USA: Abortion Rights Supporters Say Recession, Government Restrictions Hurt Women
Times are getting harder for women seeking abortions, advocates say, even though this month marked the 39th anniversary of Roe V. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.
By Brooke Kelly
Washington, D.C. - infoZine - Scripps Howard Foundation Wire - At a news conference Jan. 17, Merle Hoffman, founder of Choices Women’s Medical Center, said the recession and new laws are affecting women’s reproductive rights.
“The attack against abortion or reproductive justice is also an attack on birth control because the intersection is lack of birth control, lack of access, lack of funds, more abortions or compulsory pregnancy,” Hoffman said.
Last year, in the 50 states, legislators introduced more than 1,100 reproductive health and rights-related provisions, according to the Guttmacher Institute’s website. That’s 150 more than in 2010. Legislators enacted 135 provisions in 36 states, compared to 89 in 2010 and 77 in 2009.
The measures included bans on abortions beyond 20 weeks of gestation in five states, following in Nebraska’s footsteps. Texas and North Carolina joined 24 other states to require waiting periods between pre-abortion counseling and the procedure.
Merle Hoffman, founder of one of the nation’s oldest abortion clinics, says the recession, coupled with abortion restrictions, could lead to more abortion-related deaths as women seek abortions outside of clinics.
Other provisions relate to ultrasounds, insurance coverage restrictions, clinic regulations and medication abortions, or so-called abortion pills, in the early stages of a pregnancy. In nine states, legislators reduced funding for family planning. Mississippi and North Dakota added abstinence-only education rules for schools.
In December, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, R, approved new state rules requiring abortion clinics to be reclassified as ambulatory surgery centers, meaning they will have to meet hospital-type standards. Some clinics say they cannot meet the rules and will close.
This year, the Guttmacher Institute expects to see provisions relating to medication abortions, clinic regulations, insurance coverage of abortions and more prohibitions on later-term abortions, Elizabeth Nash, state issues manager for the Guttmacher Institute, said.
Akeso Consulting performed a statistical analysis of the factors affecting women’s reproductive rights to produce a report called “Abortionomics.” The report analyzed studies by Choices and Adelphi University and published scientific and journalistic reports.
Robin H. Pugh Yi, Akeso president and the report’s author, said that even before the recession women have cited economic issues for choosing abortions.
The study found higher demand for abortions in 2008 and 2009, the most recent data available. Oakland Access, which serves low-income women, reported a 12 percent increase in that time.
Planned Parenthood of Illinois clinics performed an all-time high number of abortions in January 2009. The Illinois Department of Health said 41,859 abortions were performed in the state during 2010, a 9 percent decrease from 2009, and the lowest number since 1973.
Choices is licensed by the government and must report all abortions, but not all abortions take placed in licensed abortions clinics. Those performed in doctors’ offices go unreported.
At Choices, Hoffman said the number of abortions performed at the center increased by 4 percent from 2008 to 2009.
Even though the numbers are old, Pugh Yi said anecdotal evidence points to increased demand around the country.
While Nash dismisses the notion that the economy is to blame for potential abortion increases, she said provisions enacted by state legislators are negatively affecting women's reproductive rights
Nash said that any increase is a result of the 2010 elections. “Just like on the federal level, at the state level a number of very conservative legislators and governors were elected,” she said.
As for the Republican presidential candidates, Hoffman said, “I think they’re jumping over themselves like kangaroos to show who is more anti-choice than the previous one. Each and every single candidate has specified unequivocally that they would overturn Roe v. Wade.”
If a Republican becomes president, Hoffman said, “You’d have a country, where in my mind, there are free states and slave states.”
She referred to New York and California as potential free states and Arizona as a potential slave state.
“Women would be coming in droves to the free states. We’re going to have underground railroads again to help these women,” Hoffman said.
“A woman is already in a difficult situation with an unintended pregnancy, and then when she tries to access abortion, she has to navigate many obstacles in order to resolve her pregnancy by having an abortion,” Nash said.
Pugh Yi predicted many women will choose to have illegal abortions, “which brings us possibly back to pre-Roe vs. Wade in which we had not only more abortions but dramatically more abortion-related deaths.”