Abortion. The removal of an embryo or foetus, thus terminating a pregnancy. That’s the definition of the word by Merriam-Webster, Oxford and Mayo Clinic. Not a baby. An embryo.

When it comes to the big ‘A’ word, people always have an opinion, even when they think they don’t. They’re either pro-life, which means they consider the embryo to be a sacred life form, deserving of the same respect as any other child or adult human being, or pro-choice, which means they support the right for individuals to get abortions. Now, at first glance, both sides seem equally appealing. Pro-life protests killing, so they can’t be all that bad, right?

Wrong.

As much as I would like to end the argument by stating that the life of an already-alive human being is more important than that of something that is yet to be considered a life-form, this topic deserves a more…sensitive hand when being dealt with. The root of the abortion debate lies in whether a male-dominated society thinks a woman is deserving of the right to do what she wants with her body. So let’s begin by examining another topic that makes people uncomfortable- misogyny.

“The abortion debate is more about power and control than the fate of a zygote.” 

– Thor Benson, author

Ever since men discovered they could own land and animals, women and female bodies have always gotten the short end of the stick. The agricultural revolution relegated women to the position of property, to be bought and sold like cattle, used as breeders to strengthen one’s lineage. While society has made leaps and strides in women’s rights since then thanks to movements like feminism, bodily autonomy is still something available to only a privileged few.

As a person with a uterus, I’ve been very interested in my country’s legislation regarding the topic of abortion, in the case that– god forbid– I would find myself in a position to have to choose. While it isn’t perfect, Indian laws around medically terminated pregnancies aren’t all that oppressive. It’s legal and can be performed by a licensed professional at private and government hospitals up to 24 weeks post conception. Then why on earth are India’s maternal mortality rates so high?

While abortion IS legal, it’s an unspeakable word in Indian society. Of course, this is to expect from a society that regards women’s sexuality as taboo and unholy. When broached, this subject evokes raised eyebrows and pursed lips. For many women, medical termination of pregnancy is too expensive a procedure, and because of the stigma surrounding the topic, they’re less likely to ask for help. This doesn’t in any way mean that they don’t go through with the abortion. Unsafe abortions end up killing 13 Indian women everyday. Some would argue the simple solution to this would be to just stop having them, which I find to be an incredibly privileged and ignorant view to have.

In a country where violence against women is rampant, thousands of victims of rape, abuse, child sexual assault and human trafficking are impregnated against their will. These women and girls most likely have no means to support the child and all the responsibility that come with being a mother. Forcing her to carry out the unwanted pregnancy to full term will have devastating consequences on her mental and physical health, and the resulting child will probably end up uncared for and neglected. This is something pro-lifers seem to conveniently overlook in their crusade aganst abortion.

“How can we talk about the rights of a fertilized egg when we don’t care enough to see that every child is born into a stable, safe, and nurturing environment?” 

– Rebecca Warner, Moral Infidelity

To create a human from inside one’s own body is nothing short of a miracle, and having children is a dream millions of people share. However, not everyone who becomes a parent, wants to become one. Conversely, not everyone who wants to become a parent, can. People could try for years to get pregnant, only to have their pregnancies miscarry due to health complications. Medically terminating a pregnancy can cause immense trauma to expecting mothers. In many situations, an abortion is neccessary to keep the mother alive.

India having one of the highest rates of female infanticide in the world puts us in a unique position here. Due to archaic gender roles and customs, girl children are looked at as losses to the family, and boys as assets. Boys have better career opportunities; boys can carry on the family name; boys bring pride to the bloodline. Girls are expected to know how to flip rotis before they loose all their baby teeth. Girls are expensive, as the system of dowry requires the bride’s family to pay the groom’s family a hefty sum of money and valuables. Girls are unlikely to be sent to school or continue their education once they reach puberty because every second that they are unmarried dips into their father’s coffers. This is a social and cultural problem that requires levels of unlearning toxic bigotry, and in my opinion de-stigmatising abortion would do little to impact it.

It almost seems like abortions are procedures that will happen whether or not they are legalised and made accessible to the public, and the only thing that differs is whether millions of women die due to criminal negligence or have their safety taken into consideration.

And now, to address the elephant in the room. The question and subsequent implications every woman dreads when they enter the gynaecologist’s office. “Are you married?”

The assumption that single women live out lives devoid of sex until marriage is infantile and incredibly ignorant. Yes, women are sexually active and use contraceptives, and yes, sometimes contraceptives fail. And yes, these situations are extremely stressful for the people involved. Some people go ahead with the pregnancy, and end up with a child at the end of it. But for some, maybe a business woman at a pivotal moment in her career or a college student after an unfortunate one-night stand, having a child isn’t something they can or even want to afford. Either way, forcing your opinion on someone because of religious, moral or spiritual beliefs is problematic. Moral policing is something women have had to endure for centuries, having every choice of ours examined under the violating eyes of the patriarchy. The least we could get is control over our own bodies.

“Women deserve better than propaganda and lies to get into panties. Propaganda and lies to get into office, to get out of court, to get out of paying child support. Get out of our decisions and give us back our voice. Women deserve better; women deserve choice.”

– Sonya Lee Taylor, women’s rights activist and poet

“If we make it legal, people would have abortions all the time.” Well, abortions DO happen all the time, 15.6 million a year in India alone. Women don’t go through an incredibly personal, emotionally-scarring, expensive, dangerous and invasive procedure that they are shamed for every step of the way out of boredom. And even if they do, it really isn’t anybody else’s choice to make or judge.

Amidst all this chaos one has to ponder, if men could get pregnant too, would the abortion debate cease to exist?