Blog For Choice Day 2010: Accessing Abortion

Today is the 37th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, the historic ruling that legalised abortion in America.

NARAL Pro-Choice is asking people to blog about what “Trust Women” means to them in honour of the abortion doctor, Dr. Tiller, who was killed last May and who often wore a badge with this phrase on it.

“Trust Women” means just that. We need to trust women to make the best decisions for their lives because nobody else can dictate what we do with our bodies.

This means that there should always be laws allowing for abortion.

The killing of Dr. Tiller, one of the few who performed late-term abortions in America, means that fewer and fewer women will have the chance to dictate their own fate.

As medicine advances, and parents learn about abnormalities their children will be born with, they must also be trusted with this decision. Who else can answer the question about whether the baby should live with a hole in it’s heart for a few hours? That is not a question for bureaucrats and law-makers.

This issue of late-term abortion is incredibly controversial and I have always had a difficult time accepting it. But, after all, it is only 1% of all abortions  and after reading some heart-wrenching stories I can see why it is needed.

It is hard for women like me, who have always had abortion as an option, to understand the hard fought battle that was won. While issues like availability are vitally important to pursue, it is nothing to winning control over our own bodies.

Yet the ranks are thinning. Doctors born during the feminist movement are retiring and dying — but there is no one to take their place. Today’s medical students shun the procedure and many schools allow them to ignore it entirely. And even if they do want the training it can be difficult to find.

My hope for the future is that sexual health education and counselling, including how to perform abortions, are made a top priority in doctors’ training programs.

We need to trust women to make their own choices about abortion, but without the cooperation of medical professionals and the law this will not be possible.

You might also want to read:

Other Morning Quickie articles on abortion.