The anti-abortion organisation SPUC has launched a campaign against the legal recognition of same-sex unions. This document comes as no surprise as we know that SPUC Director John Smeaton has written a number of blogs attacking same-sex unions, and calling homosexuality ‘disordered’. However, we are baffled by the argument that ‘allowing same sex marriage would damage society and would put the unborn child at a far higher risk of being aborted’.
SPUC’s position paper on same-sex marriage links to Government abortion statistics to back up its claim that ‘unborn children are much safer within marriage than outside marriage'. Abortion Statistics for England and Wales do show that overall, the majority of abortions are requested by unmarried women. But the partial use of these figures to argue that traditional, heterosexual marriage ‘protects children born and unborn’ is disingenuous. A closer look at the abortion statistics shows that age is the most significant factor. Only 1% of women under 20 having abortions are married. This is unsurprising considering the average age of marriage for women in the UK is 28. It should not lead us to the conclusion that being married in and of itself stops women requesting abortion. By the time they are 35 or over, married women make up a significantly larger proportion (40%) of women requesting abortion. The overall figures for the proportion of abortions carried out for married women are strongly skewed by the fact that 70% of abortions are provided for women under 30 many of whom aren’t married (yet).
Apart from age, there may be lots of reasons why women who are married may be under-represented in abortion statistics none of which points to a magical protective effect of marriage. What is certain is that nothing in the statistics demonstrates that allowing gay couples to marry will result in more abortions. The leap from ‘most women who have abortions are unmarried’ to ‘same-sex marriage causes abortion’ is bizarre. The attempt to dress up good old fashioned homophobia as social science is worse.
This blog from the brilliant Abortion Gang reminds us why the LGBT and pro-choice movements need to work together for reproductive justice. We have blogged before about our concern that organisations with a homophobic agenda are welcomed into our schools to talk to our children about abortion.We only have to look to the current situation in the States to see that if there is a connection between same sex marriage and abortion it is this: all too often those wishing to restrict women’s right to access safe, legal abortion are the very same people who are attempting to restrict the choices we make about who we can love and live with; how we define, create and care for our families; the way we live – in fact who we are.
Tuesday, 10 January 2012
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A response from SPUC:
ReplyDeletehttp://spuc-director.blogspot.com/2012/01/education-for-choice-fails-to-debunk.html
The arguments against same sex marriage just get weirder and weirder (or maybe just more desperate).
ReplyDelete1. EFC claim “A closer look at the abortion statistics shows that age is the most significant factor.” However, a reasonable person would realise that age is marked by other factors, such as the nature and stability of the relationship which resulted in pregnancy, economic and domicile arrangements. As such, it cannot be stated as fact that age is the most significant factor. EFC provide no evidence of studies to support their claim. Making such silly claims undermines the work of social services, primary care trusts, local councils, charities, and organisations that plan and deliver healthcare across all ages for men, women and children, carefully taking into account age and related factors.
ReplyDelete2. EFC says “Only 1% of women under 20 having abortions are married. This is unsurprising considering the average age of marriage for women in the UK is 28.” How is EFC calculating 28 as the average age for women getting married? EFC provide no evidence or citations at all. The average age will be affected by: women getting married for the first time, widowed women remarrying, and divorced women remarrying. The latter two will push the average age up, as it is older women who are more likely to be divorced or widowed.
When EFC says “marriage” do they mean first marriage, or second marriage? EFC do not say and may not have even thought to consider this. For women under 20, those registered as married make up 1%, while single women make up 99%. For women 20-34 married women make up 15%, unmarried make up 84% (single, single with partner, windowed/divorced/separated). That is significant and points to marital status as a factor to consider with pregnancy outcomes. The majority of abortion still happens for women who are not married: 60%. Overall married mothers make up 16% of all abortions i.e. little over a quarter. Isn't there a possibility that some mothers presenting for abortion will register themselves as married even though they are not? This might be the case for religious motivations, shame etc. Again, EFC has failed to examine key areas.
3. “It should not lead us to the conclusion that being married in and of itself stops women requesting abortion.” Department of Health 2010 abortion statistics reveal that “(2.4) About four-fifths (81%) of abortions in 2010 were carried out for single women, a proportion that has risen slowly from 75% since 2000.” Married women are much less likely to have an abortion; this has already been stated in the literature. How is it that EFC appear to tread so carefully when it comes to marriage, but are eager to postulate that age is the most significant factor.
4. “By the time they are 35 or over, married women make up a significantly larger proportion (40%) of women requesting abortion.” We should also consider that the older a woman is, the great chance of conceiving a child who has a disability, such as Down’s. This can be devastating for any mother, including married mothers. The pressure to abort and the fear of raising a child with a disability can be such that abortion becomes the outcome for a child conceived within marriage when disability is detected. It is also older women, including those married, who are more likely to attempt to conceive via IVF. The number of abortions following IVF and “pregnancy reduction” from several children to one or two also occurs amongst older women, which will include married older women. These are abnormal situations that can add tension and fear upon a married couple who are already having problems with infertility.
ReplyDeleteWe should also be asking whether these are divorced-remarried women. Remarriage could adversely impact on pregnancy outcome making abortion more likely, as the age at remarriage and existence of any chidlren already born by either partner can shape whehter they abort their child. EFC does not consider this a factor. The number of women requesting an abortion at age 35 and over is very small. There were 686 abortions to women aged 45 or over (less than a half of one per cent). As one figure in the abortion lobby has noted “I think women are generally remaining sexually active for longer, and women in their 40s increasingly see themselves as sexual players – whether or not they are in relationships – in a way that they didn’t even a decade ago.” Delaying and shunning marriage and high divorces rates are not helping.
5. “The overall figures for the proportion of abortions carried out for married women are strongly skewed by the fact that 70% of abortions are provided for women under 30 many of whom aren’t married (yet).” This seems to contradict the previous claim by EFC that the average age for marriage is 28 years old. This needs carfeul study, not silly opinions on a blog. It also shows that EFC recognise that marriage is a factor that makes abortion less likely. The abortion-marriage distribution is not skewed at all, as EFC claim. The marriage and abortion distributions are as one would expect: unmarried women regardless of age are more likely to have an abortion than women who are married, regardless of age.
Marriage is clearly a significant issue, but what is not clear without further analysis is whether: people who get married are more likely to continue an unwanted pregnancy or simply better at preventing unwanted pregnancy and planning their families; what are the socio-economic, health, cultural and other characteristics of women who marry as opposed to those who don't, and what is the impact of those on pregnancy decision-making; and are women who are more resistant to the idea of abortion more likely to get married in the first place - or what other factors are at play. It's not clear what the cause and effect mechanism is here.
ReplyDeleteMost importantly - and this is something that critics of this article haven't addressed - there is nothing in the statistics that supports the idea that while heterosexual marriage prevents abortion, same-sex marriage will increase it.
The point has been addressed (see link) in SPUC initial response: The relation between same-sex marriage and the abolition of conjugal marriage (and the need for conjugal marriage to protect children born and unborn) is clear to anyone able to understand simple logic - readers can examine it here: http://www.spuc.org.uk/documents/papers/ssmbackground20120103
ReplyDelete