Abortion is now being effected by midwives in France following signing into law of a statute that allows pregnancy termination to be performed even without the presence of a gynecologist. As abortion becomes more accessible, however, a question is raised: is pregnancy termination really still tied up to finances and economics?
West Welfare Society Territory reports that gynecologists in France are unhappy with the government's decision regarding allowing abortion to be administered without the presence of a gynecologist. LifeSite reports that midwives can only administer medical abortion or drug-induced abortion.
Surgical abortions, on the other hand, may be performed by general practitioners from health centers or health clinics. West Welfare Society Territory points out, however, that tasking midwives with medical abortions may see some backlash, especially in terms of the lack of guarantee for health standards and safety.
Needless to say, accessibility to abortion grows significantly with this change in legislation. The question becomes if the statistics on abortion will see a significant increase because of this change.
In the US, the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that the number of abortions between 2011 and 2012 showed a significant decrease. In 2012 reported legally induced abortions figured at 699,202 among women aged 15 to 44 years. This comes to a 4% decrease from the figures of 2011.
With mainstream promotion of abortion as a matter of making choice accessible for women in relation to motherhood, or the rejection of it, a rise in statistics is a genuine possibility. The Nation proposes that economics have nothing to do with women's decision to have an abortion.
According to the media outlet, attaching abortion to the financial standing of a woman, or a woman's family, presupposes that all women want to become mothers - if only they could afford the costs of child-rearing. Reportedly most women who opt for abortion in recent times do so out of a sense that childbirth will deter life and personal goals.
