I agree that the passage of this South Dakota law regarding the 3 day waiting period before an abortion can be performed is a waste of the doctor's time as well as an insult to the woman in question's intelligence and ability to reason.
With that said, I believe there is a larger issue at play within this law; it strategically reduces abortions by delaying a time-sensitive procedure. A number of women will be prohibited from legally obtaining an abortion once they have surpassed the pregnancy time-line within which the abortion can be performed. This is an anti-choice tactic, and the 'successes' gained by it are artificial. The patient did not change her mind because she was enlightened by information she had not been exposed to before seeing a doctor, she ran out of time and was left with no choice.
Not only do poor women stand at risk to be disproportionately affected by this law, but women in abusive relationships and victims of incest also are impacted more profoundly. The safety aspect of the situation means that abused women must first find shelter and support before getting to a clinic; the abusive partner's reproductive coercion may be what led to the unwanted pregnancy in the first place and he is not going to let his partner have a choice about whether or not to continue with the pregnancy. Getting away from the abuser and into a domestic violence shelter can take weeks if placed on a waiting list due to lack of space at the shelter. Only after safety is addressed can the pregnant woman then explore her options about the pregnancy. It's too bad that she will then be re-victimized by a law that exerts further control over her body, minimizes her ability to make decisions, and questions her understanding of a subject she is all too intimately aware of.
Original blog:
http://politicalviewskelseysewalson.blogspot.com/2011/03/anti-abortion-laws-passed-yet-again-in.html
This editorial written Melissa Mason dealt with an "Anti-Abortion" law being passed in South Dakota. This law makes women who go in to have an abortion done wait three days in order to get the procedure done. The wait is designed to give women (and families) more time to rethink their decision. Personally, I am Anti-Abortion but Pro-Choice. In brief I do not believe that abortion is the solution, but I believe that women (or the family) should have the final say without fear of judgment.
ReplyDeleteMelissa Mason disagrees with this law on the basis of it being Anti-Choice. Technically this law is Extra Pro-Choice because people are given extra time to choose. All joking aside, I can argue both sides of the argument. Personally, I do not dislike the new law. Three extra days cannot hurt anybody's decision-making process. A woman who changes her mind clearly was not ready to make that decision in the first place. Also, the law does not say that women cannot come back four days later, or five, or a couple of weeks.
Melissa makes good points in her commentary, but I do think she tried to apply her views/preconceptions onto women in general. She says that some women are in terrible situations and need the procedure to be done. This is true and shows the negatives of the wait. Some people do not have the time or flexible schedule to be able to make two visits within three days to any place that is not work or home. She used abusive relationships as her example. But women who do not have the resources to leave that situation most likely will not be able to have the procedure performed. She also said that doctor's times are wasted by the law. That's not true at all. Most abortions consist of a doctor administering one pill on site and giving a second pill for the woman to take in a comfortable setting to complete the process.
In conclusion, Ms. Mason and I do not agree on many of the points in her editorial but nonetheless it was still a solid post. Her opinion shines through and her views are very visible to her audience.
I appreciate your views - thanks for weighing in.
ReplyDeleteI would counter that one week makes a big difference in a pregnancy. The pill you reference must be taken early in the pregnancy, and an additional week may mean that the woman will have to go through a surgical procedure. A pregnancy a little further along may no longer meet the legal timeline in which an abortion may be obtained after another week passes.
For a rape victim, I can't imagine how difficult that extra week would be, another week of carrying the rapist's DNA inside you.