The ugly side of abortion

to its controversial nature. Intellectuals, scientists, philosophers and societies in general, have been in disagreement as to when a pregnancy should be awarded recognition or the right to be protected and allowed an opportunity for a child to be born.
Is a foetus less of a child than an embryo is a baby? What about human rights; the right to choose?
As it is the process with such things, lawmakers in countries all over the world had no choice but to consider the issue.
Some countries, including South Africa decided to legalise the practice, but a handful, including those from the West, refuse to legalise it.
Under the Namibian law, abortion remains illegal.
However, provisions are provided allowing for a woman in particular circumstances to have an abortion.
Such circumstances include pregnancy which results from rape or incest, where the pregnancy carries life-threatening complications for either mother or child; or where the foetus is proven to have a genetic coding which will lead to severe mental or physical defects.
And, even in cases such as this, three medical doctors have to be in agreement, and such procedures are done under strict medical supervision as our laws stipulate.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum we have women who, for one reason or the other, find themselves pregnant and it is not to their convenience.
Such women and activists who are in support thereof, argue and put pressure on governments to legalise abortion in order to create more ease for the modern woman.
When it comes to abortion, often the humanity of the unborn is questioned.
So far, science has not been able to give us significant evidence to pinpoint out the exact point upon which life begins.
When do we as human beings become aware of our existence? The main function of our brain is self-preservation. In other words, the need to stay alive, which is often reflected in our competitive nature and is engraved in our DNA.
Some philosophers go as far as arguing that life begins the moment one is conceived.
It has been argued and almost agreed that abortion is permitted (in states where abortion is legal) up to three months into the pregnancy . . . Well, the other day I went to see my health specialist for a full body check-up, and was hooked onto a SCANIO machine, and one of the things the machine picked up was the fact that, while my mother was three weeks pregnant with me, I suffered some form of trauma.
Does this mean that I was aware of my existence enough to feel threatened at such an early stage of my development? How then is the three-month period justified?
It is no secret that failure to legalise abortion does not come without consequences . . . Baby dumping has recorded its highest figures yet, and continues to be on the increase.
Illegal abortion “centres” are now becoming better financed and “socially protected”, as the number of clients and their need within our cycles increase.
Whether unwanted pregnancies lead to unwanted children, which in turn result in battered and abused children still remains uncertain.
This is mainly due to the fact that some women have genuinely proven to fall in love with their babies once they are born.
We have seen this in many cases where the woman agrees to give a child up for adoption, but once that child is born, a greater bond develops and she is not able to give the child up.
Unfortunately, this is not always the case, as some mothers, and even fathers, turn their little ones into punching bags and objects of humiliation.
Would not being born than be a better preference? But then again, will abortion make an abuser less of an abuser?
Many arguments and justifications have been put forth as to why abortion should be legalised, and while many have been dismissed, one that seems to remain persistent is that of human rights and the right to choose.
It has often been argued that it is part of women’s rights to choose whether or not to do whatever to her bodies; that abortion is a private matter in which the government should not be allowed to interfere.
Abortion is not only beneficial to a country for social reasons, but also for economical reasons.
We will all agree that the taxpayer would much rather have parents take financial responsibility for their own offspring, or should rather not bring them into this world.
All the same, abortion is not without serious health and life-threatening complications.
For example, it has been medically proven that women who have abortions are less likely to have successful pregnancies in future.
They are known to suffer from conditions such as bladder injury, bowl injury, an increase in their chances of developing breast cancer, become more prone to ectopic pregnancies, suffer from placenta previa, to mention a few.
It is also medically believed that babies born to women who have had abortions are twice as likely to die in the first few months of their lives.
Failed abortions and infections are also another concern, as these often result in death.
Then there is the post-abortion syndrome which is suffered by a large number of women after the procedure. But even with such serious side-effects, women still remain keen to take the risk.
Women, particularly the young, have resorted to home-made abortion kits, all of which are too risky and dangerous to mention on this platform.
Those that can afford it simply make the short trip to South Africa for the invasive procedure.
Unfortunately, the highest number of unwanted pregnancies is to be found amongst our youth.
Teenage pregnancy seems to be a problem that is becoming more popular.
SIs it that our youths are not educated enough about safe sex? Or is it that risky sexual curiosity is higher amongst the youth, and if so, what can be a solution thereto?
When such youths find themselves in situations such as this, abortion becomes a much more tempting option for them; not because the baby is not wanted, but because of what their peers and neighbours will think of them, and often most of these teens will end up dropping out of school due to fear of prejudice.
But at the same time, what dangers will we creating if we start providing a safe haven or (too much) tolerance within our schools for pregnant teens?
Some people argue that by keeping abortion illegal, this will increase the use of condoms, especially amongst young people, and this in itself will have a decreasing effect on the ever rising HIV and Aids epidemic.
Under the law of persons, our Namibian law does not recognise a foetus as a “person”, thus refuses to grand it rights as such, yet, our law maintains its position against legalising abortion.
A little contradiction perhaps? Others will stipulate that it’s simply a means for the government to control our population growth.
Will this than mean that if our population was to skyrocket with healthy offspring, then the government will reconsider on making abortion legal?
Look at China, for example. Would it be logical to limit the number of children a couple may have, yet keep abortion illegal?
Having said that, however, one should not forget that another danger that comes with legalising abortion is an increase in forced abortions, which will undoubtedly trigger an increase in gender-based violence, and this in turn would prove to be unimaginably destructive to our societies.
Science has, however, not been unsympathetic. Scientists, like many of us, understand that sexual interactions cannot be fully avoided, and as such provided us with remedies such as the morning after pill, condoms and many other family planning pharmaceuticals.
But even with such a wide range of options, a large number of women still find themselves at a point where abortion becomes their only way out . . .
Is all this simply ignorance at its best?
l Victoria Naunyango, is a singer with the group Vanity in Namibia and has a passion for writing.