Have you ever heard that old cliché that most women do not use abortion as a form of birth control, and that it is a desperate act only to save themselves and the baby that they are pregnant with from a life of hardship and poverty.
This blog is not a discussion of the constitutionality of abortion, though that is a ripe field for discussion. But what we are really here to discuss is whether or not the women that abort their fetuses are using abortion as a form of birth control, much like a condom or birth control pill.
I obviously am of the opinion that the majority of girls and women who receive the surgical procedure of an abortion are using it as a form of birth control. And these statistics are why I see it that way.
Income: Of all women who receive abortions, 52% have a family income of over $30,000 per year. 14% over $60,000.
Reason: 93% of women say the reason for their abortion is because of “inconvenience, or the child is unwanted”
Repeat Abortion: 48% of women who have gotten an abortion have had multiple abortions.
These statistics to me are evidence of abortion being used as a form of contraception. Now show me I’m wrong.
Abortion is Contraception
By Shawk13 - Posted on October 6th, 2008
I'm not sure where you're getting your statistics, but I found the same statistic in the recently released Guttmacher Institute study on abortion in the U.S. in the past 30 years, and here's what it said about it: "Although 47% of abortions are obtained by women who have had a prior abortion, the proportion of second and subsequent abortions has recently begun to fall. There is no evidence that abortion is being used as a primary method of birth control. " Women who have gotten an abortion before might not be well-informed about or able to afford regular birth control, or haven't learned how to use it properly, or have partners who refuse to use it.
I don't think anyone goes to have sex thinking "It's okay if I get pregnant, I'll just abort the thing." For one, abortion can be very expensive, especially since the Hyde Amendment prevents federal funding for abortion - and many more unintended pregnancies happen among low-income woman. Furthermore, unless you live in an urban area, it's very unlikely that you have an abortion clinic less than an hour away, and once you get there you have to deal with protestors, mandatory waiting periods and counseling, and a whole mess of other restrictions.
Yes, women abort fetuses because they don't want a child - and when it comes down to it, its her body, so that's her business. To reduce "abortion as birth control," we should be shifting the focus to education and access to contraceptives instead of demonizing abortion.
Obviously, abortion, by its very definition is birth control. It is controlling, or rather interrupting the birth process. No one who wanted to have a baby would have an abortion. Is the question you mean to ask, "Is abortion being abused?", or something like that.
Indeed, abused I believe puts it very well.
To spiffy I would reply, that as someone who purchases birth control, the Pill is $9 at Walmart without insurance and condoms are not terribly expensive either. So I don;t think there is a terrible shortage of other forms of contraception. If they are with a partner who refuses to use contraception, then I suggest not having sex with him until he will, or leaving him all together.
I am happy to say I too looked at the Guttmacher Institutes findings and it is undeniable abortion rates are dropping, however this has nothing to do with my argument. I state simply, nearly half of all women who have abortions are repeat aborters, which seems to signal a habitual use of the procedure in many women.
Also many of these women statistically should be able to support the child, and have no medical reason to terminate the pregnancy. Obviously there seems to be some contraceptive use of abortion and overall abuse of the procedure.
which pill are you getting at Walmart? Because my generic brand is $29.98 a pack and my insurance won't cover any of it.
Also, please use the reply link when replying to a comment. It helps to maintain the flow of conversation.
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Yeah, I just looked it up, Planned Parenthood puts a month of the pill at anywhere between $15 and $50 a month, and it's not often covered by insurance. Furthermore, you're basically at the whim of your pharmacist - ever heard of The Pill Kills?. There are plenty of anti-birth control people out there who would deny access to contraceptives, especially EC. (For an interesting article on how hard it is to get that, click here.
Even if access to contraception wasn't an issue, education still would be - more than half of American woman use birth control at some time (don't remember where I got that statistic, so correct me if I'm wrong,) but 50% of pregnancies are still unplanned due to missed days on the pill, etc., because not enough emphasis is placed on making sure it's used consistently. Also, things like male birth control are virtually ignored, even though men are equally responsible when it comes to making sure their partner doesn't get pregnant.
Abortion is not contraception. Contraception prevents a pregnancy. Condoms and pills made of hormones are contraceptives. Contraception prevents abortions.
