I’m shocked by how misinformed the men in my life are on abortion bans. Most of them support a woman’s right to choose - but they don’t understand that the bans put lives at risk. One said to me “I’m sure they don’t impact women who WANT to start a family”.

They do - and here’s why:

Abortion bans put lives at risk. When you criminalize abortion - you’re practically criminalizing pregnancy. It sounds harsh - but women have been arrested for having miscarriages. Doctors face jail time for intervening to save a woman’s life if she’s having pregnancy complications.

When a woman is having an early miscarriage - you can’t tell whether it happened naturally or was induced. The police should not be involved in making that call. Yet if they have ANY reason to suspect you wanted to end that pregnancy? You could be arrested.

Have an ectopic? An abruption? A fetus with lethal anomalies? Doctors are going to hesitate before intervening even IF your life is at risk. They have to consult the legal department, they have to fear for their licence and the possibility of jail time.

Pregnancy is NOT a health neutral state. Anything you can be at risk for - you’re higher risk for in pregnancy. When things go sideways - it can happen incredibly quickly. Waiting to intervene can and does cost the life of the mother AND the baby.

Doctors are also fleeing states with abortion bans - leaving women in those states with even less access to qualified care. They don’t want to practice somewhere that the government is going to dictate what happens to their patient. They don’t want to worry about criminal charges.

All of this adds up to bad news for women - many of who WANT children but will choose not to become pregnant in the face of these archaic and dangerous laws. It’s not “your body my choice”. It’s “my body my choice”. Until people realize that - we continue to be in danger.
#abortion #prochoice #abortionishealthcare #womenshealth #mybodymychoice #reproductivehealth