Abortions and Birth Control in North America
There are many agreements and disagreements when it comes to such a strong topic such as abortions and the use of contraceptives. For this blog I will share the information I have learned through my research about both of these topics in North America.
First I would like to begin with the fact that abortion has been a big topic throughout the years about those who agree and those who disagree with this topic. To those who want abortions it’s simply a matter of avoiding being a single parent, not economically stable, rape, or other reasons for that matter. Contraceptives are a way to avoid getting pregnant which mostly disagree as well. The most common disagreements are because of religious beliefs when it comes to abortion and the use of contraceptives since it is believed that a woman's killing their child which is pure.
United States Abortions
To begin I will start with The United States with the famous law that made abortions legal in the United State and has now caused a huge controversy with many groups of women fighting against abortion rights. The law that I am talking about was passed in 1973 called The Roe vs. Wade which makes it legal for women to have abortions with the protection of the U.S constitution. Many reasons come up for those who are against abortions such as strong religious beliefs, the unsafe after affect of the abortion, the thought of an actual human being killed in the womb, and many more reasons these anti abortion groups fight for this.
A huge controversy that is going on right now the decision made by the supreme court of Texas to require a law stating that all doctors who perform abortions have to be admitted to privileges at a nearby hospital to take effect. This caused at least twelve clinics to close down since October (Tomlinson, 2013). This law passed by the court will not remain final because they have not made a decision but in the mean time abortions will be legal. Since Texas is a large state it has had an estimate of 80,000 abortions each year according to Chris Tomlinson from ABC News.
Birth Control in the United States
In the early nineteenth century there was no reliable form of birth control therefore the most common form of birth control were male withdrawal and condoms that were made of vulcanized rubber in the 1838 (Chopin). In this current time contraceptive methods are more common and have different types of methods of birth control. There is pills, the patch, nuvaring, and many more that women can chose to their liking. The only issue that some women have is that in order to avoid getting pregnant they have to be prescribed to birth control in order to use them. Those who don’t have medical insurance look for alternatives to avoid paying the costs of contraceptives such as going to the border to purchase them since in Mexico they don’t need a prescription to use them.
Canada Abortions:
Canada is no different than the United States when it came to legalizing abortion rights for women. In the National Abortion Federal website they mention that during the 1960’s abortions were only legal if the mother were to be in danger and had to be performed in the hospital. During 1988 the law against abortion was found that it was violating section 7 giving freedom rights which were also taking away a woman's right to “life, liberty, and security of person”. Inconvenience was a problem for those who were not near a clinic for an abortion. It was also not convenient when some clinics covered the cost of abortions and others didn’t which meant those who were going for an abortion had to pay out of pocket. In 2006 the bill was passed for women to be allowed to have an abortion without being penalized with criminal acts before the 20 weeks of being pregnant. After this year there have been many attempts against abortion but the topic is highly avoided is possible because of many disagreements.
Birth Control in Canada
Canadian Public Health Association is a website that public voice for health in Canada. In this website is mentions birth control being illegal in 1892, it was illegal to sell or advertise the product. In the 1960’s birth control was available but not intended for birth control reasons but for therapeutic reasons. In 1969 the right for birth control use was used along with information and programs that provided information, counseling, education, and services to individuals who wanted these services. In most recent years the city of Quebec has become the fifth country worldwide to allow women to purchase plan b without getting it prescribed.
Abortions in Mexico
When it comes to abortions in Mexico it is a bit different than Canada and The United States, it all depends on where the women’s place of residence is and her economic statues, making access, making access a question of social justice and gender discrimination (Paul 2013). Mexico City being the first state to legalize abortions within the 12 weeks of pregnancies was a bit of a controversy because of Mexico being mostly of Catholic beliefs. All states make it legal to perform an abortion is the woman is raped but the following have there own exceptions: For those residence in Yucatan who are struggling financial and already have three or more children, For those in Guanajuato, Guerrero, and Queretaro women can get an abortion is the woman's life is in danger. In fourteen states it is legal to abort if any deformities are in site. But not every state agrees with abortion rights therefore some states have different punishments for those who get an abortion. In Tlaxcala a women can receive up to 15 days in jail but in Sonora they can receive up to six years. In some other areas they can get charged a fine or community service will be required.
Birth Control in Mexico
According to The Global Catholic Population forum, Mexico is the second largest catholic population in the world. Mexico being a large catholic population makes it hard for those believers to stop reproducing because of the opposition of the catholic churches when is comes to the consumption of contraceptives. The church strongly believes that consuming contraceptives is a sin for a women to prevent from reproducing what God has designed to do for the human race (Brom, 2004).
