Safety

Studies show that abortion is actually very safe. Upadhyay, U. D. PhD et al. (2015) suggest that major complications from abortion occur in less than 0.25% of procedures. To put this in perspective, this is about the same frequency of complications as for colonoscopies. and less frequent than complications for wisdom tooth removal and tonsillectomy. Moreover, the same states that have implemented restrictive abortion laws or bans have some of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the U.S., and the consequences will disproportionately affect Black women and other people of color (Population Reference Bureau, 2021). Already, Black women are three times more likely than white women to die during childbirth or shortly after. In a report by the research foundation Commonwealth Fund, Declercq et al. (2022) wrote that states with "restricted access to abortion services had maternal death rates in 2020 that were 62% higher than in states preserving access to abortion services. Between 2018 and 2020, the maternal death rate increased twice as fast in states that now have abortion restrictions."

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A particularly striking fear in the wake of the Dobbs v. Jackson decision is that "women are increasingly at risk of receiving inadequate care following miscarriages, which are common and can be incomplete, meaning that pregnancy-related tissues (eg, fetal and placental tissues) are not completely expelled from the uterus. Removing the remains of the failed pregnancy is often essential to protect the health and life of the woman, but a growing number of reports that indicate providers are hesitating to provide such care because they fear being implicated in abortion," (Sellers & Nirappil, 2022).​

Illegal = Less Abortions

This is one of the main debates in the pro-choice versus pro-life discussion. Some say that providing more support for parents–such as paid family leave or more child care options–expanding sex education, and making it easier to place children for adoption into good homes would be an effective way to reduce the need for abortions. Others insist that making abortions illegal will accomplish this goal. A 2017 study purported, "Evidence shows that restricting access to abortions does not reduce the number of abortions; however, it does affect whether the abortions that women and girls attain are safe. The proportion of unsafe abortions are significantly higher in countries with highly restrictive abortion laws than in countries with less restrictive laws," (Ganatra, B. Et al.)

Regret

Whether or not a woman regrets her decision to have an abortion is entirely personal and individual. For more than 10 years, Dr. Foster tracked the experiences of women who'd received abortions and those who had been denied them in order to study on the affects of abortion on mental and physical health. The Turnaway Study research team "regularly interviewed each of nearly 1,000 women for five years and found those who'd been denied abortion experienced worse economic and mental health outcomes than the cohort that received care. And 95% of study participants who received an abortion said they made the right decision," (Burbank, M, & Kwong, E. 2022).

Religion

It is no secret that the most tumultuous division in the abortion debate comes down to whether it is a religious or not. Today, Americans are more diverse than ever including race, gender, religion, and backgrounds. All perspectives are "protected equally under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which protects the fundamental right to hold religious beliefs of one’s choosing while ensuring that the government remains neutral when it comes to matters of faith," (Percival, Nov. 2021). But is the government remaining neutral in the matter of outlawing abortion?

"A Mississippi state representative who co-authored the 15-week abortion ban being challenged in the Supreme Court this term in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization asserted in her defense of the ban that she 'believes that children are a gift from God.' Several of her colleagues in the Mississippi House of Representatives have likewise invoked their personal religious views in the discussion about abortion," (Percival, Nov. 2021). So, I ask again...is the government neutral or is it prioritizing one group's religious beliefs over others? It seems that separation of church and state is only a valid argument for those who want the state to stay out of religion. One can agree with a woman's right to bodily autonomy without supporting abortion. In fact, you can outright condemn abortion and still purport that all humans deserve the right to decide what is best for their own bodies.

Privacy

This argument allows one to agree with a woman's right to bodily autonomy and privacy without actually supporting abortion. In fact, one can outright condemn abortion and still purport that all people deserve the right to decide what is best for their own bodies. In Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decided that the right to privacy implied in the 14th Amendment protected abortion as a fundamental right," (Roe v. Wade and Supreme Court Abortion Cases, Sep. 2022) However, after the Dobbs v. Jackson decision, the concern regarding privacy now hinges on the 4th Amendment.

As new laws come down from state governments, we can anticipate that health care providers and covered entities will experience a conflict between their obligations to produce health information when compelled by law and their longstanding obligations to protect physician-patient confidentiality and prevent inappropriate access to protected health information (PHI) that could be used to intimidate and prosecute patients and health practitioners (Clayton, Embí, Malin. 2023).