September 19, 2005

The large photograph on page 29 of The New York Times on Sunday is heavy with a sadness that seems to drag you down the page. A young African American woman sits, bent over in a chair, her head bowed so low it almost touches the ground. She is an 18-year-old college student who was carrying twins, the caption explains. Dressed in a hospital gown and slippers, she is waiting to have an abortion at the Little Rock Family Planning Services clinic. Finding yourself pregnant with twins at the age of 18 is bad enough.

But going to the abortion clinic in Little Rock sounds awful. Opponents of abortion will have a lot to grab onto in this article--the tears on the operating table, the depressing feelings that surround the clinic.

But the deep unhappiness dogging these women seems to have less to do with seeking an abortion--all of them are determined to go through with that decision--than with the miserable atmosphere around them. It's not just the angry man outside the clinic who videotapes everyone going in and out and yells at them that they are going to hell. "I'd lose my job," one high school teacher says, explaining why she must remain anonymous. "My family's reputation would be ruined."

Apparently, heaping shame and judgment on these women, while it makes them feel awful, is not such a huge deterrent. Many of the women are Christians--Catholics, Baptists, and conservatives--who share the judgment that what they are doing is a sin. But they also have a clear idea of what having another baby will mean for them, and that reality trumps the moral scolding when they have to decide what to do.

The overall abortion rate has been going down since 1990, the Times reports, particularly for teenagers--thanks to better pregnancy prevention. The rate is lowest for affluent, educated women. For African American women at all income levels, however, the rate is higher. And for low-income women--thanks to welfare reform's "get tough" policies--the rate is going up.

What does that tell us? That punitive policies increase the abortion rate. That having more opportunity and brighter prospects lowers it. That preaching fire and brimstone, while it may increase misery, doesn't decrease abortion rates.

Just the opposite of what the anti-abortion zealots believe appears to be true. Women who have lots of support, access to birth control, great educational opportunities, little to fear, and lots of choices have the fewest abortions. Women who are beaten over the head with lectures about "responsibility" and threatened that having children out of wedlock will be not only shameful but economically disastrous end up at the abortion clinic.

Imagine a different scene: happy young women fill college campuses that open their doors to kids of all backgrounds. Government support makes continuing education accessible to all. No screaming protesters videotape you when you go to see your doctor. Instead, there are cheerful, full-service campus clinics that offer all kinds of services--birth control, abortion, and routine health care of every kind--to everyone. An atmosphere of sensible health care, good information, and warm, compassionate support greets all 18-year-old
freshmen on campus. A few might still find themselves pregnant. They can get abortions without hassle or delay. Imagine that, after all, our whole society agrees that taking good care of these kids, and helping them make the kinds of family planning decisions that produce more bright, productive, happy kids is the most important job we can do.