As a part of V-February’s month-long programming, this Saturday will feature a performance of a piece entitled "The Abortion Monologues." The Center for Gender and Student Engagement’s website describes the performance as a series of monologues in which 23 women “reveal the details of their lives, families and relationships as they tell the stories of their abortions.” In my opinion, the purpose of this event is misguided at best. From my understanding, it seems that the performance is intended to destigmatize and promote abortion as an option. Frankly, as a future physician, I find this alarming — even from a purely medical standpoint. As far as I can tell, it seems the focus of the debate on abortion is no longer primarily arguing whether a fetus is a human life. The nature of the debate has shifted to address the question of whose life should take precedence — the mother’s or the child’s.
In particular, what disturbs me most about conversations surrounding abortion is that it is becoming increasingly difficult to sift through the scientific literature and separate facts from political agendas. Some studies, for example, have suggested that having an abortion is safer than carrying a pregnancy to term. If you look closely at many of the studies that make these claims, however, you find that there are often fundamental flaws in the methodology. Only 27 states require providers to report postabortion complications, and most electronic medical records systems make it difficult — if not impossible — to track when a woman comes in to the emergency room because of a complication from an attempted abortion. Moreover, when you take the same data from these studies and bracket out death by homicide and pre-existing conditions, you find that carrying a pregnancy to term is often not only as safe but actually safer than having an abortion.
Taking a critical look at the facts, the idea that there are no consequences of abortion is a myth. Whether it’s a physical complication such as cramping or hemorrhaging, or a psychiatric or emotional complication, the aftermath of abortion is real and can be harmful, even dangerous.A study conducted by scientists from the University of Manitoba found that a woman who chooses abortion is more likely to attempt suicide within a year compared to a woman who carries her child to term. Though correlation does not necessarily imply causation, this statistic is nonetheless sobering. Moreover, in an exit interview conducted on women who had abortions in a separate study, as many as 64 percent of American women expressed that they felt pressured into having the abortion. A campaign called “Silent No More” took off in 2002, fueled by women who sought healing after their abortions and wanted to prevent other women from making the same decision. Today, the “Silent No More” campaign has nearly 2,000 testimonies on their website written by women who regret their abortions.
What this information means is that we are not meeting the needs of these women. When a woman has a crisis pregnancy, what she needs most is support. When a woman has had an abortion, what she needs most is healing. I find it heartbreaking that there is no medical follow-up to abortion — we’re taking women who often feel scared and alone, adding another pain to their souls and then sending them off as if we solved their problems.
Whether they intend to be or not, events such as The Abortion Monologues are a mockery and a distraction from the underlying issues. I sincerely urge each of you, as intelligent, compassionate human beings and future leaders of our world, to think critically about these issues — and about your participation in events such as The Abortion Monologues. Educate yourselves, seek the truth and respect the dignity of your fellow human beings. The future of our society depends on each of our choices.
Ana Maria Dumitru is a guest columnist, a M.D./Ph.D. candidate at Geisel School of Medicine and the co-founder of Geisel Med Students For Life.
