Last night, I had to write a paper with my response to a class film on abortion, as well as an assigned article. The movie was made in the 70's, but it followed a woman in each of five countries. In each country, the laws restricted access to legal abortions. In some cases, there were no exceptions made for women if the pregnancy was the product of rape or incest. It was heartbreaking to watch each girl go through difficult channels in order to obtain an abortion. In England, a young woman had to travel from Dublin to London to have her abortion performed because at the time Ireland banned all abortions, no exceptions allowed. I watched scenes of women in Japan endure thier pain in silence because while abortion was accessible, it was considered a shame the women had to bear alone. In Peru, there was a section of a hospital where women went to die from their botched back-alley abortions. It was a miserable scene. Because the women fear prosecution for their abortions, they wait to go to the hospital until it is too late to get help.
Currently, El Salvador, Columbia and Nicaragua criminalize abortion. In El Salvador, a woman can recieve up to 30 years in prison if her abortion was found to be a late term procedure. The person who performed the abortion, as well as anyone who helped the woman attain the abortion, are also subject to criminal prosecution. Naturally, this has not effected the number of abortions. The amount of women who are seen for suspicious vaginal bleeding nearly equal those women who came for help before the total ban. This is not a successful detterent.
When are pro-life organizations going to understand that they cannot regulate others' lives?