Would it be right for a man to be mad with a woman who chooses to terminate a pregnancy because she was taking medications that may cause birth defects?

This would be a very charged situation. Abortion is a very personal decision and one most women do not undertake lightly. Fear is common amongst newly pregnant women, especially those who are young or unsure of the relationship in which they are involved. It in perfect world a couple would come to such a momentous decision together, but this is not a perfect world and ultimately it is a woman’s right to do with her body what she feels is best for her.

There are a number of drugs – both legal and illegal – that medical science believes may cause birth defects. Most gynecologists advise women who are pregnant, or even trying to conceive to avoid any drug as much as possible.  For pain aspirin is discouraged and the use of an over the counter medication such as Tylenol for simple relief is recommended only in the lowest doses possible.

That illegal drugs may cause birth defects is well known, but not a certainty. The “crack baby” epidemic that much was made of by the media in the 1980s and 1990s has been a topic of much recent conversation as some medical professionals believe that the whole situation was blown out of proportion. This is not to say that illegal drug use of any kind is not harmful during pregnancy but legal “drugs” such as alcohol and tobacco can cause just as many problems.

The term “birth defects” is a very wide ranging one, covering a myriad of problems that an infant may be born with. Some of these are correctable, others chronic and sometimes fatal. Genetics can be as responsible for birth defects as any outside influence so pregnant woman with a family history of certain genetically linked conditions will perhaps be naturally  concerned about what might go wrong for the baby she is carrying.

Whether or not a man has a right to be “mad” with a woman who chooses to have an abortion out of the fear that having taken a certain medication or drug will cause birth defects in the child she carrying is a question that every individual will answer differently. The whole subject of abortion makes for passionate and divided opinion and debate.

Before any abortion is legally performed a woman must undergo at least some counseling so that her reasons for wanting the procedure performed are clear and she is given a chance to address her fears and concerns. As the law stands in most US states though the right to choose to have an abortion is still ultimately a woman’s own choice and hers to make alone.