I am inclined to agree with spiffykt and the Guttmacher Institute:
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My form of birth control is called Tri-Sprintec. It cost's 9 dollars. Doctors will try to put you on an expensive pill that will do just the same thing for you but it has a little bit lower risk of you forming blood clots. It works just fine and I'm blood clot free. I requested a cheaper form and my doctor wrote up a new presciption for me. Really doctors will make deals with companies to have them sell their product but a person can always request a cheaper form that works just as well.
However, now your post seems to be dealing with your definition of the word contraception and avoids the real issue. By literal definition abortion is not a contraceptive, but it is a form of birth control. And it is being abused. How can we say that abortion is not being used as a form of birth control. What other reason do these women have for terminating their pregnancies. 93% admit that they are reciving abortions simply because the pregnancy and subsequent child would be "an inconvenience, and/or unwanted"
With conventional contraceptives as readily available to the public as they are, there is no need for as many abortions as there are taking place.
If it isn't being used as birth control, then what is it being used as?
And I do wish to repeat myself, this is not a discussion of womens rights to abortion or constituionality, it is a discussion of why abortion is taking place, and why it is happening as much as it is.
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There are different types of birth control pills, meant for different body types. I use ortho tri-cyclin low, because it has the lowest level of... estrogen, I think. If I had had any complications with it, my PA would have looked at a chart (which she actually showed me) and prescribed a different pill based on that. I have no idea what my prescription costs at Wal-Mart, because I get it free at my hospital. Since it's on the government's tab, you can't say that a company is specifically pedaling that brand...
As with ediblewoman, I am curious of exactly where you get your statistics from.
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When I was place on my pill it was because I was getting married and I had irregurlarity. My doctor would not allow me to get the pill untill he explained the proper way of using the pill. I also had the thought to read the directions that came with my Birth Control Pills, because I did not want to become pregnant. My pharmisist also told me the correct way to take birth control. I'm sorry but that's three different places where I learned the correct way to take the pill. I don't agree with you when you say that people are not informed on the correct way to take the pill.
"It's Better To Burn Out Than To Fade Away" -Neil Young
Please use the reply button so we can follow the conversation, and so the person to whom you are responding sees your response.
"Never go with a hippy to a second location."
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http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman
It is very difficult to understand all of the factors surrounding abortion. Each incident is a very personal one, and so people who want to somehow understand it, or possibly try to control it have a much bigger challenge than gathering statistics. If one wanted to focus energy on how to decrease the number of abortions, there are several ways to attack it. Demographics vary, so one would have to consider the area to target.
One thing that people, agencies, or the government for that matter could do would be to mandate that physicians performing abortions must also provide in depth patient education on all birth control options. I don't know if such a mandate exists, but I think that it should.
Another thing that would be effective would be to have physicians treating any female of childbearing age provide information on birth control. This can be controversial with minors if their parents object, but in California at least, a minor still has a right to confidentiality with thier physician. It is difficult to bring up, but it is never harmful to provide information, even if it is unsolicited.
As far as accessibility and affordability of birth control, the pill is not the same for everyone, every different medication has different levels of one or more hormones, and many women have adverse effects to "the pill." It is not uncommon for a woman to go through 3 different medication trials before she finds the one her body can tolerate. Hormones aren't like blood cells, they are difficult to monitor. I for one gained 80 pounds and had heavy bleeding every day for a year from one Depo Provera shot.
That doesn't happen to everyone, but it is more common that people think. Many people start on a birth control, have serious side effects and think that they can't tolerate birth control at all. That is probably not true, but it can take a lot of personal commitment to find the right method of birth control that will be effective.
Unwanted pregnancies are not always because of laziness or stupidity, but many times it is a lack of knowledge and information. I think that doctors need to be held accountable for educating women. Magazine articles and the like don't cover the immense complexities surrounding birth control as a medical treatment plan. Medical practitioners should be held responsible for working very closely with their female patients, and they should follow their treatment plans very closely.
Abortion is definitely a form of contraception (though not protection, like condoms are). However, I don't see how your statistics prove anything about it. A better argument would be to use medical definitions, not just statistics on their own.