Abortion: Free, Safe, Legal, Now
The last time I wrote on abortion I pointed out—rather dramatically—that often a woman that has her pregnancy terminated feels forced to do so by her material conditions. I opined that in light of this fact it is hypocritical to place moral responsibility for the abortion solely—or even significantly—upon her shoulders. Instead, those responsible for poverty, exploitation, oppression and alienation should bear the blame. I maintain that this observation is very much correct and that on its own it is enough to justify legalizing abortion, but it is not the whole picture.
Firstly, I focused primarily upon the economic wherewithal of the woman, but largely ignored the emotional and psychological resources on which she would also have to draw. If a woman honestly feels, for whatever reason, unable to carry a pregnancy to term then she cannot be culpable for her actions. Further, if she feels for whatever reason that having an abortion is (not the necessary but) the right thing to do—in this matter, just who is competent to tell her that she is wrong? Who knows the facts, who can weigh the alternatives, better than she herself? A life—even if it is only a potential life—is held in the balance by her decision but if she is the only person with all the available information then surely no one but she is better positioned to handle that decision (no one, not even the man who inseminated her).
There is another reason to legalize abortion: women’s liberation.
When we think about women’s position in society and her ability to be man’s equal, the simple truth is that biology needs to be taken into consideration. Society is constructed so that a woman’s reproductive capacities are a burden. If you are working or if you want to work, a pregnancy is a serious impediment. Often it is not safe to work while pregnant, sometimes it is just impossible—but if you stop working for nine months you may simply lose your job. If you are employed casually, or even if you simply cannot fight for your rights at work, you will not be given paid leave. If you are poor or single who will ensure that you can eat, keep a roof over your head, or receive medical attention if you need it?
Furthermore women routinely receive less pay than men for the same work and are exposed to more harassment and risk. Economically, it makes more sense for a couple starting a family to have the man work while the woman stays at home. This is less true among the relatively wealthy who can afford domestic help to care for their children, and in poor communities where the people cannot afford domestic help they often rely on their extended families, but one way or another, someone is chained to the domestic sphere. When this lifestyle is entered upon intentionally these conditions are problematic at best, when pregnancy is not desired they become a source of slavery.
In the case of an unmarried woman, the situation can be much worse. The man cannot be constrained to give her any kind of support, can simply deny that he inseminated her or even disappear completely.
What all of this means is that a woman’s reproductive capacity puts her on an unequal footing with men—she cannot function in society in the same way and with as much freedom as can a man. The first step in leveling the playing field is to give her true control over her body. For this task contraception is simply not enough, abortion absolutely must be legalized. And because the poor are exposed to harsher material conditions than the rich, they are far more in need of the ability to abort than the rich. For that reason abortion must be free for anyone that asks. This is very much a class issue.
Abortion must be made free, safe, and legal now, but even that would not be sufficient. Pregnant women must have access to medical attention, provisions must be made to ensure that they do not suffer economically and socially from pregnancy, if they do choose to have the child they must have access to child care, the secondary position that women hold in the workplace, in the home, and in the family must be abolished—and because all of these are also class issues they must be made truly accessible to and attainable by the industrial and agricultural working class. Only when all of this has been achieved can the decision to keep or terminate a pregnancy truly be said to be a matter of choice.
