All people who can get pregnant should have access to medical abortion services.
Abortion is the procedure to end a pregnancy. There are two methods to do this. The first is called
medical abortion, where pills are used (Wat is abortus?, 2019). The second method is surgical and
consists of removing the embryo from the uterus. There are many misunderstandings about abortion
and it is a sensitive subject. It touches on ethical issues and personal values and standards. However,
I think all people who can get pregnant should have access to medical abortion.
First of all, not providing this care does not mean that people will not try to end the pregnancy other
ways. Illegal abortions are incredibly dangerous. I think everyone has the right to undergo this
treatment safely. Furthermore, having the freedom to make your own choices is a human right
(Australian Law Reform Commission, 2014). Everyone should be able to choose whether to continue
a pregnancy or not. For me, this is also part of the principle of autonomy which in this context means
a person owns their body and should be free to decide what happens with and to it. The choice
should be up to the pregnant person, and only to them (Jecker, 2022).
Some studies claim that there is a relationship between terminating a pregnancy and medical issues
such as breast cancer, infertility and higher risk of depression (The Importance of Access to Abortion,
z.d.). However, this is definitely not the case, this relationship does not exist. Abortion is a very safe
treatment. In fact, it is 14 times safer than childbirth (Rutgers, 2022 ;Whole Woman’s Health, 2022).
Besides, the studies claiming this do not even meet the standards for legitimate research (The
Importance of Access to Abortion, z.d.)
Opponents of abortion might claim that life of the embryo begins after conception (nytimes.com,
2019). They feel like the embryo also has human rights and these rights are violated with an
abortion. Some even call it murder. However, 65% of abortions happen in the first 8 weeks (8 weken
zwanger - Je zwangerschap per week - Naviva, 2022; Rutgers, 2022). Also, according to the Dutch
law, the unborn child has no rights before 24 weeks (Ministerie van Algemene Zaken, 2022).
Therefore, this is in my opinion empty argumentation.
So, to conclude, in my opinion all people that can get pregnant should be able to have access to
medical care services, including medical abortion. All people should be able to have access to medical
abortions, because they are very safe, and the fetus does not have human rights Furthermore, I feel
very strongly that everyone should be free to make choices about their own bodies and providing
this care will ensure that fewer pregnancies will be terminated by other means, that are far more
dangerous.
