Ashlee Dixon - 251171969

Women’s Lack of Access to Safe Abortions in Developing Countries

Introduction to Women’s Studies - WS 1020 001
Andrea Keber
Laura Cayen
Unsafe Abortions for Women in Developing Countries
Dixon1

The lack of access women have to safe abortions in third-world countries is the most

neglected and underrepresented women’s health issue throughout the world. The lack of access

to safe abortions is in need of feminist activism because of the negative stigmatization which

leads to women being forced to seek unsafe abortions endangering their own lives. Women in

these third-world countries are being compelled to take part in unsafe abortion treatments

because they are left with no other choice, ultimately jeopardizing their own well-being and

safety. These women are becoming very sick or even dying because they are involuntarily

participating in unsafe abortions due to the lack of access they have to safe ones (Clack and

Lledo-Weber, 2012). This casts women who undergo abortions very negatively by societies and

cultures, as it invalidates their own rights and opinions, which further disadvantages women by

making them feel ashamed or embarrassed when they consider abortion because of the societal

response they are likely to receive (Biswas and Dasgupta, 2021). In developing countries, the

social and financial costs to women, families, communities, and health systems can also lead to

long-term financial costs for these groups (World Health Organizations, 2020). If we were to

recognize how promoting the idea of safe abortions can positively affect the lives of many

vulnerable women, we would also be saving lives while doing so. Throughout this paper, I will

examine how the lack of safe abortions in developing countries determines many women’s entire

lives. I will do so by showing how unsafe abortions are rarely discussed hiding morbidity and

mortality rates, the stigmatization behind abortions, and how intersectionality creates different

conditions for how women’s lives are valued and protected. I will be using one-course reading,

as well as three other scholarly articles to support my analysis on how safe abortions are the most
Unsafe Abortions for Women in Developing Countries
Dixon2
neglected and underrepresented women’s health issue throughout the world and how it can be

connected to the concept of intersectionality we have learned throughout our course.

In our world today the idea of unsafe abortions is rarely discussed, even though it is very

detrimental to women’s lives in many third-world countries. Unsafe abortions have been proven

to lead to a high morbidity and mortality rate in countries such as Liberia where they are

unwilling to provide safe abortions to vulnerable women (Clack, 2012). It has been shown that

third-world countries such as Liberia are refusing to provide women with safe abortions because

they do not believe women should be able to make the decision themselves on whether the infant

inside them deserves to live or die (Clack, 2012). In these third-world countries when women are

forced to undergo these unsafe abortions, they are not only putting their own lives at risk, but

they are endangering the safety of their children and families as well. In Clack’s article, she

states “women who are killed through unsafe abortions are the majority of the time leaving

children behind in these vulnerable countries where even with a mother they have a one in ten

chance of dying before their fifth birthday” (Clack, 2012, p.1). In the media, today individuals

assume that all countries have the same rights and freedoms in regards to abortions when that is

not the case. The lack of access to abortions is an ongoing problem in our world today where

women are not given the right to make decisions on their own in regards to their bodies and

lives. By not providing women with safe and proper health care we are limiting their rights as

human beings, portraying the perspective that women are less deserving of their right to life.

When we create barriers such as not providing women with safe abortions, it leads to them

finding their own ways to undergo an abortion, and while doing Clack states “it leads many

women being diagnosed with health conditions or risks because their bodies are not built to
Unsafe Abortions for Women in Developing Countries
Dixon3
experience such traumatic surgeries in those ways” (Clack, 2012, p.2). This article highlights

how we as a society must protect and promote access to safe abortion services because safe

abortions can save lives (Clack, 2012). It does this by using two women’s stories after they

endured an unsafe abortion because they were not provided with safe ones. It mentions how one

doctor states “had Nesta been granted the access to a safe abortion she would not be at such risks

of dying or enduring long term effects on her body as she is now that she endured an unsafe one”

(Clack, 2012, p.1). If we grant safe access to abortions in Canada, no women in these third-world

countries should feel as though their lives are not valued to the same extent as others just because

of where they live. This can be connected to the idea of intersectionality that we have learned

throughout the course which highlights how depending on a women’s race, religion, or where

they live, should not distinguish the value of their lives, or the medical assistance that they

receive.

When looking at abortions there has been stigmatization created by society that the

overall perception behind abortions is very negative and poorly perceived in rural districts. There

are many factors that influence the decision-making process for women when seeking abortions.

