“Allowing a state to take control of a woman’s body is a fundamental deprivation of her liberty.”
— Julie Rikelman, Center for Reproductive Rights
It is supremely ironic that while some Catholic countries are leading the world in expanding abortion rights, some U.S. states have been restricting them, and the Supreme Court may soon end federal protections altogether.
After the initial briefing on Dec. 1, it appears certain that there is a 6-3 majority to uphold the Mississippi law limiting abortions at 15 weeks with exceptions for the mother’s health or fetal abnormalities, but no allowance for rape or incest. It is also possible that the justices will repeal Roe v. Wade entirely. A decision is not expected until June 2022.
According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, “Over 50 countries have liberalized their abortion laws in the past 25 years, including 20 countries that have removed complete abortion bans.” Only 17 nations now prohibit abortion completely, with no exceptions regarding the mother’s health, rape or incest.
Abortion rights expand in Latin America
In April 2007, the Mexico City government voted 46-19 to decriminalize abortion, the first city in Latin America (except Cuba) where elective abortions are now legal up to 12 weeks. In 2021, Mexico’s supreme court ruled that criminalizing abortion is unconstitutional, and, now under the nation’s federal system, Mexico’s states will now develop their own laws. The Guttmacher institute estimates “that 1,500 Mexican women die each year because of clandestine abortions.”
In 2007, a papal envoy sent to the Mexican capital before the vote declared that any Catholic legislator who supported the bill would be excommunicated, but a large majority ignored the threat and nothing came of it. Significantly, the pope has refused to honor some American bishops’ request to deny pro-choice Joe Biden the sacraments.
Other Latin American countries have recently legalized abortion. They are Argentina, French Suriname, Uruguay and Guyana. They now join majority Catholic nations in Europe: Ireland, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Austria, Portugal and Hungary. The cut-off points in these and other European countries average about 13 weeks.
El Salvador: Women released from prison
Not only have El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras and the Dominican Republic made abortion illegal under all circumstances, they also imprison those who choose to end their pregnancies. After weeks of protests by abortion rights groups, the government of El Salvador recently released three women who were serving 30-year sentences after being charged for causing their own miscarriages.
Mississippi law not like Europe
Attorneys defending the Mississippi law point out that most European countries, just as the Catholic ones above, prohibit elective abortions after 12 weeks on average, so 15 weeks exceeds that. (They forgot Iceland’s 22 weeks and Sweden’s 18.) They also argue only 2 percent of abortions are performed after 15 weeks. They then conclude that Mississippi is well within international norms.
These lawyers have neglected to acknowledge crucial differences between Europe and the U.S. The key word is “elective’’ — those cases in which the woman can, within the weeks indicated above, choose to abort without giving any reasons. Within this time period, as British hospitals tell women, “the decision for an abortion is yours alone,” and no one, even parents or partners, need to be informed.
‘Therapeutic’ abortions in Europe
“Therapeutic” abortions are allowed with medical permission, and the cut-off points for these are much later in Europe. The conditions are threat to mother’s life, fetal abnormalities and pregnancies that were determined to be the result of rape or incest. In 14 European countries, the woman’s “social or economic circumstances” allow doctors to “consider the potential impact of pregnancy and childbearing” (http://maps.reproductiverights.org).
Experts on European law filed an amicus brief against the Mississippi law. Including therapeutic abortions, they show that “abortion is permitted through at least 22 weeks of pregnancy in 37 states and through 18-21 weeks in a further three.” Similar to the U.S., the United Kingdom (excluding Northern Ireland) allows abortions after 24 weeks if “the mother’s life is at risk or the child would be born with a severe disability.”
The law professors conclude that adopting Mississippi’s law “would place the U.S. at odds with the overwhelming consensus on abortion rights in Europe.” Furthermore, they refute the Mississippi attorneys’ claim that European countries recognize that the fetus has a right to life. This is nowhere indicated in the European Convention on Human Rights.
Easy access to abortion in Europe
European women can go to their local hospitals and schedule their abortion, and they usually pay nothing for the procedure. In contrast, U.S. law prohibits the use of federal funds to pay for abortions, and this restriction hurts poor women the most, who rely on Medicaid for their health care. In 2019, the Trump administration withdrew federal family planning funds from 900 clinics and offered to restore the money only if they stopped ending pregnancies.
Only one-third of American abortions take place in hospitals. One major reason for this is that, according to the Fuller Project, “the number of secular hospitals fell between 2001 and 2016, but the number of Catholic hospitals rose by 22 percent.” The most recent data indicate that 41 percent of American abortions are performed by Planned Parenthood, which has been hounded by anti-abortionists for decades.
Ready access to abortions is somewhat restricted in Catholic countries in Europe. Only five of 17 Spanish states allow abortions, even though they are legal, at their public hospitals. The percentage of hospitals in Italy is higher (60), but still doctors have the right to be conscientious objectors in both countries.
In Norway, according to its health ministry, “all doctors must be prepared to refer patients to abortion clinics even if the willful termination of a pregnancy runs counter to their own beliefs.” Even in Ireland, the government has made it clear that “it will not be possible for publicly-funded hospitals to opt out of providing these necessary services.”
Ireland repeals strict abortion laws
There are many tragic stories that finally led to the repeal, by a 66 percent vote of the Irish people, one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe. Under the title “Her Heart Was Beating, Too,” Sarah Wildman writes about Savita Halappanavar, who came to an Irish hospital in 2012. She was just about to lose her 17-week-old fetus, and she was in immediate danger of dying. The doctor refused to intervene because the fetus still had a heartbeat. Needless to say, both of them died.
Poland: ‘Her Heart Was Beating, Too’
The only major European country where abortion is not allowed is Poland, but large protests have taken place urging the government to liberalize reproductive laws. A digitized pregnancy register is being established that will allow the government to surveil expectant mothers.
The Polish Supreme Court recently ruled that fetal defects could not be a reason for an abortion. Protesters displaying the banners such as “Her Heart Was Beating, Too,” are referring to the case of a 30-year-old woman who died of septic shock after doctors refused to remove her defective fetus (known from previous scans) because it still had a heartbeat.
If Roe v. Wade falls, is this the future of pregnant women in “pro-life” states whose lives will not be respected or protected? Do we really want to join the 17 nations who care so little about women’s rights?
Nick Gier of Moscow taught philosophy and religion at the University of Idaho for 31 years. He was coordinator of religious studies from 1980 to 2003. Read his article on abortion at webpages.uidaho.edu/ngier/abortion.htm. Email him at ngier006@gmail.com.