Even though most Mexicans are catholic believers it doesn't stop them from taking contraceptives to avoid reproducing. In Mexico it is easy for anybody to get contraceptives because it’s something that doesn’t need to be prescribed. The contraceptives such as the pill can be bought over the counter from anybody (Chapman, 2013). But it seems like things are going to start changing for men to stop depending on women to make them responsible for not reproducing. There is a new birth control method in Mexico being made for the men to start taking them with side effects just like how women have been dealing with in the past. According to Manuel Rueda the new birth control for men doesn't involve sterilization and hormones. Still unsure of what it might be either shot, pill, or cough syrup it will temporarily stop men’s fertility.
How Religious Fundamentalism plays a role in Abortion and Birth Control:
Religion plays a big part in both abortion and taking contraceptives. Both are considered killing the fetus inside the womb and are not allowing the laws that God has created to reproduce. In an interesting book that I read called Sexist Religion and women in the church by Alice Hageman it is mentioned that women are only meant to be certain things “Virgin, wife, widow, or a slave”. Therefore is women are in need of an abortion they have not guarded their purity and should be punished harshly for their non-marital sexual activity. Religion and fundamentalism tie down together because of the high rejection of the churches of the modern world that we live in today.
References
Hageman, Alice L. Sexist Religion and Women in the Church; No More Silence! New York: Association, 1974. Print.
Ertelt, Steven. "Abolishing the Filibuster Could Pave the Way to Overturn Roe v. Wade. "Abolishing the Filibuster Could Pave the Way to Overturn Roe v. Wade[Washington] 21 Nov. 2013: n. pag. Print.
"Roe v. Wade." Roe v. Wade. Cornell University Law School, 13 Dec. 1971. Web. 03 Dec. 2013.
Harris, Andrew. "Wisconsin Tries to Follow Texas in Reviving an Abortion Law." - Bloomberg Law. Bloomberg Law, n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2013.
"Childbirth and Birth Control in the 19th Century." Kate Chopin -. Kate Chopin, 2009. Web. 03 Dec. 2013.
"National Abortion Federation: Legal Abortion in Canada." National Abortion Federation: Legal Abortion in Canada. National Abortion Federation, 2010. Web. 03 Dec. 2013.
Rueda, Manuel. "New Birth Control For Men." Fusion. N.p., 4 June 2013. Web. 03 Dec. 2013.
Chapman, Steven. "Birth Control without Permission." Chicago Tribune. N.p., 15 June 2013. Web. 02 Dec. 2013.
"The Global Catholic Population." Pew Research Centers Religion Public Life Project RSS. N.p., 13 Feb. 2013. Web. 02 Dec. 2013.
Brom, Robert. "Tracts." Birth Control. N.p., 10 Aug. 2004. Web. 01 Dec. 2013.
"History of Family Planning in Canada." Canadian Public Health Association -. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2013.
Abortion is definitely a big controversy that people, still today, talk about all the time. I do believe that abortion should legal to an extent and illegal to a certain extent, but overall it's the person's body and so she should be able to decide if she wants to have and abortion or not. But what are some ways that people have done to stop abortion and the extent that people are willing to go to stop it. For those who did get a chance to have an abortion, how did it affect them in the long run? Did they still wish that they had an abortion?
ReplyDeleteThis is an extremely pressing issue that impacts women's rights,
ReplyDeletefamilies, communities, and our population as a whole. The control of
women's reproductive rights is often in the hands of politicians (in
America, the majority of which are white, privileged males), who have
a strong disconnect with the reality of women's lives, especially poor
women, teen girls, and/or women of color. The restrictive laws are
created by these politicians, usually based on religious doctrine,
which dictate what the women can and can't do with their own bodies.
Even though many women would choose not to have an abortion, or even
choose not to use methods such as "Plan B", the limitations in place
restrict everyone's freedoms of choice. Whenever religion is involved
in decisions, there is inevitable controversy and extreme differences
in opinions- as you clearly mentioned. This is very apparent in the
U.S example of Texas that you wrote about. Also, religion is obviously
the most influential factor in determining women's rights in Mexico, a
strongly Catholic nation.
This is a highly sensitive topic and I’m glad whenever it’s written about because it’s always informative and it helps show a side of the topic. Well, firstly I was shocked when I read that in Mexico you could go to prison if you got an abortion. I thought that, that was crazy because that just adds stress to a woman who just went through so much. I understand that in some eyes it might be seen as a sin but they should be aware of peoples’ mental and physical state after something like that happens. I was also surprised that it was only in 2006 that women in Canada could get abortions without being penalized. It’s crazy how that wasn’t too long ago. It’s nice to see the change but it’s hard to imagine what women had to go through before that.
ReplyDelete