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What Handmaid Amy is Missing
Dec. 8th, 2021 10:32 pmAmy Coney Barrett believes that the safe harbor laws that allow women to abandon babies at police stations and firehouses are an adequate substitute for abortion. Here is why she is wrong with a capital R. Note that this post is strictly limited to that specific issue. I have a number of opinions about abortion, but they are besides the point here.
First, the mortality rate from a full-term pregnancy in the United States is 17.4 per 100,00 pregnancies. (It is highest among Black women. Somewhat to my surprise, it is lower among Latina women than among white women.) This is, by the way, the worst overall among industrialized nations and reflects a number of issues with our healthcare system. Mortality from legal abortion is less than 1 per 100,000 abortions. I couldn’t find good statistics for pregnancy-related mortality as a function of maternal age, but it is definitely higher for the youngest women. Even in countries with functional medical systems, abortion is far safer for women than full-term pregnancy.
Secondly, there is the impact of pregnancy on a woman’s life. While pregnancy discrimination is illegal, it is still rampant. Realistically, few women have sufficient sick leave to deal with pregnancy complications. Even a relatively uncomplicated birth takes more time for healing than many women have available. The impact on work life obviously depends on what sort of job a woman has. There are plenty of women doing, say, factory work that involves heavy lifting and cannot be safely performed by them during pregnancy. And, of course, pregnant minors typically lose school time, resulting in long-term economic disadvantage.
Finally, there is the question of how many abandoned children are adopted. While there is a demand for adoption, that demand is pretty much only for healthy white infants. One of the major reasons for abortion currently, particularly later in pregnancy, is detection of fetal abnormalities that would also result in babies who are more likely to be unadaptable.
First, the mortality rate from a full-term pregnancy in the United States is 17.4 per 100,00 pregnancies. (It is highest among Black women. Somewhat to my surprise, it is lower among Latina women than among white women.) This is, by the way, the worst overall among industrialized nations and reflects a number of issues with our healthcare system. Mortality from legal abortion is less than 1 per 100,000 abortions. I couldn’t find good statistics for pregnancy-related mortality as a function of maternal age, but it is definitely higher for the youngest women. Even in countries with functional medical systems, abortion is far safer for women than full-term pregnancy.
Secondly, there is the impact of pregnancy on a woman’s life. While pregnancy discrimination is illegal, it is still rampant. Realistically, few women have sufficient sick leave to deal with pregnancy complications. Even a relatively uncomplicated birth takes more time for healing than many women have available. The impact on work life obviously depends on what sort of job a woman has. There are plenty of women doing, say, factory work that involves heavy lifting and cannot be safely performed by them during pregnancy. And, of course, pregnant minors typically lose school time, resulting in long-term economic disadvantage.
Finally, there is the question of how many abandoned children are adopted. While there is a demand for adoption, that demand is pretty much only for healthy white infants. One of the major reasons for abortion currently, particularly later in pregnancy, is detection of fetal abnormalities that would also result in babies who are more likely to be unadaptable.
