Abortion as Healthcare.
That’s the sad reality: abortion can never be eradicated, they just become dangerous.
A couple of weeks ago, it was revealed that the Supreme Court in America has a majority vote to revoke the ruling of the 1973 landmark case Roe v Wade. Roe v. Wade is a famous decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the constitution of the United States protects a pregnant woman's liberty to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction. It was the first bill of its kind, affording women and people with uteruses the right to have an abortion barring legal restrictions.
While this ruling had always come under several attacks, many challenging its validity and politicians enacting various dangerous restrictions that make getting an abortion super strenuous or nearly impossible, now it is truly at risk. In the context of Nigeria, while this case might not directly affect us as a country, there's a case that it might further impact proceedings.
it is no news that America is the world power and they largely influence global culture. Rules and policies made in America sometimes tend to shape and influence many of the decisions made in other countries, especially third world countries. In most African countries that were previously colonized, the connection in mindset to the messages we receive from our colonizers is even more insidious. Also, taking into account foreign policy, America has a way of influencing or better put, forcing the hands of less powerful countries to do their bidding or assimilate their policies. While it is true that abortions still remain illegal in Nigeria, it is not far-fetched to think that the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade is not only dangerous but it could also jeopardize whatever chance we have of getting legal abortions in Nigeria.
If the right to abortion becomes illegal in the United States, many women will certainly suffer. Entire families will be kept below the poverty line and the rate of death during childbirth might also increase. This is because access to birth control and abortions is directly connected to a birthing person’s quality of life and by extension, their own offspring and partner’s lives. A baby presents a major expense cost and furthermore potential health complications and bodily trauma for the bearer. A baby also places a temporary (sometimes permanent) hold on the bearer’s ability to work and earn a sustainable living.
A lot of lawmakers are aware of this but they advocate against abortions regardless. They mostly view abortion as something that only people who are careless and have pre-marital sex would typically do even though there are facts that prove that abortions are frequently gotten by women who already have children, married women et cetera.
Abortions are a necessary healthcare procedure and should be treated as such. The framing of the practice as evil or harmful is sometimes egregious and laughable. The procedure has significantly fewer complications, compared with many other healthcare procedures. Abortion is also readily available to wealthy people, regardless of its legality, which is why it's even more saddening when you realize the people who suffer the most risk are usually the people that arguably need it the most. That’s the sad reality: abortion can never be eradicated, they just become dangerous.
Also, a lot of religious messaging surrounds anti-abortion rhetoric. This is another major reason why the procedure is often maligned. In a country like Nigeria where we have little to no separation of church and state, religion plays a major role in influencing lawmakers and in turn, lawmaking depending on which state in the country you find yourself. However, religion, no matter which has the higher influence at the time, should have absolutely nothing to do with the decisions that concern the life and health of thousands of citizens.
It is important that society comes together to create awareness and fight for the right of access to informed healthcare and its procedures for all women and child bearers. When just one person cannot get the abortion they desperately need, for whatever reason; it creates a chain of unfortunate events that end up impacting many lives, most especially the fetus involved. The decision to have a baby is one that must be well-prepared, thought of and welcomed. Not saddled upon the bearer like a burden or punishment. Children’s lives are not to be played with or treated as fair game in order to fulfil a callous or unsympathetic lawmakers’ wishes or beliefs.
