Abortion

       In Bryan Cones's article "Higher rates of abortion and unsafe abortion in the developing world: How should the pro-life movement respond?," he reports statistics that show abortion becoming increasingly common and unsafe in foreign countries. I have found that throughout high school, abortion was really only discussed in terms of its morality and its relationship to Catholic Church beliefs. We have spoken even less about the presence of illegal operations and specific abortion rates outside of the United States in developing countries. I had no idea that 86% of all abortions are performed in developing countries. Similarly to the U.S., abortions that take place without medical training are much riskier than those performed by licensed doctors. 
       I agree with Cones's argument that the difference in the abortion rates between the United States and developing countries can be attributed to the availability of contraceptives. In the U.S., condoms and the pill are readily available to prevent unintended pregnancies. However, contraceptives in developing countries can be difficult to track down. Although these contraception methods are against Catholic Church teachings, as they prevent the possibility of having children, Cones says that contraception is “the lesser of two evils.” If women in developing nations had access to contraceptives that prevent unwanted pregnancies, fewer women would seek illegal means to abort their pregnancy.