(en) France, Alternative Libertaire AL #247 - Abortion: The
right to abortion, never acquired (fr, it, pt) [machine translation]
On January 17, the law decriminalizing abortion in France was 40 years. It was a start,
but with regret and under given conditions, the right to abortion is still facing the
unwillingness and lack of material and human resources. ---- In 1975, the crime of
abortion remained in the Penal Code, abortion was decriminalized only under certain
conditions (limited advancement of pregnancy, distress reflection period prior interview,
parental consent for minors, conditions stay for foreign, dissuasive guide file conscience
clause professional-le-s ...). Women remained under the control of psychologists and
doctors, abortion was not refunded. And that decriminalization law was tested for five
years. Simone Veil had the merit to confront the reactionaries of the National Assembly,
but are feminists fighting that won this law.
Small improvements not
Little by little, things have advanced and continue to advance, the law has become final
and the Penal Code has been cleaned of the offense. In 2000, living conditions have been
removed. Since 2001 (2001 !!!), minors may be accompanied by an adult other than their
parents, the duration of pregnancy during which it is possible to abort was extended by
two weeks, the preliminary interview has been removed for major, the file that explains
all the possibilities to keep the pregnancy is over.
The notion of distress was reduced in 1980 because it was recognized that only the woman
concerned could judge and in 2014, she disappeared from the law.
Abortion is repaid in part since 1983, fully since 2013. The current debate focuses on the
repayment of prior consultations. It is the seven day cooling off period (but two shortcut
when nearing deadline). It also remains the scandalous conscience clause, which says that
the hospital staff has the right not to respect the law if he disagrees with its content.
The attacks are constant. In 1993, the obstruction of abortion has been created to address
the repeated assaults of cathos fundamentalists against clinical and women. Demonstrations
continue, the most reactionaries MPs continue to take every opportunity to try to
attribute legal personality to the fetus (accident for example, sewn with white thread
maneuver to ban abortion later) or get the delisting.
The right to abortion is constitutive of equality (far from being reached, we agree)
between men and women. Equality in which learning in school is successfully fought by
cathos (and other extremist believers, but the heavy weight is that of cathos).
Political and media discourse continues to be guilt-inducing: "This is not a trivial
matter" , "it's always a difficult decision" , "it's a failure" , "the number of abortions
does not decrease" . Women still do not talk about it, feel guilty and suffer the stigma.
While the evidence gathered by the blog "abortion, I'm fine, thank you" show that this may
be harmless, easy and without consequences either physical or moral.
The victories of capitalism, it is also less money for public services so for hospitals,
fewer institutions practicing this act, delays longer support, resulting again the need to
go to an abortion abroad.
A rogue and controversial progress
Since 1980, medical abortion is available at the hospital since 2004 among gynecologists
and some and some GPs. Possible during the first few weeks, it has the advantage of
avoiding the passage to the block. And inconvenience to shake the body with aggressive
hormone treatment and to make the whole process very visible.
Its main advantage is, however, being economical and allow to close hospital centers.
It is also used to "empower" women when they live it without painkillers or alone with the
blood discharge. The period is also taken to the extreme in some services for women "feel
pass" their abortions.
And soon, it will not be possible to select suction abortion except when the duration of
pregnancy requires.
The figures and beliefs
The number of abortions is stable. Between one in two women and one in three women aborted
at least once in his life. The number of repeat abortions increases. What makes write to
the National Institute of Demographic Studies (INED) that "the choice to stop (or not)
pregnancy became a right more than a last resort" in the last sentence of its publication
Population and Societies of January 2015.
Three quarters of women who have abortions are under contraception, access to
contraception is not in question. Abortion is not a problem, it is the solution with an
unwanted pregnancy.
Especially since men are not very involved in this case. Aside from the masculinist,
perched or not campaigning for both do not support the children of pregnancies they have
not desired and the right to forbid women to abort if they want the Child born. The belly
of women remains a combat zone.
Contraception remains a concern of only one half of the couple who will give birth or
abort. We know that the pill reduces the libido but it does not seem to matter, since we
do not talk about it.
If men enfantaient, some gossips claim that abortion is a fundamental right and that
contraceptives are numerous and without side effects. As this is not the case, we must
perhaps change the basics of reasoning.
Abortion is not the result of heterosexual romantic relationships, it is the consequence
of coitus. In our society, intercourse is the ultimate horizon of heterosexual
intercourse, all other options are preliminary at best, at worst nothing. Thinking (and
live) other sex has benefits for everyone: get rid of the fear of pregnancy (which exists
even in contraception, how sexually active woman has a brief moment of relief when her
period? ) and the need of abortion; get rid of the fear of failure and the need for
performance.
Christine (AL Orne)
http://www.alternativelibertaire.org/?IVG-Le-droit-a-l-avortement-jamais
