Choice

It's amazing what happens when you take some time to think about something (really, I encourage everyone to try it!). I was thinking about what might happen if elective abortions were suddenly made illegal in Utah.

I think that there would be a lot of desperate women who really feel like abortion is their only choice seeking other methods of ending their pregnancies. I'm not using this as a justification for allowing abortions, but I think before we make something illegal we need to think out the consequences of doing so.

M.A. commented in my earlier post on the abortion bill that ideally people would always be conscientious and responsible, but that real life doesn't always work that way. I don't know what the statistics are on abortions in Utah or why women seek an abortion, but obviously there must be women who feel like it is their only choice. I'm disgusted that there are still insurance companies who will pay for drugs like viagra but not birth control.

So, it seems to me, that before we go banning something, we ought to work a little harder to reduce demand for it. Spend the 2-4 million dollars on education and health care reform so that all women in utah know what their options are, and that those options are accessible to everyone. Reduce the demand for abortions, give women options and information, then talk about challenging Roe vs. Wade.

Until all women in Utah have some basic level of sex education and accessible options for pregnancy prevention, banning abortion would only shift the procedure into a much less-safe black market.