NATIONWIDE - “Which came first: the chicken or the egg?” is a common riddle a majority of people have at least heard of by now. However, the topic to be addressed here—from a medical perspective—why abortion should be accessible to everyone, focuses more on the question of “Which comes first in terms of priority: the mother or the fetus?” Nor, I would add, is this a regular riddle you’d ask your friends or family. 

While I can’t necessarily get into the nitty-gritty of Roe v. Wade and its overturn, or put on my psychic’s hat and theorize about what medical procedure will be banned next—I can address why abortion is a medical necessity: abortions save lives.

I’d first like to address a common misconception: that an alarming number of pregnant women are aborting fetuses in the third trimester.  If pro-choice arguments plead that the developing fetus is “just a clump of cells,” why are women still getting abortions when the fetus is almost fully developed? 

They’re not. Don’t get me wrong. Women are still having abortions in the third trimester, but it’s almost always because, according to hexahealth.com (“Abortion in the Third Trimester—Why is it Such a Rare Decision?”), the fetus has developed a “foetal anomaly,” meaning there is a serious genetic/structural condition where the baby has either a low chance of survival or is assured of a very poor quality of life or a very short one.

 Also, that “alarming rate” of women having abortions in the third trimester is only a whopping…1%. That’s right. According to the CDC, in the article “Abortion Surveillance Findings and Results,” only 1.1% of abortions take place during the third trimester. Meanwhile, the percentage of women who terminate their pregnancies during the first trimester? 98.2%. 

However, the last, and most important, reason for most abortions, regardless of timing, is that the pregnancy could endanger the mother’s life. 

For example, ectopic pregnancies. In simple terms, an ectopic pregnancy is when the fertilized egg implants and begins to develop outside of the uterus, commonly in the fallopian tube. Not only would the fetus always die because it can’t get the nutrients it needs from the placenta in the womb, but if the mother can’t get the fetus out in time—usually 6 weeks—the fallopian tube will rupture, causing possibly fatal blood loss for the mother.

 Need I mention that, according to the National Library of Medicine on March 31, 2023 (“Overview of Ectopic Pregnancy Diagnosis, Management, and Innovation”), ectopic pregnancies caused 5-10% of all pregnancy-related deaths? While that’s not a lot in theory, the same article also states that “Ectopic pregnancies are the cause of maternal mortality in the first trimester.” 

Abortion in this case saves one life while acknowledging that the other would be lost anyway.

Which brings me to another issue: teen pregnancies. 

             Teen pregnancies have many causes—teens may be irresponsible, or just not know any better. Either way, there are higher risks of possibly fatal complications when teens are pregnant, which could risk not just the mother, but the baby, too. 

One common factor is lack of prenatal care, often due to the lack of support from the teen mother’s parents. For context, prenatal care is extremely important because it can recognize maternal and fetal complications early on before they can come to the point of harm. 

Not only does this prevent abortions from occurring in the third trimester, a concern for some, it actually does the opposite. But it can also recognize life-threatening complications such as ectopic pregnancies and preeclampsia, which affect teen moms with greater frequency and can potentially cause death, according to the article “Teenage Pregnancy: Medical Risks and Realities” on WebMD.com. 

Preeclampsia occurs when the mother’s high blood pressure is combined with excess protein in her urine, resulting in the mother’s face and body swelling, and dealing organ damage. Meanwhile, the baby has a higher risk of suffering from premature birth, risking a number of defects to any system in their body, as well as leaving the baby’s organs underdeveloped. 

Even with prenatal care, the World Health Organization, in its article “Adolescent Pregnancy” states that teen mothers also risk complications after birth such as puerperal endometritis, a postpartum infection within the uterine lining, and systemic infection, or sepsis. All in all, because there’s just so much risk in a teenage pregnancy, having access to abortions could save the girls’ future, literally.

Thus, restricting or banning abortion does not eliminate the demand for it: it simply makes it more dangerous. 

According to thehill.com (“ ‘Self-Managed’ Abortions Up 40 Percent Since Dobbs Decision, Study Finds”), about 3.4% of all women within reproductive age (15-49 as stated in this article) tried some DIY abortion in 2022. While this may not seem alarming, despite the fact that’s a 2.4% increase from just a year prior, I’ll break this down to the two most dangerous components: alcohol or drug use, and physical pain. 

Starting off, 3/4 of women are using methods that are definitely not recommended, with 1/3 using alcohol or unprescribed drugs—over-the-counter, painkillers, birth control, and illegal drugs may be included—which can create many problems for both the mother and fetus, especially because 2/3 of self-induced abortions fail. 

Risks for the mother can include drug addiction and overdose, while meanwhile the baby can suffer from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and withdrawal from the drugs. 

Last but certainly not least are physical methods, like putting a clothes hanger or knitting needle up the cervix to induce an abortion. This may cause so much physical damage to the uterus that the fetus can’t survive. And sometimes, neither can the woman.

Within those induced abortions, 30% of women used physical methods. And, in total, 1/3 of the women wound up in clinics to get medical care for the complications of having a DIY abortion: pain and bleeding. However, 1/20 ended up in emergency care. 

When access to abortion is cut off, people resort to unsafe methods, risking serious complications, long-term health problems, or even death. Note: all statistics above are from the previously mentioned hill.com article.

In sum, abortion is both a medical right for women that not only saves their lives, but their dignity and identity as equal, American citizens. 

What’s the age limit where we “think of the children?” When they are brought into this world despite having a low, or no, chance of survival? Or when they themselves become pregnant? 

As my final point I’d like to reiterate that abortion is not fun. Abortion is not something you do as a regular afterparty activity; abortion is not something you do when you’re bored; abortion is not a common, everyday errand like going to the grocery store. Nor is it, as commonly charged, used for “birth control.”

This is a serious decision that affects their lives that people have to make a call for, like any other serious medical procedure. So I ask you, as a woman who could be arrested for having a miscarriage, who could be a criminal for refusing to bring a child into a world where she is nothing but a woman: where do we draw the line?