It is well documented that the majority of Americans favor allowing a woman’s access to abortion and the ability to make that decision without government interference.1 However, it is becoming clearer and clearer that the voice of the ‘majority’ in this country is being drowned out and overpowered by a vocal and politically motivated minority.
According to Mirriam-Webster, a ‘democracy’ is: “government by the people; especially ‘rule of the majority.’ Unfortunately, that is becoming less and less true in this country. Another definition under the heading of ‘democracy’ in Mirriam-Webster is: ‘an organization or situation in which everyone is treated equally and has equal rights.’ With the enactment of more and more restrictive voting laws in Teas and elsewhere, that is becoming less and less true as well. If anyone does not believe that democracy is under serious attack in this country it is a simple matter of comparing what is going on in this country with the basic definition of ‘democracy’. But I digress.
In one of my recent posts, I discussed the absolute lunacy of the new Texas abortion law just in terms of the basic math. I came across an opinion piece that delves into this issue even further by looking at the economic impacts of this law.2 Once again it boils down to ‘do the math’ and it is very evident that this is just bad policy. There is absolutely no doubt that this policy will follow the ‘Law of Unintended Consequences’ and result in many more problems that it purports to solve. History has shown over and over again that policies enacted based upon emotions and political reasons inevitably fail.
Just recently, in staunchly Catholic Mexico, the Mexican Supreme Court ruled that criminalizing abortion is unconstitutional.3 What the hell happened to own our Supreme Court in this supposedly ‘progressive’ country? Their decision to allow the Texas abortion law to stand, which seems to be a direct violation of Roe v. Wade, is astounding.
When I saw that Mexico, in the face of a growing women’s movement in Mexico, had handed down this ruling I decided to look at what other countries are doing with respect to abortion. In our northern neighbor, Canada, abortion is not only legal but is just viewed as another medical procedure and covered by insurance as such.
In Europe, 41 European countries allow abortion on a woman’s request or broad social grounds while 6 European countries do not.4 The fact is, 95% of European women of reproductive age live in countries that allow abortion upon request or broad social grounds. The six European countries that have very restrictive abortion laws are: Andorra, Lichtenstein, Malta, Monaco, Poland and San Marino. With the exception of Poland, these are all very, very small countries and given the ease of traveling within Europe, women in these countries can fairly easily cross a border to gain access to an abortion provider.
“For more than 60 years Europe has led the continuing global trend towards the liberalization of abortion laws and the legalization of women’s access to safe and legal abortion. Today almost all European countries allow abortion on request or on broad social grounds and only a very small minority maintain highly restrictive laws prohibiting abortion in almost all circumstances. Similarly, a broad range of European countries continue to enact reforms to remove harmful procedural and regulatory barriers that often impede access to legal abortion.”4
I have no doubt that the Texas law and those ‘copycat’ laws being considered in other Republican-controlled states will prove to be economic and social disasters that will ultimately be overturned, the real question is how much damage will be inflicted until that occurs.
Climate change has a direct impact on my life, the life of my daughter and the general public. The current pandemic has a direct impact on my life, the life of my daughter or the population in general. The crumbling infrastructure in this country has a direct impact on my life, the life of my daughter and most Americans. Whether or not some woman chooses to have an abortion or not has zero direct impact on my life, the life of my daughter or the general public. So why the hell do we continue to squander resources on this issue?
Much of the rest of the world continues to try to move forward while the United States continues to move backwards. Where will it all end?
- U.S. Public Continues to Favor Legal Abortion, Oppose Overturning Roe v. Wade | Pew Research Center
- The Texas Anti-abortion Law Will Have Damaging Economic Effects | Energy Blog (uci.edu)
- Mexico’s Supreme Court Votes to Decriminalize Abortion – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
- European Abortion Law: A Comparative Overview | Center for Reproductive Rights