Abortion: A Male Perspective

Discourses have been rampant over this most emotional of subjects, religious, legal, moral and rational arguments put forward by everyone from the Pope to Peasant. The history of anti-abortion activists has been rooted in religious or biblical adherence to God’s wishes, (Bible, Exodus), however, the practise of abortion, the use of abortifacients and numerous physical methods of inducing abortion, from the use of mercury, as recorded by Chinese folklore on the royal concubines, pessaries (although ‘forbidden’ by Hippocrates, under whose oath doctors are sworn) to steaming water, massage, violent exercise and modern day methods of surgery, anaesthetics, spoons, knives and just about anything a desperate woman can find to use.

The Pope emphatically rejects the idea of abortion, dogmatic and outdated as his opinion may be; this is just the start, as I believe that any leading opinion on the subject should be a female one. The Pope is his wisdom, or lack of lately, can never understand the trauma of pregnancy induced rape, can never understand the psychological torment of a sexually abusive father, incestuously impregnating his child at 12 years old. As a man he should be the last person to dictate on this subject. I would hope most women would not be able to relate to such atrocities, but women are that much closer in body and spirit to their kin, and at a clear advantage to take the reins on the subject.

Religious law simply has no place in a medical procedure. The morality of abortion should be discussed at one level – zero. A woman’s right to her body should be personal, intimately so. As a man, I feel that my opinion is just that, an opinion that does not suggest law, an opinion that is alien to emotion, experience or action. In Trinidad & Tobago, growing up as a teenager in the nineties, abortion was commonplace talk, also relatively known to be happening amongst my female peers, they finding the means, financed by the father-not-to-be, or in some cases by friends or parents and they would take care of it themselves, making decisions based on their age, the expected reaction of their parents, family and schools. Religion was an after thought. The reality of the situation was simple: ‘mistake’, youth, rape – “no way can I have a child”. I have also known of women who have had abortions with the consent of their catholic parents, the pressure of the reality overriding any religious sentiment at the time.

Abortion should be legalised and controlled. Women should be given the right, the tools and the necessary post-abortive therapy to direct their lives the way they want to, yet 2006 greets us with archaic laws, close-minded politicians and frenzied religious babble in the face of capital punishment, ‘legal’ wars, genocide and ‘police assisted’ kidnappings. Strides are being made in Latin America, even in our revered USA, where abortion laws are being tweaked to allow women and children who fall pregnant under certain circumstances, to legally abort their pregnancy. This is a great step forward, however, it still feeds the black market doctors whose procedures sometimes prove more detrimental to a woman’s health than necessary. So what happens? The woman goes to the doctor, recommended by a friend, sometimes even cryptically advertised in the media, has an abortion, encounters severe problems post-procedure, and ends up under the care of the National health services anyway. Do we now go and charge her, put her in jail for years, this ‘illegal’ activity and activist hounded by the Police Service and persecuted, as suggested by Lenny Saith, or do we treat her as a victim of the system, take her in to our care and offer her the best recuperative therapy the State can offer? The Minister of Public Administration and Energy being asked for an opinion on abortion laws? In what capacity are you acting – man, doctor or public servant?

Yet again, the naivety, the impotence of our policy makers is rearing its head. Lenny Saith had the opportunity to make an informed gesture, as an educated person, dare I say ‘man’, but he chose to be evasively pedantic. For once I would like to see a Minister put forward his or her opinion without the mask of politics. This is real life here. People die because of ill-informed, machoistic legislation, religious bias and general apathy. Let’s get the debate out there and DO SOMETHING about these so-called “back yard doctors”, bring them in to the mainstream, educate the population, empower parents, daughters, mothers, wives, aunts and children, take the debate in to the school yard, away from the hush of the back room and most importantly LEARN from these ‘developing’ countries that Trinidad & Tobago models itself after. There are numerous case studies done on the subject, experts of every persuasion, lobbying everyday, dedicating their lives to the better understanding of the plight of women, yet we are cornered, because our Minister of Health wasn’t present in Parliament.