It is nothing less than grim, driven desperation which can impel a woman to insert an unbent coat-hanger into her most sensitive parts, to place her body in the hands of a strange man with unverified credentials, or to lie down without anaesthesia on a filthy kitchen table, knowing that in so doing she risks illness, grilling by the police, and death. An illegal or self-induced abortion is no casual experience. It is painful, dangerous, and cloaked in the guilt of criminality.
Abortion is a very controversial, emotional topic.
Many fundamentalists claim that the government does not have the right to legislate abortion. Women would rather not be put into a position where they feel the need to have an abortion. If people want abortion rates to decrease, then it is imperative that contraception be readily available. The sad fact of the matter is that in many places where abortion is illegal, it is still performed under very unsatisfactory conditions. This in turn results in the untimely deaths of 200,000 women each year.