By Vivian Nguyen
Pro-life versus pro-choice.
I'm sure we've all heard the abortion debate framed like this many times. But after watching a TedxAmazonia Talk given by documentary film director Diana Whitten, I was inspired to see the issue in a different light.
Whitten begins her Talk with this powerful statement: "An Egyptian doctor named Mahmoud Fathalla once said, 'Women are not dying because of illnesses we cannot treat. Women are dying because society has yet to decide that their lives are worth saving'."
According to Whitten, millions of women from the world's poorest communities undergo illegal and risky abortions every year. And many of these women suffer from complications or in many cases, death, due to infections from botched operations. Their individual stories become clumped together into statistics and it becomes easy to assume that abortion itself must be a risky procedure.
However, this assumption is incorrect. Due to the invention of vacuum aspiration in the 1960's, abortion is a clinically safe procedure today - if done by the right physician under the correct circumstances. Unfortunately, powerful bodies, such as government and religion, have rendered abortion illegal. And it is this illegality that pushes abortion underground where the lack of proper regulation results in the deaths of millions.
Contrary to the beliefs of many policy-makers, anti-abortion laws do not actually stop abortions from happening. As Whitten points out, "laws cannot control whether or not abortions happen. They can only control whether or not they happen safely."
We have the scientific knowledge and medical tools to save these women, which means they aren't dying due to the 'risky' nature of abortions. These women are dying because of politics.
The complexities surrounding an issue such as this one highlight something that Professor Roy stressed in GPP 115 - what the world's most vulnerable individuals need is not charity but rather policy. By pushing for safe abortion laws, such as Ethiopia's 2005 progressive abortion law reform, one of the most disenfranchised groups can have access to the safe procedures they need and deserve.
While the contentious debates around abortion will continue, they need to be imagined in a different way. They should not be framed around the questions of 'should women have control over their bodies?' and 'when does 'life' truly begin?.' While valid, these frames represent moral judgements. And although abortion is a very morally controversial, at its core, the debates encapsulate a value judgement.
The real question that should be asked is this: do we, as a global society, value women enough to give them access to the tools that can save their lives and promote their health and well-being?
Until we can answer that, millions of mothers, girls, and daughters will continue to die.
Pro-life versus pro-choice.
I'm sure we've all heard the abortion debate framed like this many times. But after watching a TedxAmazonia Talk given by documentary film director Diana Whitten, I was inspired to see the issue in a different light.
Whitten begins her Talk with this powerful statement: "An Egyptian doctor named Mahmoud Fathalla once said, 'Women are not dying because of illnesses we cannot treat. Women are dying because society has yet to decide that their lives are worth saving'."
According to Whitten, millions of women from the world's poorest communities undergo illegal and risky abortions every year. And many of these women suffer from complications or in many cases, death, due to infections from botched operations. Their individual stories become clumped together into statistics and it becomes easy to assume that abortion itself must be a risky procedure.
However, this assumption is incorrect. Due to the invention of vacuum aspiration in the 1960's, abortion is a clinically safe procedure today - if done by the right physician under the correct circumstances. Unfortunately, powerful bodies, such as government and religion, have rendered abortion illegal. And it is this illegality that pushes abortion underground where the lack of proper regulation results in the deaths of millions.
Contrary to the beliefs of many policy-makers, anti-abortion laws do not actually stop abortions from happening. As Whitten points out, "laws cannot control whether or not abortions happen. They can only control whether or not they happen safely."
We have the scientific knowledge and medical tools to save these women, which means they aren't dying due to the 'risky' nature of abortions. These women are dying because of politics.
The complexities surrounding an issue such as this one highlight something that Professor Roy stressed in GPP 115 - what the world's most vulnerable individuals need is not charity but rather policy. By pushing for safe abortion laws, such as Ethiopia's 2005 progressive abortion law reform, one of the most disenfranchised groups can have access to the safe procedures they need and deserve.
While the contentious debates around abortion will continue, they need to be imagined in a different way. They should not be framed around the questions of 'should women have control over their bodies?' and 'when does 'life' truly begin?.' While valid, these frames represent moral judgements. And although abortion is a very morally controversial, at its core, the debates encapsulate a value judgement.
The real question that should be asked is this: do we, as a global society, value women enough to give them access to the tools that can save their lives and promote their health and well-being?
Until we can answer that, millions of mothers, girls, and daughters will continue to die.
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