While my views on abortion are more conservative than some of my more liberal, pro-choice peers, the Tufts Health Service’s new offering of medicated abortion is a blessing and a necessary protection for women.
Before Congress passed Title IX in 1972, a pregnancy often meant the end of a woman’s education. This meant that birth control was one of the only ways to ensure a woman’s right to her education. Today, other advancements in medical technology, such as Plan B and abortion have given women a definitive say in their futures. These post-factum options are so important because even if partners practice safe intimacy, it can still lead to unplanned pregnancies. Condoms are not always effective. Plan B is not always effective. There is no form of birth control on the market that is 100% effective. Because nearly 15% of women will experience rape in their lifetime, even the intention of celibacy is not always effective in preventing pregnancy.
The medicated abortion options offered by Tufts Health Service are only available during the first 11 weeks of pregnancy. Preventing unplanned pregnancies can only be ensured through large-scale, group abstinence. Medicated abortions prevent the need for surgical abortions when group abstinence is an unlikely development — a solution that both the pro-choice and pro-life crowds should approve of. After 13 weeks, a surgical intervention is necessary to terminate a pregnancy. A medicated abortion is a less traumatic, safer experience for a pregnant person, and it is more humanitarian as it affords less time for nerves in the fetus to develop. Those who believe life begins at conception will still be unsatisfied, but even they should agree that an earlier, less invasive abortion method is preferable to second-trimester abortion options.
Making abortion easier may appear to some as a concession that promotes irresponsible and degenerate behavior. I am inclined to see it as an unintended side effect of the experiment that is co-ed institutions. We are only two generations into women achieving educational parity with men. Despite this, we have yet to attain equality in economic or career outcomes. As social norms shift the societal model for women from primarily child-rearers to now having strong professional aspirations and opportunities, women have largely chosen to have children later in life. Like it or not, this is a mark of social progress. Wages for women have risen across the board in America, and a large part of that is linked to birth control access at educational institutions. There was a staggering 20% increase across the 1980s and 90s in female college enrollment in states where there was legal access to birth control. The reason for this is clear: when given the choice, women prefer to have children after getting an education and contributing to the workforce. This trend isn’t exclusive to America; it’s happening everywhere in the developed world. Scientific advancements like medicated abortions have contributed to the progress in gender equality that increases the quality of life for mothers and their children.
While this may make it easy for some to dismiss those in need of an abortion as convenience seeking, this disregards how formidable the prospect of pregnancy is, especially during college. Carrying a baby to term is a massive time commitment, even without the already-packed schedule of a full-time student. The added stressors students would face while pregnant are immense. Doctor appointments, prenatal care, and the myriad of hormonal and physical challenges are only the tip of the iceberg. Outside of the obvious physical risks, pregnancy takes a massive toll on mental health. Because of these mental and physical health considerations, it is an unfortunate but practical truth that if a mother does not want her baby, they should not carry it to term. Fetal health is a careful and cautious situation, one that can not be managed with a begrudging heart.
The abortion debate is so contentious because it gets to the core of one of humanity’s unanswerable philosophical questions: principally, what makes us human, and at what point are we alive? While these existential conversations are profoundly important, they ignore the very real effects that an unplanned pregnancy has on the life of a young person. Few prefer medicated abortions as an alternative to not getting pregnant in the first place; if you are going to engage in sexual activity, do so safely. Nevertheless, medicated abortions are a necessary, albeit imperfect, solution to a difficult problem. Though my answers to these hard questions do not always align with my beliefs on abortion, I will continue to advocate for it to be made accessible to those who need it.
By Eleanor Schackne-Martello