Anti-Abortion Extremism: Where the Prolife Moves
We already told why withdrawal of abortions from the OMS system and, even more so, their ban is dangerous and that medical abortion is safer, simpler and cheaper than surgery (for both women and the health care system). When people talk about regions where women are limited in their ability to dispose of their bodies, they usually recall the Catholic countries of South America or the Islamic East - but not the United States, in which women’s right to abortion is guaranteed by the constitution. Nevertheless, it is in the States that restrictions often make abortion impossible, and the activity of pro-activists sometimes reaches the level of extremism. We understand who helps women by sending drugs by mail, and what needs to be done so that unwanted pregnancies are fewer.
Olga Lukinskaya
Abortion by mail
Women on Web is engaged in the distribution of drugs for medical abortion - they are ordered by women in countries where abortion is prohibited. According to a number of studies, medical abortion at home is safe if the woman complies with all the recommendations. After a request, a doctor talks with a woman in a remote mode, who ascertains the duration of pregnancy (it should be no more than ten weeks), the presence of contraindications and explains how to use the drugs on their own and in which case you should consult a doctor. Depending on the country, the price of the service varies (for example, 70 euros for Kenya and 90 for Singapore), but women in a difficult economic situation are invited to donate any lifting amount for the project.
The phrase “home abortion” sounds as creepy as “home birth” - but this is the result of stereotypical thinking. In fact, medical abortion at home cannot be equated with a criminal abortion - on the contrary, it is quite safe, according to WHO estimates, and even the practice recommended by this organization. In order to avoid negative consequences, three conditions must be met: an independent assessment of the fact that the gestational period allows for a medical abortion, the ability to apply the drugs correctly without the direct supervision of a physician, and then checking the result with pregnancy tests and checklists (the woman should make sure that the process is fully completed). According to the same WHO guidelines, the most difficult of these points is the first, but in most cases a woman is able to determine the duration of pregnancy with the help of menstruation trackers and online calculators.
American restrictions
For a long time, the United States was not included in the list of countries where the project works, because formally abortions are allowed there - but in the spring of 2018 Women on Web launched Aid Access for a similar mailing in the States. For six months, the pills were sent to about 600 women. The creator of the project, Rebecca Gomperts, claims that she does not violate the laws, because the import of medicines for personal use is completely legal. The FDA may have a different opinion - the agency launched an investigation into the situation in search of violations of the law. Mifepristone (one of the drugs for medical abortion), in accordance with the rules of the FDA, can not be sold in pharmacies or anywhere else - the patient can receive it only in a clinic or hospital. A warning appeared on the agency's website that it is not worth buying mifepriston on the Internet.
A recent report by the Guttmacher Institute states that the FDA's restrictions on the distribution of mifepristone are not justified: the drug is safe enough to be sold in pharmacies. The abolition of restrictions would make abortion more accessible for those who cannot pay for a doctor's appointment or insurance, and for residents of certain states: right now in 34 states it is forbidden to supply the drug to general practitioners (that is, only obstetrician-gynecologists can use it). In this case, the recommendations of the WHO said that safe medical abortion can be carried out even under the supervision of a medical assistant or a qualified nurse. Another 19 states require the doctor to be near the patient while taking the medicine.
Pills and the death penalty
Unfortunately, even if Aid Access does not formally violate the law, women can suffer from serious accusations: in some states, an independent abortion is equated to premeditated murder and can be threatened with a long prison term, or even death. In the new book of Jodie Pikolt "A Spark of Light" a similar situation is described: a seventeen-year-old heroine is looking for an opportunity to have an abortion without exceeding the allowable gestational age. When she finds herself at the clinic, she discovers that she should have brought permission from her parents, since she is under eighteen; she is told that she can do without him if the court issues a special document. It will take another two weeks to wait for the trial, time is running out, and she orders abortive tablets online. After taking the pills, heavy bleeding develops, and the girl regains consciousness in the hospital room - and in handcuffs. She is to be tried for murder. The author emphasizes the terrible irony: until the age of 18 you cannot make a decision about abortion without the participation of parents, but the non-viable fetus outside the uterus has more rights than you do.
To decriminalize home medical abortions is to remove a number of restrictions: a mandatory waiting period (time given to a woman "to think about her decision"), an obligatory ultrasound examination, parental consent (as in the case described above). The financial issue is also critical. In 2014, the average cost of abortion at an early period (up to 9 weeks) was $ 535, and not everyone has insurance covering the procedure. To this price, you should add the cost of travel and hotel: one or two clinics where abortions are performed, for an entire state is a common situation.
Distortion of information
In search of such a clinic, women often find themselves in certain "crisis centers for pregnant women." Unfortunately, they are irrelevant to real medicine and assistance - these are information centers created by anti-abortion movement. Worst of all, the information they provide is false and not based on scientific evidence. Patients are told that the fetus will feel terrible pain (although there is no pain sensitivity for up to 24 weeks) or that the psychological consequences for the woman herself will be irreversible (although, according to research, the psychological effects of refusing an abortion are much worse). It happens that on the first ultrasound scan (and they are given free of charge in such centers), a woman is told that she cannot see anything and cannot determine the duration of pregnancy by offering to come again. At the next visit, it turns out that the pregnancy is already too long.
Supporters of the prolife-movement (pro-life, “for life”) use psychological pressure: they call the embryo a child and appeal to the woman's emotions. They distort the data, and links to well-conducted (or even any) research on the websites of these organizations are not found. And this is not all: sometimes the activity of the prolifera takes on the character of extremism.
Attacks on doctors and shooting in clinics
From 1993 to 2015, pro-activists in the US were guilty of twelve shooting episodes and attacks on doctors (at work and at home), at least ten people were killed, and several others were injured. Less serious crimes of anti-abortion extremists number in the hundreds, and their number is growing: in 2017 there were many times more aggression manifestations than in 2016. Thus, last year, 823 illegal intrusions into private territory were registered, 1,704 cases of obstruction (so that people could not get to the clinic) and 104 blockings of entrances to the clinic, 62 cases of threats, including death, 1156 calls or threatened messages. The number of pickets and demonstrations approached 80 thousand. Paradox: people who call themselves fighters for life are ready to kill and kill.
It is worth saying that it was because of such attacks that the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) law came into force in 1994, after which the activity of extremists somewhat decreased. Her current promotion may be due to the fact that Trump repeatedly mentioned reproductive medicine during the election campaign - and the proliferators felt the support at the highest level. The National Abortion Federation explicitly calls some pro-activist groups terrorists. Those, in turn, find new, more advanced ways to act - for example, they hack the sites of abortion clinics to change the specified address, phone number or write that the clinic has been closed for repairs.
Problems with enlightenment
World experience shows that only one method is effective for reducing abortions - reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies. This means sexual education from a relatively early age, the availability of contraception and support for women, regardless of their choice. Strangely enough, it is prolifera that usually advocate a total ban on sex education in schools - although it would be logical to hand out condoms in a handful so that teenage pregnancies are as few as possible. The heroine of the book Pikolt, which is described above, became pregnant when she was not protected: her friends explained that "you cannot become pregnant after the first time."
The statement that the ban on abortions leads to criminal abortions was quite clear before: yes, not being able to undergo the procedure at the doctor, women resorted to questionable and often deadly methods. But the situation is changing, and thanks to companies like Women on Web and Aid Access, safe and effective tools are available along with online consultations. The problem is that such abortions, while not responding to the usual concept of "criminal", are nevertheless criminalized. Analysts at the Guttmacher Institute point out that punishment is a completely unproductive practice. It affects not only women in need of abortion, but also those who have a miscarriage - they can be accused of home abortion.
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