"The disturbing relationship between pregnancy and violence is persistent, and one of many reasons both pro-life feminists and reproductive justice activists believe it is often a mistake to speak as if women are genuinely 'choosing' abortion at all. Indeed, there is a strong correlation between women who seek abortions and those who are facing violence from an intimate partner," Camosy wrote.
Homicide is now the second leading cause of death among pregnant women in the United States.
According to Camosy, legislators and New York governor Andrew Cuomo were presented with a choice between broadening access to abortion and protecting women from violence, and that not only did they choose abortion, they did so over the wishes and interests of most women.
"When confronted with a choice between refusing to punish illegal abortion in the criminal code and giving women this added protection from violence, the governor of New York chose the former," he wrote, noting that Cuomo had previously declined to support legislation on pay equity and pregnancy discrimination unless it included late term abortion provisions.
Recent data suggests that the majority of Americans across political parties favor restrictions on abortion, with only a minority supporting the availability of late term abortions. According to a poll conducted earlier this month, on 25 percent of self-described "pro-choice" Americans favor abortion at any time in the pregnancy.
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"Men often get criticized for being publicly skeptical of abortion rights - the implication being that they ought to stay out of the debate and leave it to women," Camosy concluded.
"Interestingly, however, men like Cuomo get almost no criticism for being publicly in favor of abortion rights - even when significantly more women than men support legal restrictions on late-term abortion."