Press Release: Abortion is Not Killing Babies
On Tuesday, July 21, 2020, a private medical practice equated abortion — a healthcare procedure — to the killing of babies. The Facebook post has since been deleted, but its harm cannot be ignored.
An abortion is a medical or surgical procedure to end a pregnancy. It may be performed to complete a miscarriage or to end an unwanted or life-threatening pregnancy. When abortions are not accessible through medical institutions, they may be performed in unsafe conditions leading to incomplete procedures that can cause excessive bleeding, other damage, or death. Referring to abortion as the killing of babies is not only irresponsible and unethical, but also scientifically incorrect as an embryo is a fetus up to week nine of pregnancy. A doctor asserting their personal opinion about women’s healthcare choices, going as far as to mischaracterize a medical procedure is an example of the stigma and barriers to protecting and expanding women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights.
The stigma attached to abortion denies women self-determination and control of their own bodies and infringes upon their sexual and reproductive health and rights. This stigma also makes it difficult to teach and practice consent, explore pleasure, and address the pervasive issue of sexual violence. Given the private practice’s countless posts about STD testing, it is possible that some of its patients engage in unprotected sex, which could lead to (unwanted) pregnancy. In a sex-positive society and in a sex-positive doctor’s office, there is no judgment or blame, and the emphasis is on education, safety, and access to necessary resources and services.
When people feel judged, they do not present themselves when in need. Women deserve doctors who truly care about them and do not just pander to them with slick comments under the guise of approachability. If women are to lead healthier and safer lives, there must be access to comprehensive healthcare which includes abortion.
In October 2018 at the 71st CEDAW session, The Bahamas stated that the patients’ bill of rights would address the issue of abortion, suggesting an expansion of women’s rights to make decisions about their own bodies. Attorney General Carl Bethel quickly refuted the claim in the national press. It is still unclear whether the government intentionally misrepresented itself to the CEDAW Committee in an attempt to avoid international embarrassment or decided to backtrack, appealing to people least affected and further curtailing the rights of women. Either way, women in The Bahamas are disadvantaged and their rights are continually and negatively impacted by people who are unaffected by our daily realities.
Access to safe abortion is a right. Barbados, Belize, and St. Vincent allow abortions for socioeconomic reasons and to preserve women’s mental health. In Guyana, abortions are legal without restriction. Women are fully capable of making decisions about their own lives and bodies. Abortion must be destigmatized and decriminalized in The Bahamas, and we must interrupt, name, and correct acts of misogyny. Women’s rights are human rights, regardless of personal opinion.