When having such negative mindsets being created leads to vulnerable women feeling pressured

into keeping the child they are carrying even though they do not want to. As mentioned by

Biswas and Disgupta (2021) women in Gurjat and Jharkhand believe that because of the beliefs

held by society in regards to keeping their unborn child or not, that only a man can make those

decisions and the women should have no say (Biswas and Disgupta, 2021). Additionally, in these

underdeveloped countries, women face different varieties of mental degradation if the idea of

having an abortion crosses their minds. If women voice how they are planning to undergo an
Unsafe Abortions for Women in Developing Countries
Dixon4
abortion, or that they are weighing out the pros and cons they will be outed in their community

and looked at as unfit women (Biswas and Disgupta, 2021). The thought of people finding out

within their community and them being treated as an outcast is too much for these women to

fathom, which forces them to seek out unsafe ways to receive an abortion in hopes nobody will

find out. The extent to which women are treated and degraded within their countries when

seeking abortions play a significant role in my overall objective on the lack of access to safe

abortions because it emphasizes how the lack of support and negative perceptions women

encounter from their families and communities is forcing them to find ways to terminate these

unwanted pregnancies on their own, which is inevitably harmful and unsafe to their health.

There are many different ways for us to prevent unsafe abortions from occurring and the

easiest way to do so would be providing women with the opportunities to receive safe ones. In

doing so, we are preventing these vulnerable women and families in developing countries from

inducing short-term and long-term financial costs on themselves that can end up hurting their

families in more ways than one. For example, as mentioned by the World Health Organizations

(2020) women who receive an unsafe abortion may be paying less to receive it, however, with all

complications and negative health effects it creates on the women’s body she will be paying

more, in the long run, to prevent her body from shutting down, or from dying completely (World

Health Organizations, 2020). It is believed that women take part in these unsafe abortions for

many reasons some being; to save money, protect their dignity, and avoid neglect. For example,

one woman who took part in an unsafe abortion in these underdeveloped countries said “by

having an abortion I risked losing my job and being fired from my employer. But it was a risk I

was willing to take” (World Health Organizations, 2020, p.1). Women are forced to overcome
Unsafe Abortions for Women in Developing Countries
Dixon5
these barriers every day, putting their lives at risk in more ways than one just so that they can

follow through with their decision to have an abortion. Those are just some reasons, the main

reason being they are not even given the chance to choose between a safe or unsafe abortion

because they are not given the opportunity of choosing a safe one (World Health Organization,

2020). If we were to look at this from an intersectionality point of view, if we know that “45% of

all abortions were unsafe, and that almost all of these unsafe abortions took place in developing

countries” (World Health Organization, 2020, p.2) then why have we created the idea that these

women are less deserving of receiving safe abortions that can save their lives as well as prevent

harm to their bodies. By creating this perspective we are allowing society to believe the more

poor and vulnerable the women are is dependent upon how much medical attention and human

rights they are granted. We should be valuing the lives of every woman the same, no matter

where they come from or how rich or poor they are because by portraying the idea that more

money will grant you more support and assistance our system will never be equal.

There are many changes that need to be made to ensure that all women have access to

safe abortions valuing each individual’s life. As we have gotten further into the course I was able

to connect the mistreatment of these vulnerable women in under developing countries to the idea

of intersectionality. By granting access and treatment to those who can either afford it or those

who are living in a country that allows abortions inevitably begin to discriminate against the

vulnerable, or the poor, stripping these individuals of their rights and creating a negative view

that not all women are the same, having some lives valued more than others. The lack of access

to safe abortions is in need of feminist activism because of the negative stigmatization which

leads to women being required to undergo unsafe abortions endangering their own lives. If we
Unsafe Abortions for Women in Developing Countries
Dixon6
begin to acknowledge how unsafe abortions are rarely discussed even when they lead to high

morbidity and mortality, the negative stigmatization behind it, and the effects that these women

endure after they take part in one, we are coming closer to creating a change. It is our

responsibility to ensure women feel as though whether they choose to follow through with

abortion that they realize they have a right to make these decisions themselves regarding their

own bodies, and that their lives are supported and valued no matter the choice they make.

Work Cited

Clack, A. (2012). Ensuring That Women Have Access to Safe Abortion Is "pro-Life", 1–2. https://
doi.org/10.1136/bmj.e4391

Dasgupta, P., & Biswas, R. (2021). Pro-Life or Pro-Abortion - Women's Attitude toward Abortion
in Darjeeling, India, 7(1), 42–47.

Preventing unsafe abortion. World Health Organization. (2020, September 25). https://
www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/preventing-unsafe-abortion.

13.2/20 (65%) – Essay provides more description than analysis, Ashlee. Also, which
course reading are you linking to your discussion? None referenced in your works cited
or in the paper itself. You do not have three scholarly sources either. Lastly, there is
quite a bit of repetition – be sure to proofread to ensure that you are adding more
information and analysis rather than repeating.