On Sunday, I read a letter regarding abortion in the Iowa State Daily that discouraged me greatly. Not only because it lacked logical thought, but because of the misinformation it contained.

I also found myself irked that a male was giving his opinion on the motivations of abortion providers, the risks and effects of abortion, and judging the actions of women whose personal situations he will never be able to truly identify with.

I do not expect all men to remain outside of the issue of abortion and choice, nor do I wish to exclude them. Yet, I feel it is necessary that when a man speaks or writes about pregnancy, abortion and other women’s experiences, he does so with the understanding he will never have to fear his own pregnancy, nor will he ever have to make that choice, and the compassion and consideration we should all give when we are an outsider to an issue or experience.

Josh Hunstiger opens by equivocating abortion with murder, referencing a Californian man charged with two counts of murder after killing his pregnant girlfriend. I must cite commentator Rob Stone in this matter:

“The law considers a fetus a legal victim if it is injured during certain kings [sic] of violent crimes since there is a difference between a woman choosing an abortion and another person terminating her pregnancy against the mother’s will.”

Stone goes on to point out that this mother was past the date of viability — in most states, between 22 and 24 weeks — and abortion of the fetus would have been illegal as well. But the fact remains, this woman’s pregnancy and life were forcibly terminated without her consent. This is not comparable to the millions of women who have chosen to abort because of their individual situations.

Hunstiger then goes on to attack abortion providers. He claims clinics hide the truth about the medical risks and emotional effects of abortion. These claims are false. After a quick Google search, I located the article Hunstiger references: “The Risks of Choice” by Amy R. Sobie.

My first action was to scroll to the bottom and check the footnotes. It was of little surprise to me that the oldest reference was dated 1970, most were from the 1980s or 1990s, and only three sources were from 2000. The information in this article is at least 10 to 30 years out of date.

I will acknowledge that there are possible complications when aborting. Like any surgical procedure, there are associated risks. Medical procedures have greatly evolved during the past 30 years.

Blood clots in the uterus occur in less than 0.2 percent of abortions, easily treated infections occur in 0.1 to 2.0 percent, and hemorrhaging occurs in 0.02 to 0.3 percent of cases, according to “A Clinician’s Guide to Medical and Surgical Abortion.”

Regarding the breast cancer myth, in 2003 the National Cancer Institute evaluated studies linking abortion and breast cancer. They concluded that “induced abortion is not associated with an increase in breast cancer risk.”

As for Hunstiger’s claim that abortion is the fifth leading cause of maternal death, the statistic he references is from 1985. Perhaps current statistics would be convincing, but a reference to a 25-year-old survey is laughable. To provide up-to-date facts, according to the Center for Disease Control — using data from the National Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System — between 2001 and 2002 there were a total of 15 deaths related to legal abortions. This hardly seems like a “leading cause of maternal death.”

It may be worth noting that homicide is one of the leading causes of maternal death. In 2001, the Journal of the American Medical Association published a study that found “a pregnant or recently pregnant woman is more likely to be a victim of homicide than to die of any other cause.” In Maryland alone, more than 20 percent of maternal deaths were homicides. This pattern is only supported by Hunstiger’s reference to the murder of a pregnant woman.

Hunstiger then moves on to talk about reasons for abortion. He again cites Sobie, saying women primarily abort fearing the impact a pregnancy would have on their lives and relationships.

Sobie’s article makes no reference for this information. It seems this is her own speculation.

To cite actual facts about women’s reasons: The Guttmacher Institute reported in 2005 that 74 percent of women polled said a child would interfere with education, work or caring for dependents; 73 percent said they could not afford a baby; 48 percent didn’t want to be single mothers or were in unstable relationships; and one-third were not ready for a child. Less than 1 percent were significantly influenced by others’ desires for abortion.

These reasons do not seem to be made out of fear, but out of knowledge about what each woman could give to a child and wanting to provide the stability children deserve.

When faced with the real facts, abortion is a highly safe medical procedure — and in fact, safer than childbirth — that women choose for a variety of reasons. Many women may experience negative emotions because an abortion, but women are not required to feel positively about a life-changing decision they made, just like women experience a range of feelings with birth and are not required to feel positively. Aborting is not a decision made on a whim. Hunstiger’s claim that abortion is an “act of convenience” is insulting in the highest degree.

Not only does it show his ignorance on the complexity of an unplanned pregnancy, but to assume, as a man, that women terminate their pregnancies because it is the easy way out overlooks the true reasons women choose abortion.

It is not an act of convenience; in most cases, abortion is an act of responsibility. Responsibility to living family members, responsibility to provide for the child you bring into this world and responsibility to yourself. For millions of women, abortion was, and will continue to be, their “right choice.”