If we are going to do international comparisons, my rule is we have to make sure we are comparing apples to apples. Many European countries have robust access to modern contraceptives and abortion medications, universal health insurance, public coverage of abortion services, and more abortion providers than the US. This allows them to have abortions earlier in the gestational period.
And their gestational limits on paper don't tell the full story about their actual abortion access. For example several European countries like Denmark have on paper limits of around the first and second trimester, but allow a woman to get an abortion after these limits if necessary for her physical or mental health or for economic and social reasons. Meaningfully these requests are usually granted. What emerges are abortion regimes that are just as permissive in practice as the US pre-Dobbs.
But also why should we focus on the overall abortion regime? After Dobbs, around half of the states are going to have bans or heavily restrict abortion well before the end of the first trimester. In the next few years, it is entirely possible we see 30+ states heavily restrict abortion.
Why should we compare a universal abortion regime in a European country to the US average if the US average will be so variable? That's nonsensical. It is small comfort to the teen girl in say Louisiana who got raped that she could obtain an abortion in California. Even more so if a state decides to criminalize abortions received in other states.
Imagine if we approached capital punishment that way? "Oh don't worry, Minnesota doesn't allow the death penalty."
Or imagine if we approached immigration policy that way?
The US is also an outlier on maternal mortality among our peers. The post-Dobbs US is going to see more women die from pregnancy, unsafe abortions, and disrupted care.
The world is often an illiberal place. The US should be better than the global average when it comes to fundamental human rights. That's why I believe in this country.
The US is also an outlier on maternal mortality among our peers. The post-Dobbs US is going to see more women die from pregnancy, unsafe abortions, and disrupted care.