Almost anything. Kate Manning reminds us of this in an op-ed in The New York Times, where she discusses some of the horrifying ways women have attempted to perform self-abortions.
If you've read even a little of the literature on the history of abortion, one knows a) that women have been attempting to control the number and spacing of their children for as long as women have gotten pregnant, b) before the contemporary era, abortion, in particular self-abortion, has been a dangerous and horrifying experience, and c) despite that, women have gone through hell to end pregnancies, often with tragedy as the result.
A cornerstone of the current American pro-life narrative is that women largely do not determine for themselves that they should have an abortion. Instead, pregnant women who have abortions are not murderers but are, like their 'unborn children,' victims to greedy 'abortion mills' and insensitive men-- husbands, boyfriends, etc.
So, for example, pro-lifers argue that being anti-abortion is a pro-woman stance, because the pro-choice way of thinking sells women a false bill of goods. Women are tricked by the pro-choice view (and by contemporary feminism in general) into thinking they are free and happy, when they are not. This rubs a lot of feminists the wrong way, as it implies that women lack the self-awareness and agency to make informed decisions about their own bodies and family planning.
To say that women can be pressured to make decisions against their interests by people close to them and the larger cultural atmosphere is not anathema to feminists, however. It is, in fact, one of the staples of second- and third-wave feminism-- for example, the toxic cultural push for women to be seen, and to see themselves, primarily as objects of sexual gratification. (For a great example of this kind of analysis, read Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture by Ariel Levy.)
Regardless, works like Manning's are useful correctives to a the tidy American pro-life narrative. Manning's op-ed demonstrates that many, many women, under all kinds of situations, have been determined to end their pregnancies:
Links:
Op-ed in The New York Times by Kate Manning (January 21, 2013): Leeches, Lye, and Spanish Fly
Books that provide information and context on self-abortion, and its consequences, include a pair by John M. Riddle, discussing historical methods of abortion and contraception, Eve's Herbs: A History of Contraception and Abortion in the West, and Contraception and Abortion from the Ancient World to the Renaissance.
Also worth reading are the narratives of pro-choice doctors; so many pro-choice doctors got involved in providing abortions because of what they witnessed as young doctors in training at hospitals, namely, women brought in injured, dying, or dead from botched abortions or self-abortions. A good book of this type is Doctors of Conscience: The Struggle to Provide Abortion Before and After Roe v. Wade.
If you've read even a little of the literature on the history of abortion, one knows a) that women have been attempting to control the number and spacing of their children for as long as women have gotten pregnant, b) before the contemporary era, abortion, in particular self-abortion, has been a dangerous and horrifying experience, and c) despite that, women have gone through hell to end pregnancies, often with tragedy as the result.
A cornerstone of the current American pro-life narrative is that women largely do not determine for themselves that they should have an abortion. Instead, pregnant women who have abortions are not murderers but are, like their 'unborn children,' victims to greedy 'abortion mills' and insensitive men-- husbands, boyfriends, etc.
So, for example, pro-lifers argue that being anti-abortion is a pro-woman stance, because the pro-choice way of thinking sells women a false bill of goods. Women are tricked by the pro-choice view (and by contemporary feminism in general) into thinking they are free and happy, when they are not. This rubs a lot of feminists the wrong way, as it implies that women lack the self-awareness and agency to make informed decisions about their own bodies and family planning.
To say that women can be pressured to make decisions against their interests by people close to them and the larger cultural atmosphere is not anathema to feminists, however. It is, in fact, one of the staples of second- and third-wave feminism-- for example, the toxic cultural push for women to be seen, and to see themselves, primarily as objects of sexual gratification. (For a great example of this kind of analysis, read Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture by Ariel Levy.)
Regardless, works like Manning's are useful correctives to a the tidy American pro-life narrative. Manning's op-ed demonstrates that many, many women, under all kinds of situations, have been determined to end their pregnancies:
What is most striking about this history of probes and poisons is that throughout all recorded time, there have been women so desperate to end a pregnancy that they were willing to endure excruciating pain and considerable risk, including infection, sterility, permanent injury, puncture and hemorrhage, to say nothing of shame and ostracism. Where abortion was illegal, they risked prosecution and imprisonment. And death, of course.Some women surely have been put in situations where they have been pressured to have an abortion, where they would have preferred to bring a child to term and receive support for that decision and its consequences. But there have also been many women, over time and across cultures, who have been determined to abort regardless of the wishes of others and the barriers in their way. The evidence is pretty clear that banning abortion does not eliminate abortions. It only increases the number of unsafe abortions and the difficulties of women already in difficult circumstances.
Links:
Op-ed in The New York Times by Kate Manning (January 21, 2013): Leeches, Lye, and Spanish Fly
Books that provide information and context on self-abortion, and its consequences, include a pair by John M. Riddle, discussing historical methods of abortion and contraception, Eve's Herbs: A History of Contraception and Abortion in the West, and Contraception and Abortion from the Ancient World to the Renaissance.
Also worth reading are the narratives of pro-choice doctors; so many pro-choice doctors got involved in providing abortions because of what they witnessed as young doctors in training at hospitals, namely, women brought in injured, dying, or dead from botched abortions or self-abortions. A good book of this type is Doctors of Conscience: The Struggle to Provide Abortion Before and After Roe v. Wade.
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