DIY or self-managed abortions raise serious safety concerns, since they can cause severe injury and long-term harm. A society committed to human dignity should want no one to be hurt—physically or otherwise—by abortion, whether it is legal or illegal. When someone feels desperate enough to attempt a dangerous procedure on herself, that desperation points to a real social failure: inadequate support for pregnant women and families who need resources, care, and stability.
At the same time, the existence of risky behavior cannot determine whether a practice should be legal. Laws are not suspended simply because people might harm themselves if a harmful act is prohibited. If abortion involves the unjust killing of an innocent human being, then its legal status is a grave moral and legal question, not merely a matter of personal choice or harm reduction. Society does not keep human rights violations legal in order to make them safer to perform.
Legal prohibitions against violence are routinely upheld even though violations still occur. Maintaining a law against killing does not imply indifference toward those who struggle or suffer; it reflects the judgment that killing innocent human beings is wrong. Just as banning the killing of newborn infants does not mean valuing infants more than women, opposing abortion does not mean valuing unborn children over women. It means affirming that no innocent human life should be intentionally destroyed, while also recognizing the obligation to better care for women facing crisis pregnancies.
Key Takeaways
Dangerous DIY abortions highlight the need for better social support for pregnant women, not the legalization of killing.
Human rights laws cannot be dictated by threats of self-harm; violence remains wrong even when it persists.
If abortion unjustly kills an innocent human, its legality is a moral issue, not a safety preference.
Prohibiting abortion no more devalues women than banning infanticide devalues parents—it affirms that killing innocents is wrong.