Abortion Speech

The stories and stigmas surrounding abortions have become increasingly prevalent in today's society especially withing the media.

Women have abortions for a variety of reasons. Some of which include; them not being financially stable enough to raise another human. This thought is completely valid as surveys have shown that parents buying even the bare minimum spend an estimated sum of £11,000 within the child's first year, rising to £63,224 between the ages of one and four. Being unable to provide for your child may put them yards behind the start line once they are born. If you are unable to support yourself there should be no reason you should be forced to take care of a child.

Another reason for abortions may be that the parents had never wanted to have children in the first place. They shouldn’t have to raise a child they may have never wanted because societies views on abortion don’t match theirs. A child should also not have to grow up in a household where they are potentially not wanted.

Whilst abortions are still completely legal in the UK, there are currently 26 counties where abortions are illegal regardless of the fact if the baby was conceived due to rape or incest. Even if continuing with the pregnancy would endanger the mother. However, there are 37 countries where abortion is illegal unless it is used to save the mothers life. If an abortion were to occur under any other circumstances it would be considered illegal and anyone involved would be given a prison sentence.

Some of the most concerning factors are that 26 countries are willing to endanger a woman’s life for a foetus that is not even born yet. They are trying to save a life, yet they are endangering one in the process. Along side this there are 63 countries that are not concerned about how the child was conceived, even if it came from rape. They are essentially forcing the mother to nurture a child that reminds them daily of their torture. Imagine having to wake up from a nightmare caused by haunting memories from your past to come face to face with a constant reminder of your tormentor.

Paraguay would be an example of a country that has no exceptions for abortions unless the birth poses as a threat to the mother’s life. However, a 14-year-old rape victim died during childbirth in Paraguay. The teenager suffered an embolism and three cardiac arrests during an emergency caesarean section. She was hospitalised 20 days before she went into labour due to her young age posing as a risk. Her doctor went as far to state that “the body of a minor is not prepared for pregnancy.”

A similar case occurred in 2015 when Paraguay authorities denied a 10-year-old girl from having an abortion after she was raped by her stepfather. The girl fortunately survived giving birth at the age of 11. Even though she happened to survive, her human rights were violated as the authorities decided to gamble with her life and health even with the overwhelming evidence that the continuation of the pregnancy could have been very risky.

Access to safe abortion services is a human right. Human rights law states that decisions about your body are yours alone – this is known as bodily autonomy. Forcing someone to carry out an unwanted pregnancy, or forcing them to seek out an unsafe abortion, is a violation of their rights to privacy and bodily autonomy. Even criminalising abortions have not stopped abortions, it just forces women to find other unsafe alternatives.

There have been many cases where riots outside abortion clinics have gone too far. Even if you do not agree with abortions it does not mean you have to stand outside a clinic and berate any women that makes a choice for themselves. They have a right to live their life without fear of what others think and potential violence being done upon them.

Abortion bans may not be affecting you, but you can still help those that are being affected by donating money to places that help the cause; such as Amnesty International.