Abortion FAQ

Reproductive autonomy means you have the human-right-and-freedom to control your own fertility and make decisions about what you do with your body, to choose which directions in life are best for you personally-and-professionally now and in the future, and to prioritize all aspects of your own mental and physical health which you determine as necessary for developing and maintaining what you deem to be the most important qualities of life.
-- Randolf Richardson (September 28, 2024)

Is abortion ethical?

Yes. Abortion is ethical (except when the pregnant person's decision to get an abortion was coerced by other people, workplace policies, government rules/regulations/laws, etc.).

What is the best justification for getting an abortion?

The best justification for getting an abortion is the direct result of the pregnant person's free choice. Anyone else's opinions as to whether someone should or should not get an abortion are irrelevant by default.

Can all medical professionals be trusted?

Normally, yes. Trustworthy medical professionals strive to do the following:

ensure that every patient's consent is adhered to prior to:
1. undergoing any medical procedures (surgical or otherwise)
2. proceeding with lifestyle changes (diet, exercise, sleep schedule, etc.)
3. altering any prescription/non-prescription medications or professional treatment programmes
be proactive by encouraging regular medical checkups, annual blood tests, etc.
make suggestions and recommendations based on the best possible outcomes for patients, primarily by understanding what each patient:
1. needs: typically based on their current state of health, known family history of health, environmental factors, etc.
2. wants: with respect to their present and desired-future conditions of health
protect patient confidentiality
be impartial in helping patients make informed decisions about their health based on credible data that's supported by properly peer-reveiwed research and the positions of relevant professional medical establishments
defer to specialists as appropriate
particularly for complex matters, provide more comprehensive options by probing medical research and consulting knowledgeable colleagues

Medical professionals do important work to save lives and help patients maintain better life quality by eliminating or mitigating health problems with a wide array of preventive recommendations, treatments, and other health management options. If you have concerns about a medical professional's conduct, you can communicate your concerns to transparent government health authorities who normally have publicly-accountable investigative options at their disposal, and are qualified to recommend your next best course of action (including finding a different medical professional who is better-suited to working with you).

Do people who endure miscarriages need access to abortion procedures?

Yes, because they need to make sure their miscarriage completed properly, which helps tremendously to prevent the development of dangerous medical conditions, including, but not limited to:

excessive bleeding
postpartum hemorrhaging with severe bleeding, resulting from retained tissue preventing the uterus from contracting properly
uterine atony with severe bleeding, which refers to the uterus not contracting after delivery
sepsis, which is a potentially-lethal organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated response to infection
endometritis, which is an infectino of the uterine lining which may develop if bacteria enter the uterus during childbirth
anemia, wherein the body doesn't have enough red blood cells to carry oxygen and nutrients, which is usually caused by significant blood loss and/or insufficient iron
RPOC (Retained Products of Conception), which means that some fetal and/or placental tissue remains in the uterus
fever and/or chills, which usually accompanies infections
foul-smelling vaginal discharge
pain in the pelvis and/or abdomen
heart problems (various)
breathing difficulty
infertility (rare; long-term result)

If you endure any of the following symptoms during or after pregnancy, seek medical attention, which is essential, by contacting your Physician, Registered Nurse, Registered Nurse Practitioner, or Paramedics (normally by contacting Emergency Services):

prolonged bleeding after childbirth
passing large blood clots
fever or chills
foul-smelling vaginal discharge
persistent pain in the pelvis or lower abdomen
pain of any kind (a telephone-diagnosis may be sufficient in some circumstances, getting a sufficiently thorough checkup is still important)

Does a foetus feel pain during an abortion?

No, since sufficient anesthesia is administered to the foetus beforehand to permanently eliminate all possibility of sensation or awareness by fully inducing analgesia (pain relief), paralysis, amnesia, and unconsciousness, thus any seemingly-reactive movements are the result of independent reflexes.

Access to abortions in professionally-operated environments that are prepared in the same manner as medical birth/delivery environments is essential to protect the health and safety of the patient as well as all medical staff. The alternative of obtaining abortion services on the black market is just as dangerous as obtaining birth/delivery services on the black market due to the risk of black-market practitioners not adhering to the standards consistently required of properly licensed medical professionals.

What is the youngest age at which a person can get an abortion?

There is no age restriction -- if a person is pregnant, they have the right to get an abortion. (Unfortunately, there have been a few cases throughout human history of young children becoming pregnant, and then being forced to remain pregnant despite having just as much entitlement as adults to opt for getting an abortion.)

Do people feel regret after getting an abortion?

No, since most people who get abortions generally tend to feel a sense of relief and/or freedom.

Some extremist groups that promote "abortion prohbition" have been trying to use convoluted guilt trips to make people feel regret, instead of trying to be supportive, and many of those groups have been pushing false propaganda to incorrectly vilify abortion. Such efforts are often built upon a negative agenda to falsely stigmatize abortion while severely restricting the freedom of women, which ultimately fails because positive options like getting pregnant again and/or adopting are available to most people.

