Abortion

Abortion is the intentional termination of a human pregnancy. It is often done in early stages.
Late-term abortions account for under 1% of abortions. They are often done for medical reasons (such as pre-eclampsia or a fetus not being viable) or barriers to care delaying the abortion. Claims of abortions "moments before birth" are myths.Abortions Later in Pregnancy in a Post-Dobbs Era
== Reasons ==
A 2013 study of over 900 women identified some common reasons for abortion:Biggs MA, Gould H, Foster DG. Understanding why women seek abortions in the US. BMC Women’s Health. 2013;13(1):29. doi:10.1186%2F1472-6874-13-29
* Financial reasons (40%)
* Bad timing (36%)
* Reasons related to partners (31%)
* Need to focus on other children (29%)
Other reasons included pregnancy interfering with their futures, being unprepared, health problems, and more. Nearly 2/3 had more than one reason for abortion.
== Abortion prevention ==
Complete elimination of abortion is not a reasonable goal. Sometimes, a pregnancy can be fatal unless terminated, such as during ectopic pregnancies. However, some people aim to reduce preventable abortions.
One way to reduce abortions is to address root causes. Sex education and contraceptives can reduce unwanted pregnancies. Welfare programs to support financially-insecure parents could also chip away at the ~40% of abortions that involve financial reasons.
Some groups view abortion as license for immorality and prefer to focus on punishment. They aim to criminalize abortion and force people to either abstain from sex or endure pregnancy against their will.
== Opposition ==
Many people who want to criminalize abortion are not focusing on fetuses, but on their opposition to promiscuity, especially promiscuity in women. Patriarchal institutions, such as some religions, are particularly likely to support abortion restrictions.
"[T]he people who are most likely to oppose abortion are those that 1) believe that abortion promotes promiscuity, and 2) pursue a more restrictive mating strategy. These results show that self-interest, when construed in evolutionary psychological terms, plays a powerful role in predicting people’s attitudes toward abortion." —Martie Haselton and David PinsofEdsall, Thomas. Why the Fight Over Abortion Is Unrelenting. New York Times, 2019 
"Allowing women to have abortions may be viewed by women and men alike as tantamount to endorsing a promiscuous mating strategy." —David Buss 
"After entering the full [abortion center] waiting room she said to me, ‘My dear Lord, what are all those young girls doing here?’ ‘Same as you’, I replied. ‘Dirty little dames,’ she said." —Anonymous physicianThe Only Moral Abortion is My Abortion: When the Anti-Choice Choose 
"Wanton Abortion is the Abortion for no reason other than avoiding responsibility." Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law:
-vatican website 14. July 2019
== Rhizomata ==
* Medicine
* Morality
* Sexism
* Human rights
== Further Reading ==
* Why the Fight Over Abortion Is Unrelenting
* “The Only Moral Abortion is My Abortion” (on anti-abortion people who seek abortions)
== References ==
Category:Health
Category:Politics