While abortion is a contentious issue, women continue to become pregnant unintentionally, and neither a government nor a group of men have the authority to control this. Pregnant, unmarried women risk jail time, humiliation, and even death—a disgrace that affects their families and offspring. Abortion, even though it is prohibited, puts unmarried women at risk for their lives, families, and social standing. Thousands of women sought out and paid for illegal abortions in the 1970s, which may have resulted in illness or death.
Globally, abandoned, malnourished, and mistreated children result in suffering and criminal activity. Governments can prohibit abortion, but they cannot prevent undesired offspring from inflicting harm on others. Laws can compel unfavorable pregnancies, but they cannot guarantee that a child is desired, fed, loved, and cared for, which leads to an increase in criminality and incarceration.
Unplanned pregnancies result from the struggles faced by many mothers who battle drug or alcohol addiction, criminal activity, unemployment, or financial hardships. Slightly more advantageous is the possibility that a severely handicapped child may never walk, talk, see, or think if a fragile or ill mom is forced to die during giving birth.
There wouldn't be a discussion about making abortion illegal if men were solely responsible for all pregnancies, births, and children. The harm that abortions inflict on society is not as great as that caused by unwanted pregnancies, and neither the state nor men should force women to have undesired children.
