baby, but also the mother dies. Even when the mother survives, many suffer from the consequential life-long disabilities.
 
As pro-life is to protect all life, this creates an appalling contradiction.
 
Also, this lack of access to medical care is part of a deeply-rooted problem in social inequality. As a matter of fact, 97% of unsafe abortions take place in developing countries. In the US, 75% of women seeking abortion are from low-income families.
 
When abortion is severely restricted by law, those who live economically strained are outright exposed to the dangers of unsafe abortion. On the contrary, those who are economically better off tend to find loopholes to access safe abortion regardless of the ban, such as by travelling to the pro-choice states or countries where professional medical care is legally available.
 
Additionally, preventative measures for unintended pregnancies--such as access to sex education or contraceptives--tend to be more readily available to those who are economically better off than those who are strained.
 
In this way, abortion bans are inclined to widen the social inequality. That is, the inequality in living standards, income, and wealth between those who are fortunate and those who are less-fortunate.
 
So, when access to sex education or contraceptives is limited, and the woman becomes pregnant without plan in countries and regions where abortion is banned--she’s left with only bad choices: to be forced to have the baby or to seek unsafe abortion. As such, abortion bans so dangerously narrow the available choices for women who are economically strained, and this amplifies the inequality of opportunity as seen in education and good jobs.
 
And this inequality of opportunity further exacerbates the social inequality--a vicious cycle so difficult to escape.
 
When the mother’s life is critically at risk, what’s the right choice--fetus’s life or mother’s life? And what about the livelihood of the mother’s other children, her husband, the family? In all fairness, there are times when protecting everyone involved seems like an insurmountable challenge.
 
Nevertheless, at the minimum, it seems clear that the solution to this challenging issue won’t be achieved by simply taking away the women’s rights. On the other hand, it also won’t be achieved by simply taking away the baby’s life, either.
 
To get to the right answer, our hearts are broken--we feel torn and crushed. It’s an answer that can’t be found in a uniform law that’s applied with a broad brush--like drawing a line in the sand and calling it “good enough” for all. It’s an answer that we can’t reach without compassionately considering the unique circumstances and subtleties of each and every one of us.
 
If we’re sincere and honest about Pro-Life, then we must advocate for all life--not only anti-abortion--but also for the life of every person, of every living soul.
 
In the next post, let’s dig in a little deeper on this point.

Read Next: Pro-Life for ALL Life (3)【ALL Means Everyone】
Read Previous: Pro-Life for ALL Life (1)【Abortion】
 
Complete Series: Pro-Life for ALL Life (1)～(3)
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Read Theme: Morality