As draconian abortion regulations force the closure of more clinics, research points to an epidemic of self-induced abortions. The trend supports the notion that banning abortion doesn’t stop the practice. It only makes it less safe, endangering the lives of women and putting the well-being of the children they already have in jeopardy.
What Google Searches Tell Us About Abortion
In Everybody Lies, data scientist Seth Stephens-Davidowitz argues that Google search inquiries tell us a lot about ourselves—including that which we’d rather not admit. Google searches, he says, point to an increase in self-induced abortions. This increase is especially noteworthy in areas where clinics have closed or are otherwise inaccessible.
Research on Self-Induced Abortion
Other research supports Stephens-Davidowitz’s claims about self-induced abortion. Abortion in Texas has been under continual attack, with increasingly restrictive regulations making abortion more inaccessible to more women.
A 2013 Texas law required abortion clinics to employ only doctors with admitting privileges at local hospitals. Clinics must also meet regulations applied to ambulatory surgical centers. According to two surveys by the Texas Policy Evaluation Project, the result hasn’t been a reduction in legal abortions. Instead, the law has driven abortion underground. Between 100,000 and 240,000 Texas women between the ages of 18-49 have attempted to perform abortions on themselves, the study argues.
What Happens When Abortion is Illegal?
Anti-choice advocates claim that their policies protect human lives by reducing abortion. Republicans consistently oppose evidence-based policies for lowering the abortion rate.
We already know what happens to the abortion rate when the procedure becomes illegal. Rather than becoming less common, abortion becomes less safe. In the 1950s and 1960s, most estimates point to between 200,000 and 1.2 million illegal abortions each year.
Nearly half of abortions performed worldwide are unsafe. Unsafe abortion is a leading cause of maternal mortality, causing 68,000 deaths annually. When abortion is safe and legal, deaths from abortion are almost statistically nonexistent. In 2008, just 12 women died due to abortion-related complications. That’s lower than the death rate for virtually any other medical procedure or medication.
Anti-choice zealots counter that, while some women might still seek abortions, anti-abortion legislation still could lower abortion rates. Even if they’re right, the outcome is anything but pro-life. Women who can’t access safe and legal abortions are more likely to remain with abusers, more likely to live in poverty, and more likely to abuse their children. In El Salvador, restrictive abortion policies have made suicide a leading cause of maternal mortality.
It’s never been about life. It’s always been about control. And the anti-choice refusal to do anything at all to protect the lives of women with unwanted pregnancies speaks to their belief that pregnancy is a punishment, and that the death of “immoral” women is a perfectly acceptable outcome.