Abortion Law & Reproductive Health Policy

         This week in class we discussed in detail a the right that women should have when it comes to reproduction and abortions. After reading the article An Overview of Abortion Law I feel I got a more well rounded view of the subject. Quite a few things stood out to me, one of these was how different each state views abortion. Even states right next to each other can have completely different regulations. An example would be Kansas, which requires all types of counseling and a 24 hour waiting period, versus Colorado where none of that is mandated. This stood out to me because it seems as if states are close geographically then in turn they should have somewhat of the same views but it doesn’t seem this is the case.

I clicked on some of the links as part of the Overview of Abortion Law and learned some new information. One that I found to be particularly astonishing was that  “About one in three American women will have had an abortion by the time she reaches age 45.” It seems with these figures abortions wouldn’t be as controversial as they are. In the same respect I think it’s interesting that the majority of these women have some sort of religious affiliation. The reason these new facts stood out, especially the second one is because it seems that religion has a huge impact on this topic. If you look at the states that are more strict with their abortion policies most of them are more conservative and religious than those who are lenient on their law. As I continued to look at the state by state abortion facts I found that states such as California which has no real restrictions has a noticeably larger percentage of abortions than most other states. In the graph that shows the state vs. country average, California was way above and that state alone accounted for almost 20 percent of all abortions. When trying to find another connection between the states and their averages I found that states with major cities (Los Angles, New York City) had much larger rates then more rural states. One last piece of information that was new to me was that the amount of abortions in the early 90’s vastly out number the current rates. I believe this maybe due to increased restrictions, but also teaching people about pregnancy, forms of contraception, and more knowledge being available.

I spent the majority of my life in Connecticut, so I did some extra research on Connecticut and its abortion laws. I saw that the rate of abortions there are steadily increasing and unlike most other states the averages have remained fairly constant in the past twenty years. Connecticut doesn’t have any major restrictions, which I was slightly surprised by since it seems like a semi conservative state. On the main page for the laws it shows that Connecticut doesn’t require any kind of parental involvement and that no counseling is needed. The state also funds most medically necessary abortions and there is no limit on private insurance coverage. One last piece of information that I found to be interesting was that 13 percent of counties in Connecticut didn’t offer abortions, this caught my attention because it is such a small state (45 minute drive from north to south) so for one area to not offer these services seemed unusual. Overall, it seems that Connecticut has a relaxed view on abortions and is open to helping women have a choice of whether or not they want to keep the fetus.

The next reading was on the new laws that affect reproductive health and rights, most of which take rights away from women and their choice of whether they want an abortion or not. The new restrictions enacted in 2012 take away important rights according to the article “Abortion Rights And Reproductive Justice” which states that “Access to safe abortion is both a fundamental human right and central to women’s health.”  (12) By taking away the opportunity completely or making it so hard it’s nearly impossible for a woman to chose what she wants to do with her body the state is striping them of their basic rights as human beings. Something that goes hand and hand with abortion and reproductive justice is a women’s right to birth control and other contraceptives. Some of these products can be extremely expensive and therefore some people cannot afford them. In 2012 some states made provisions which limited the ability for a low income woman to get contraceptives through her insurance or employer. After reading this I looked back to the “Birth Control and Gender Justice” article which elaborates on  how once birth control came about peoples lives improved and more women were able to succeed because they didn’t face unwanted pregnancies. After reading the new laws it seems as we are regressing back into a time like the fifties were people are being “trapped into marriage by unintended pregnancy” (10). I personally know of many young 19-21 year old girls who are had babies and in a few months to years find themselves to be single mothers or stuck with a partner they are completely happy with. It seems to me that if there was more information available on sex ed and contraceptions these women could have made a choice they maybe happier with later in life. This leads into the next topic, which is the sexual education provisions made in 2012. Some states decided to teach an abstinence only type of sexual education which only promotes not having premarital sex but doesn’t teach about contraceptives or any information on HIV/AIDS. The reading “Abstinence-Only and Reproductive Injustice” would argue that this way of going about sex ed breeds misinformation and is not beneficial to the student. It’s stated in this article that “Access to complete and accurate HIV/AIDS and sexual health information has been recognized as a basic human right and essential to realizing the human right to the highest attainable standard of health.” (7) This means by taking away these teachings the students aren’t able to fulfill their human right to information on how to be safe and responsible when it comes to sex.By taking this knowledge away the states are ultimately harming these children and teens rather than protecting them, as they might believe they are.

For those women who do decide to go to full term and have their babies there is still a plethora of reproductive injustice. In accordance to the new previsions in 2012 women may have to be tasted for HIV before giving birth and can get in serious trouble if their baby has any indication of substance abuse during the pregnancy. From the reading “Reproductive Justice for Women of Color” I learned that there is not sufficient help for pregnant women who have substance abuse problems. One of our readings even stated that some rehab places refused to serve pregnant women who have drug problems. From this knowledge and then reading the new provisions it seems as the woman is destined to fail with no outside help. The article stated above would argue that the new previsions “serve to further a white supremacist agenda that is still very much intent upon controlling the childbearing of Black women and other women of color.” (15) One last important set of provisions that’s important to look at are the ones which discuss reproductive health and exposure to toxins. After reading the provisions I must say that these seem like positive changes, not only in reference to pregnancy but in general I believe it’s important to keep these materials out of our bodies. The reading “Reproductive Justice Issues for Asian and Pacific Islander Women” discusses the amount of toxins that can lead to birth defects or miscarriages that these women face in their work environment. Some of these women are “exposed to phthalates and other toxins, and workers in electronics manufacturing plants are exposed to chemicals and heavy metals that lead to miscarriage and birth defects.” (16) If we could make provisions to ensure that these types of situations are dealt with correctly and reduce the amount of obstacles they have to face during pregnacy I believe it would be a step in the right direction.

Overall, from this week I learned about the amount of laws that make it nearly impossible for some women to make their own choice in some states. Also that if we had a better sexual education then we could possible reduce the amount of unwanted pregnancy and rate of STDs in our country.