engaging in abortion. To me, that is not very much. When you look at the number 40,000,000 by itself, it seems like an inconceivable number. But when you actually put it in to perspective, that's not very much. That's less than the percentage of condoms that break (2%). That's less than the failure rate of the pill (5%), it's around the same as the failure of the sterilization method (0.5 for women and 0.2 for men). Look at it another way: In 2007, 4,315,000 babies WERE born in the USA ALONE! THE USA ALONE!
With the number of people that exist in the world, and the fact that not all have access to or knowledge about birth control, that number is not as high as it could be, frankly. I find it to be lower than I would have thought.
I don't *want* women to have to go through abortion. I would rather women who did not want babies never got pregnant, but there is no fail-safe way to achieve that at this time, and as long as rape, violence, ignorance and poverty abound, this is what it is. I don't find it abhorrent that less than one percent of the worlds population has found themselves in a situation requiring an abortion. Shit happens. Condoms break, the pill fails, violence against women abounds, accidents will happen.
How many women do you know who use abortion as a method of birth control? Seriously, I want to know. I hear that shit all the time, I can not imagine the woman who runs around having unprotected sex thinking "I'll just have an abortion, whopeee!". It's far more invasive and costly than a box of condoms or a script for pills, and the whole concept is just ridiculous to me. Whatever, people say it, I disbelieve it. (Edited to add I read that story in the related post... that is an extreme case, the exception that proves the rule so to speak.)
What I find more abhorrent than the number of abortions is the number of people who live in situations that will never allow them the education, the freedom, the means or the safety to engage in their lives as they would like, to have or not have children, to be safe and healthy and free and happy. That is a far greater ill. And it goes hand in hand with the issue of abortion. Until people are educated, safe and cared for, abortion rates will never decline. And to act as though people here are in love with abortion and think it's great, that's disingenuous. People think it's great that women HAVE THE OPTION, that they CAN have an abortion, that they were not forced to go through with the pregnancy, or forced to use some scary back-ally coat hanger man. I rejoice in the number of abortions for that reason and that reason alone. And if it is documented, at least it has the probability of being safe, clean and one can hope with dignity. That doesn't mean I think women should run out and get knocked up so they can visit the abortion clinic. It means I am happy that they have that option, that it hasn't been taken from them. And hopefully, as we progress, it will become less necessary.
