I was outraged to read “Abortion must come at a price” in Friday’s Lantern. As an individual who identifies as pro-choice, I do support everyone’s choice and right to their own personal beliefs on the very sensitive and controversial issue of abortion. However, I was angered to see that the complexity of the issue was glossed over and very much ignored by Erik Bussa.
The idea that anyone who has not been forcibly raped has instead chosen to have sex is not on target. Many young women feel pressured — by the media, their peers, their boyfriends, etc. — to engage in sexual activity, and even though they might not really want to have sex, they “choose” to do so.
Idealistically, all of these young women should have adequate self-knowledge to “just say ‘no.'” However, as is most likely self-evident, adolescence is not a time of self-assurance, and I have yet to meet a 13-year-old adequately prepared for sex and its consequences. Comprehensive sex education that fully prepares individuals for responsible decisions is one step toward decreasing the amount of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. Unfortunately, under George W. Bush, an increase in comprehensive sex education will not be a reality.
Even though it is 2003, not every male “know(s) that ‘pulling out’ is not an acceptable method of birth control.” Our president is pushing funding towards abstinence-only-until-marriage education that will only increase the number of guys (and girls) who do not know proper birth control measures. In this educational programming, misinformation and scare tactics are used to try to persuade students not to engage in sexual activity; birth control and condoms are only talked about in terms of their failure rates, and they are not mentioned as ways to prevent unwanted pregnancy or STDs (hence the term “abstinence-only”). How can individuals be expected to know what works when the government took the stance that condoms do not prevent the spread of HIV at a world AIDS conference?
The way I see it, abortion is a result. It is a result of poor education, fear and lack of resources. To criminalize it would only make its effects more profound and would cause women to return to “back alley abortions” and their accompanying unsafe and unsanitary conditions. Abortion is not an issue to be taken lightly, and even without prison sentences and massive fines, it does have a price that is both psychological and sociological.
I believe that everyone in society desires abortion procedures to be as minimal as possible. However, the lack of understanding of the problem that was demonstrated by the call to criminalize it will not do this.
Becky Tippettjunior in sociology and public policy
