The mask of viability

Should viability of a foetus be the key argument of the abortion debate? Too often arguing about number of weeks thinly masks the agendas of groups who either want to outlaw abortion or argue for it’s extension or increased accessibility. Last time I wrote on abortion we were talking about whether we should talk so at least this timeit’s been discussed. Well kind of. In an article in the Guardian yesterday Kira Cochrane met the conservative MP Nadine Dorries who is leading the campaign for a reduction to 20 weeks. There was certainly no meeting of minds. Worse, there was little examination of either ‘side’s’ underlying assumptions. Cochrane wheeled out ‘women’s right to control her own body’ as if this statement self-evidently finished the debate; and Dorries implied that she had never been near a pregnancy crisis service to talk to women in the middle of one of the most difficult decisions in their lives.

Faced with the decision about whether to end a potential child or child’s life I’m not sure what a women’s ‘right’ to control her own body is. The phrase makes sense when talking about a woman (or man) not being sexually exploited or harassed, to wear what she (or he) wants to wear and to be able to pursue a life free from oppression. But a woman choosing to abort a foetus is making a decision to do with the potential life of another human and it is in this context, not that of their own rights, that most women make their choice. To take an extreme example when a woman is choosing whether to abort because of abnormalities they are not thinking about their own body, but their life and the life of their child after birth.

If it is true that Dorries hasn’t spent time with women deciding whether to abort or not, then it is staggering. It’s fine to blithely say ‘it can be adopted at birth’, but nine months of pregnancy and huge changes to your body will be difficult enough when you know you want a child and have a supportive partner. Imagine the emotions and conflicting feelings if you carry a child knowing you will give it up.

Everyone wants there to be less need for abortions. They are difficult and traumatic even at relatively early stages of pregnancy. Women and their partners need the very best help to think about the short and long term effects of their decision, whatever that is. They also need gracious and caring ongoing support. Those people that want to see unwanted babies carried to term before adoption need to work to make it a viable choice by offering superb practical, emotional and compassionate support through pregnancy and beyond.

To discuss one of the UK’s last taboos is good, but there is too much to do to spend our time arguing incessantly about viability.