Debunking the false comparisons between European and American abortion policies

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Don Moynihan
@donmoyn
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Senate Republicans are introducing legislation for a national 15-week abortion ban.

One of the talking points will be that this cutoff consistent with abortion access in Europe.

Here is why that claim is deeply misleading.

donmoynihan.substack.com
Debunking the false comparisons between European and American abortion policies
Why are conservatives talking approvingly about European abortion policies anyway?
7:48 PM · Sep 12, 2022

https://donmoynihan.substack.com/p/debunking-the-false-comparisons-between

*snip*

First, the cut-off point is not representative of the actual practice of when abortions occur. Just 1% of US abortions occurred after the 21 week point, and 91% occurred before 13 weeks. So why allow a late and rarely used cut-off? Women are more likely to select an abortion at that point because of health risk either to themselves or the fetus. Having that option is important for women forced to make some hard choices.

Second, in other countries the gestational cut-off is more flexible than it appears. A legal brief prepared by international and comparative legal scholars summarized this point:

Looking at abortion laws in their broader context reveals that comparable countries which, on their face, set shorter time limits on abortion access than the United States, often provide greater flexibility in obtaining abortions after those limits pass, with exceptions for a broad range of circumstances.

For example in Germany, there is a nominal 12 week limit, but:

exceptions include when— “from the [pregnant person’s] point of view”—abortion is “necessary to avert a danger to the life or . . . grave injury to the mental or physical health of the pregnant [person],” taking into account her “present and future living conditions.”

Thus 12 weeks might not really be 12 weeks. The seemingly clear measure of access becomes more complex.

Third, gestational limits are only one aspect of abortion access. What are the others?

*snip*