Another Country, Columbia, Decriminalizes Abortion


Every few months another country in Central and South America decriminalizes abortion. Today it is Columbia. If anti-abortion operatives thought their notion of the fetus as a "baby" would catch on with such force it would eliminate demand for abortion it is not happening. Columbia has joined Mexico, Argentina and Chile in making abortion legally available.

That is not to say it is always easy to get an abortion in these countries. There are still doctors who get away with refusing. Poor women there, like here in the U.S. have less access.

These efforts by the church to persuade doctors not to provide abortions is countered by women's right organizations that operate in rural and poor areas. One in Mexico, started in 1990. It has been distributing abortion medication for decades. Such groups in Mexico are mobilizing to get these drugs to women in the U.S. border states such as Texas. This organization of women in Mexico which has been providing underground abortion drugs for 30 years is an example of the determinization of women (and their supporters among men) to retain access to abortion. There is no sign this determination has cooled in the least. 

Looking back over the decades it is clear the cost of not having an abortion has gone up. Decades ago women most often married and did not have careers outside the home. This mean childbirth did not affect household income very much. We know today giving birth is more likely to harm careers of women. This is why the determination to have access to abortion is as great or greater than it ever has been. Higher costs caused by travel, ultrasound, waiting periods and all the other silly laws passed by legislatures have raised the cost of an abortion. Yet the cost of not having one continues to be several times more.

No doubt women are the ones who changed the politics in Columbia, Chile, Argentina and Mexico. They are a political force because they represent something men in politics and law were not ready for. My guess is men in anti abortion politics in those countries as well as in the U.S. talked to their wives and a few friends and decided they understood the politics of women voters. Country by country they are learning it is a new day and anti abortion will not prevail at all time and in every location.

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