1 in 4 pregnancies ends in abortion?

[MultiBird]

Reading the BBC article about the US ruling, it says that in the US 1 in 6 pregnancies ends in abortion, which I thought seemed very high, but I looked it up and it's 1 in 4 in UK.

I'd fight very hard indeed if anyone challenged a woman's right to choose here, but isn't that very high? Is there some truth in the argument that it's being used as contraception? I've heard it said before and dismissed it as ridiculous but 25%?!

Bear with me a sec and I'll post the links.

I trust women to do the right thing with their body. If abortion is right for them then that is the right thing.

Another thing to remember is we have falling birth rates so the number of pregnancies which end in a termination is an odd statistic to use.

Of course the man in the situation is irresponsible and reckless, I take a very dim view of men that don't want children but continue to have unprotected sex with women whom they know aren't on contraception, thinking that because it's not them carrying the pregnancy it doesn't matter and absolves him of all responsibility.

I don't think people like the woman I mentioned are an argument against abortions no. I disagree completely with what's going on in the US. I don't want abortion banned. I just wish people who are capable of avoiding the unwanted pregnancies would try to.

I agree.
A colleague of mine, very well educated, very affluent, uses abortion as contraception. She’s had late abortions where she’s had to go into a clinic, been harassed etc, taken pills at home, been in pain. I just don’t get it. Why you would put yourself through it when you could just take a pill or use a condom? She’s been married for decades and her DH goes with her- don’t get it from either side. He worships her, so why he would put her through this over using a condom I don’t know. They insist they want to use the withdrawal method…

What are you talking about with the "troll" ?

Believe it or not there are some, a minority perhaps but some nevertheless, who think abortion shouldn't be seen as a cake walk.

Taking a pill is not a late abortion

I trust women to do the right thing for themselves without requiring them to self flagellate first

A very quick Google tells me there were 210,860 abortions and 613,936 live births in 2020. So yes I say the figures are right as this doesn’t include any miscarriages.

I am truly shocked the abortion figure is so high though.

Good, I hope hope you're as quick to jump to the defence of women on here who are told they are stupid/selfish for continuing their pregnancies then.

Haven’t RTFT, but presumably women get accidentally pregnant because they don’t have access to reliable contraception, or due to a contraception failure.

I can’t imagine women get pregnant thinking oh, never mind, I’ll get an abortion, it’s an awful, traumatic decision to have to make.

Access to free, reliable contraception is necessary and many women don’t have that access.

If she can 'just take a pill' to prevent pregnancy, she can 'just take two pills' to terminate pregnancy. Unless it's a moral issue for you I don't see the difference.

Oh bore off.

Not agreeing with some people's cavalier attitudes to contraception and abortion doesn't make me a troll.

I can see why you might think that way though, voices like mine are in the minority here.

Does the overall total include conceptions that end in early miscarriage? I conceived and miscarried at 5 weeks. I had called the midwife but hadn't had an appointment yet. Surely this is as a percentage of conceptions that progress to a certain point to be officially counted which changes the statistic.

Nope, I give no weight to the decision, anymore than I give wait, to quote a pp, to wanking. Or any contraception that allows fertilisation but not implantation.

If it is as you say which still is a perfectly valid reason to make an autonomous decision and women can not be arsed with contraception how do you imagine their parenting journey will be?

It's very interesting how many anti abortionists know women who use abortion as contraception.

For all I know, I also do but funnily enough, it's not something women tend to chat about in the office

I think less woman than you would think do the hand-wringing, self-flagellating thing. I know that's how we're supposed to act, but I don't think it's the truth.

I am actually and I have done frequently in the past. I'm pro choice, which means I believe fundamentally in a woman's right to choose whether to continue a pregnancy or not, regardless of whether her mother thinks she shouldn't, or her boyfriend thinks she shouldn't etc.

And I believe the right to choose to have or not have an abortion should require no more self flagellation than the right to choose to have a coil, or to choose to take or quit a job, or to choose which country to live in etc.

I’m getting so sick of these opinions - and so often from women.

‘I’m pro-choice - but - I really don’t like women just running around having abortions’.

Honestly - there are not enough 🙄 in the world.

Someone else’s abortion impacts on you in no way at all. It’s nothing to do with you. It’s none of your business.

If someone gets pregnant and doesn’t want to have a baby, that impacts on you in no way at all. Pressuring or forcing someone to have a baby they don’t want - because irrelevant you think they should really have it - is not the way forward.

Keep your beak out of it.

Why is it any of your business if a woman wants an abortion? You’re tried to frame this like you’re supportive of women’s rights, but also trying to get everyone to agree that 25% means something is wrong.
If it doesn’t impact you then don’t worry about it.

I don’t care why a woman or girl chooses to have an abortion or if that number reaches 75% of pregnancies, as long as she has access to a safe abortion.

I haven’t read all of the thread but saw the figures about a higher percentage of women seeking abortion are older.
Why is it that women still have to fight tooth and nail to be sterilised ?
Why is it that the medical profession feel they can make that decision on our behalf not to proceed.
I had to argue very strongly to be sterilised- my body was broken from childbirth x 2 , there was no way I wanted another. And still the male consultant tried to persuade me that I might get divorced and want another child. I got may way but he only agreed with reluctance.

I do find the figure of 1 in 4 pregnancies ending in abortion desperately sad. There’s trauma for everyone involved, I’m sure.