Leila Hessini, Ipas, in one of her articles “Abortion Stigma is Simply Discrimination: Here Is How We Get Rid of It”, mentions that abortion sigma is a mechanism of social control used to dehumanize and devalue women who need or decide, to terminate pregnancies.

Now here came the question, “Why is abortion stigmatized?”

  1. Abortion Is Stigmatized Because It Violates “Feminine Ideals” of Womanhood                                                                                                              Abortion violates two fundamental ideals of womanhood: Nurturing motherhood and sexual purity. Abortion, therefore, is stigmatized because it is evidence that a woman has had “non procreative” sex and is seeking to exert control over her own reproduction and sexuality.
  2. Abortion Is Stigmatized by Attributing Personhood to the Fetus                    Technological advancement – fetal photography, ultrasound, advances in care for preterm  infants, fetal surgery – have facilitated personification of the fetus.
  3. Abortion Is Stigmatized Because of Legal Restrictions                                                     Even today 26 percent of women live in countries where abortion is legally restricted and many more live in places where they have to justify their abortion. Legal restrictions (e.g., parental consent requirements, gestational limits, waiting periods, and mandated ultrasound viewing) which make it more difficult for women to obtain abortions and reinforce the notion that abortion is morally wrong.
  4. Abortion Is Stigmatized Because It Is Viewed as Dirty or Unhealthy                               Anti – abortion forces accuses abortion as dirty, illicit, and harmful procedure to the women. Now day’s technological advancement had made abortion as one of the safest procedure but unfortunately it is still practiced unsafely in some places especially where abortion is illegal.
  5. Abortion Is Stigmatized Because Anti-Abortion Forces Have Found it to be a Powerful Tool                                                                                                                  The anti – abortion forces uses cultural barriers, religious faith, beliefs and norms in stigmatizing abortion. They demotivate women and create a vicious cycle of emotional and spiritual instability related to abortion enforcing them to seek abortion less frequently regardless of its legal restrictions.

Abortion stigma has such a strong impact that no one related to abortion i.e. either woman who seeks abortion, supporters of abortion and/or health personnel providing abortion can’t remain away from it. One should understand that criminalizing abortion or stigmatizing it doesn’t decrease the incidence of abortion; instead it motivates clandestine and unsafe abortions threatening the lives of thousand millions women.

References:

 World Health Organization. (2011). Unsafe abortion Global and regional estimates of the incidence of unsafe abortion and associated mortality (sixth ed.). Geneva 27, Switzerland: World Health Organization.

Norris, A., Bessett, D., Steinberg, J.R., Kavanaugh M.L., Zordo, S.D., Becker, D (2011). Abortion Stigma: A Reconceptualization of Constituents, Causes, and Consequences. Women’s Health Issues. Doi:10.1016/j.whi.2011.02.010

Hessini, L (2012). Abortion Stigma is Simply Discrimination: Here Is How We Get Rid of It. Ipas, Global Fund for Women. Retrieved from http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2012/10/22/abortion-stigma-is-simply-discrimination/ on 12th Jan,2015.

SEA CHANGE ,Transforming the Culture of Reproductive Stigma. What is Abortion Stigma? Retrieved from http://seachangeprogram.org/our-work/abortion-stigma-defined/ on 12th Jan, 2015.