Opinion: Restricting, criminalizing abortion access a violation of human rights of women

Imagine waking up tomorrow to find your entire life shifted without your consent. You are dealt a life-altering hand after participating in an activity that may have been involuntary or forced. Despite the fact that you may have taken measures to avoid the hand you have now been dealt, you have suddenly lost control of your body, and your future goals and finances are upended. Although you have no control over your circumstances, if you are employed, your employer is not likely to be sympathetic or accommodating. There is only a 12% chance you will have access to paid leave for the many weeks or months that your condition will prevent you from being able to work. This drops to a 4% chance if you aren’t lucky enough to fall into a high-income bracket. If and when you do have an opportunity to return to work, you will face discrimination in the labor market, making it challenging to find a job, and if you manage to get one, you are statistically much more likely to be underpaid. You will see a $230,000 reduction in lifetime earnings or the equivalent of two years of annual income, and you will score lower on work performance evaluations. You will be viewed as less competent and committed relative to co-workers who were dealt a different hand, despite partaking in the same activity as you. Not only will you fall behind your peers in the workplace, but you will also be forced to spend $267,000 you hadn’t budgeted for over the next 18 years.

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In addition to having your financial stability jeopardized, your health will also take a toll. Your organs, muscles, ligaments, and bones will shift, you will gain weight, and you are likely to suffer from a combination of nausea, itchy skin, stretch marks, gas, bloating, gingivitis, and frequent urination. For many people in your position, the impacts on health can be life-threatening and, in some cases, deadly. You could potentially develop diabetes, severe headaches, convulsions, hemorrhaging, severe abdominal pain, and difficulty breathing. The chances you were dealt this card are higher if you are Black, in which case you are 2.9 times more likely to die from your circumstances than your white counterparts. There is a 75% chance that you are poor entering into this circumstance.

If you manage to survive, there is a 31.8% chance that you will endure major abdominal surgery. Regardless, you will receive one follow-up visit with the minimal examination. The life-long impacts on your mental and physical health will be your burden to bear as you navigate through uncharted waters taking full responsibility for another human being’s life. You will make hundreds of sacrifices daily to keep the new person alive and well. You may experience alienation from your social circles and home confinement in an attempt to protect this new child’s weak immune system. People will say, “You can just give your baby up if you don’t want it,” as if your life-threatening journey meant nothing and assuming you felt no connection during the birthing. There is a 90% chance that you will keep the child, even if it is to the detriment of you and your other children. You will struggle to find available, affordable child care and may be forced to apply for government assistance for survival.

The World Health Organization (WHO) states, “The decision as to whether to continue a pregnancy or terminate it, is fundamentally and primarily the woman’s decision, as it may shape her whole future personal life, as well as family life, and has a crucial impact on women’s enjoyment of other human rights.” During the first trimester of pregnancy, the zygote is merely a cluster of cells (WHO). “International human rights are determined to begin at the time of birth. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and in rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in the spirit of brotherhood.” It is impossible to equate the rights of a born, fully formed woman/birth-giver, to the rights of a cluster of cells. WHO explains that anyone who believes personhood begins at the moment of conception has the right to do so. However, a democratic state cannot make laws based on those beliefs, if they are not shared by all citizens.

Restricting and criminalizing abortion access is a violation of the human rights of women. It does little to stop abortion and places the lives of too many in danger.

Dr. Susan Clark Muntean is an Asheville resident, researcher, and published author. Mollie Gordon is a management and economics student at UNC Asheville. 

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: To restrict, criminalize abortion access violates women's human rights