Reasons For The Lowered Abortion Rate
- Available birth control
- Lessened stigma on birth control
- More education about birth control
- More comprehensive sex education than the past
Things That Barely (If At All) Lowered Abortion Rates:
- Pro-Life harassment and violence
- Sidewalk protesting
- Restricting abortions
- Banning abortions
Things That Will Continue To Lower Abortion Rates:
- Even more comprehensive sex education
- Even better birth control options
- Less stigma on sex, sex ed, and birth control
- More birth control options for those without a uterus
- Available and affordable (or free) birth control
Either Way:
- Abortion is not evil.
- Abortion is a responsible choice.
- Abortion should remain legal, no matter what.
- Sentient pregnant person > non-sentient fetus.
- Do not harass those who want an abortion or those who have had one.
- Abortion needs to be de-stigmatized, for the sake of the people who choose it or who need it.
bleatmop
Mystro
The Arbourist
Dead Wild Roses 
5 comments
February 20, 2014 at 5:07 pm
jasonjshaw
What are your thoughts on sex-selection abortion? In other words, deciding to have an abortion because the child isn’t the sex you had hoped for.
I hadn’t even considered this before until happening upon an article about it today. My first thought, this may be pushing the scope of abortion a bit too far.
LikeLike
February 20, 2014 at 5:23 pm
The Arbourist
@Jasonjshaw
Sex selection aspect of abortion is nothing new, if one has been following the usual stream of mendacity from pro-fetus bunch the sex-selective abortion came on the scene hmm…about 6 – 8 months ago. Usually when couched in their terms it is just another slice of evil that proves how bad abortion *really* is.
Sadly, they ignore the conditions that make sex selective abortions a real thing – Patriarchy. Value of the male heir, continuing the line, and all that nonsense all make conditions right for more female fetus to be aborted. It is the systematic hatred and devaluing of women via the normative values of our society – that makes this happen.
Men will always punish women and try and dress it up as business as usual – see foot-binding and high-heels for less drastic examples of what patriarchy does to women.
So it comes back to the idea that women need to maintain the idea that they are autonomous human beings that are control of their reproductive futures despite what men have to say on the topic. I’m pretty sure once we agree that women are people and in fact worthy members of the species, the incidence of sex-selective abortion will decline.
LikeLike
February 20, 2014 at 5:28 pm
jasonjshaw
I figured it would be more prevalent when couples have a child of one gender and want to have a child of the other as Patriarchy doesn’t seem to be such a significant thing in Western civilization anymore.
What are your thoughts on it in this case?
LikeLike
February 20, 2014 at 5:42 pm
The Arbourist
You’re funny. But we’ll this where it is for now. :)
It would depend on how far the mother would want to go with the idea of ‘having one of each’. It seems a bit outlandish to think that this is, in anyway, normative behaviour for women when deciding to continue a pregnancy or not.
Your question seems to be working its way to a point to where we can all say, “Yes, in this case abortion is wrong and should not be allowed.” What is problematic is when a similar query phrased in terms of effect on the woman.
It goes something like this: “We’re going to try find an hypothetical situation where is okay to take the rights to your body away.
And then the response: there isn’t a situation that would justify the removal of the mother’s rights, since we like to think of rights as entities that are non-negotiable.
LikeLike
February 20, 2014 at 5:46 pm
jasonjshaw
Thank you for that perspective.
LikeLike