In California, the average cost of a medical abortion is $306. In some states, the cost may be low or even free. The cost of the abortion pill depends on where the woman lives. Abortion is not covered by Medicaid in 34 states and the District of Columbia, except cases of rape, incest, or where the woman’s life is in danger. If they have children, they need to find someone to look after them. If they have a job, they need to take time off. They have to travel, often for hours, to find a provider. According to the Guttmacher Institute, 38% of women in the United States aged 15 to 44 live in a county without an abortion clinic.
Restrictive abortion laws compound the existing problem of a dearth of abortion clinics, especially in rural areas. The first would be meaningful access to abortion in the first trimester. I’d be happy to go along with such a ban if, but only if, certain conditions accompanied it. What would be the harm of accepting a legal ban on abortion after 15 weeks? So, should pro-choice advocates be willing to accept a ban on elective abortions after 15 weeks? After all, most abortions in the United States ( 92.2%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) take place at or before 13 weeks. This may not be entirely consistent with the view that a new human being, with a right to life, comes into existence at conception, or with the view that fetuses at all stages of development lack moral and legal status, but there it is. For this reason, it inspires the same feelings of protectiveness. A late-gestation fetus looks a lot like a newborn and has most of its characteristics, including an ability to experience pain. He’s right that most Americans, whether they are pro-life or pro-choice, regard late abortions as morally more problematic than early ones. I do not dispute Professor Shields’ premises. If only both sides were willing to compromise, maybe we could put the abortion issue to rest! Shields also suggests that the current battle is between those who support absolute bans and those who support unregulated access.
This is because of a common moral intuition that predisposes most people “to feel more protective of a fetus as it begins to resemble a newborn.” Thus, pro-choice arguments have more weight early in pregnancy and less as the pregnancy develops.
Wade, most are also in favor of restricting abortion to the first trimester. He bases his proposal on the fact that, while most Americans say they support Roe v. Shields suggests that pro-choice advocates should be willing to live with a 15-week limit on access to abortion. In a recent New York Times essay, “A Hard but Real Compromise Is Possible on Abortion,” Jon A. Share: Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email this Post Published On: OctoNovemPosted in Hastings Bioethics Forum