Great article! I feel like you touched on important topics. One thing people never talk about with this abortion debate is the lack of research and medication for pregnant women. Such research is considered unethical, which I agree with, but it greatly limits your health options while pregnant. Forcing a woman to gestate a pregnancy is also forcing her to go without vital healthcare.
For example, many antipsychotics are not safe during pregnancy. I once knew of a bipolar woman who had to go off her meds while pregnant and had a total psychotic episode where she endangered herself, her family, lost her job, and nearly destroyed her and her families life. Oh yeah and she almost lost her baby too. Going 9 months without antipsychotics (longer if you breast feed) can be disastrous for schizophrenia and other conditions.
I personally am happily pregnant and I have ADHD. My ADHD meds really help me on a daily basis. They help me work and function. I can’t take them right now and it’s hard, but this is what I chose. A woman who needs the care of medications to function and live on a daily basis, forcing her to gestate a pregnancy is equivalent to denying her vital health care.
What gets me is how many things aren’t studied so no one knows what’s safe and what might lead to miscarriage. Today I was drinking a drink with turmeric, so I googled of turmeric was safe to consume while pregnant. Of course no one knows, it hasn’t been studied. But they think small amounts are okay but not supplements. They think it might cause miscarriages or not, no one really knows because it hasn’t been studied. Same thing with other foods, tea, and drugs. They think it’s fine in small doses but no one really knows. Don’t take to much though, you might miscarry. What if I miscarried for some reason? Would then the fact that I drank a turmeric milk shake be grounds for a murder charge because it might have contributed? No one really knows what’s safe during pregnancy and no one’s going to study it, leading to a lack of healthcare for women while they are pregnant, but then forcing them to stay that late.
What if a woman gets cancer and needs chemotherapy? Chemo is certainly not allowed on pregnant women. Is she just supposed to die and take her baby along with her to the grave?