Can my religion forbid abortion?

No, because religions aren't substitutes for competent medical advice, and because human rights and freedoms take precedence over religious ideals.

Why don't foetuses have human rights?

A foetus is part of the pregnant person's body, so every pregnant person's human rights apply to the choices they make about their body. Attempts to assign a separate set of human rights to a portion of any person's body is illogical and unrealistic (politicians who succeed in outlawing abortion, even if only partially, are effectively enslaving pregnant people who don't want to be pregnant, which systemically violates their human rights).

Why don't babies have human rights?

Babies do have human rights, but this question is a red herring in the context of pregnancy because babies are not involved in abortions (abortions terminate pregnancies; not babies). This red herring is intended by anti-abortion advocates to introduce confusion and misinform people by conflating [post-birth] babies with [pre-birth] foetuses.

Why is the foetus not recognized as a separate being?

The foetus is part of the pregnant person's body, so the being to whom anti-abortion advocates refer is actually the pregnant person (it's easiest to understand this in terms of "her body, her choice").

Are pro-choice people playing semantics (word games) by using vocabulary like "foetus" instead of "baby" or "child" or "unborn?"

No. When a pregnant person refers to their foetus as a baby, they're expressing their intended ultimate outcome of birthing a baby in a colloquial manner. It's obvious that people mean foetus (or zygote, embryo, etc., depending on the stage in the pregnancy), and in the context of health concerns (pregnancy introduces a wide array of health risks, most of which can be mitigated with modern medicine and modern medical practises) and medical procedures (which is what an abortion is) the word "foetus" is the preferred terminology because it's accurate.

If an in-utero baby isn’t a human being, then what is it?

Babies are always ex-utero. However, an in-utero human foetus is not a distinctly separate human being because it hasn't been born, and because it's part of the pregnant person's body -- the only human being is the pregnant person, of which any in-utero zygotes, embryos, and foetuses included are natural livng parts.

If an in-utero human being isn’t alive, then why is it growing?

Human beings are always ex-utero. However, the growth of one or more in-utero human foetuses is a natural function of a living pregnant person's body, and each foetus therein is therefore alive.

Under what circumstances, if ever, is it acceptable to kill a human being?

In the context of abortion, which is life-saving healthcare, this question is not relevant. However, there are circumstances when killing a human being is acceptable, such as in the case of assisted dying (e.g., with appropriate professional medical care in the case of helping someone suffering from a constantly painful medical condition), in an act of self-defense (in circumstances where killing is the only viable option), etc.

Are anti-abortion laws ethical?

No, anti-abortion laws are a violation of human rights and freedoms. If there are anti-abortion laws in your country, please write letters to your local law-makers (anomymously if using your real name can create problems for you) to express your concerns and to recommend that abortion be protected as a human-right-and-freedom that's recognized as a normal medical procedure.

What's the categorical difference between anti-abortion laws and abortion laws?

Anti-abortion laws impose restrictions against the human-rights-and-freedoms of pregnant people to get abortions, or make it difficult or impossible for people to access-or-provide abortion services.

Abortion laws protect the human-rights-and-freedoms of pregnant people to get abortions, or make it easier for people to access-or-provide abortion services.

Why do so many people use abortion as a form of birth control?

Abortion can't be used as a form of birth control as it is actually a form of gestation control that's administered after conception. Birth control is administered prior to or during conception, and it's available in a variety of forms, the two most common of which are the use of contraceptives that are used during sexual intercourse, or the consumption of medication before-or-during the process of contraception.

Why is the anti-abortion/forced-birth position corrupt?

The anti-abortion/forced-birth position is corrupt because in modern, civilized societies the human-right-and-freedom to get an abortion is one of the fundamental aspects of preventing the enslavement of pregnant people who don't want to be human incubators.

Human slavery is a corrupt imposition because it inhumanely restricts its victims' freedom to make personal health decisions and it denies them control over their own bodies. This is the main reason that the anti-abortion/forced-birth (a.k.a., pro-life) position attempt to force pregnant people who want to get abortions to be human incubators, which is why it qualifies as "human slavery."

Does a contributor to a pregnancy have the right to prevent an abortion?

No, every pregnant person has the human-right-and-freedom to decide whether to undergo a normal medical procedure, which includes getting an abortion.

Can a pregnant person get an abortion without first consulting the biological father?

Whether the biological father knows about it beforehand is irrelevant. While informing the biological father of the outcome of a pregnancy is a considerate thing to do, it's also not required.

How can a society reduce abortion rates?

Promoting the use of contraceptives and providing proper sex education in a free and just society is the most reliable way to reduce the need for abortions. The typical anti-abortion/forced-birther solution of passing unethical laws that prohibit abortion results in people getting abortions in potentially-dangerous environments that may or may not be safe, clean, professional medical settings.