The numbers released by the State Department of Health this week show that about FOUR women die, PER DAY, after going to the hospital to seek help for complications due to a recent abortion. Before this information was released, the official numbers reported were only one woman dying, for this reason, every two days. This is a serious problem that cannot be solved by prohibiting its practice. The law, as it is, has not helped the mother or the child.

Many Christians, however, think that we are talking about the death of murderers and, therefore, feel that this comes as some “Divine punishment”. This idea stems from the traditional Catholic religion. However, if you would like to know God’s opinion on this matter, don’t ask any religion; instead, read for yourself what He says in the Bible:

If men fight, and hurt a woman with child, so that she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman’s husband imposes on him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life. Exodus 21.22-23

If God saw things the same way the religious see things nowadays, both the death of a woman and abortion would be the same crime: murder. But this is not how He sees it. If the wound provoked the woman’s death, the punishment was death. But if it only caused the abortion, the punishment was a fine. This is because the fetus was considered part of the mother’s body and only seen as an independent life after birth. Whether you agree or not, this is the biblical understanding. Abortion is harmful, but it does not compare to the death of the mother. The rest is religious tradition and personal opinion. And the fact is that this tradition has been costing four souls per day.

The greatest victims, as usual, are the poor. Those who have money get an abortion elsewhere, where there are clinics with real doctors. Meanwhile, those who do not have the resources must resort to medicine-induced abortions or in a hellhole. Many of which are usually run by people who only want money and do not care about the woman’s life. What are the results of this? Uterine perforations, hemorrhages, and infections. Most of the time it is not the abortion itself that kills women, but how and where it is done.

According to the IBGE, most women who get an abortion already have children. This is, in addition to our delayed law feeding this soul trade, it is also leaving thousands of children without their mothers. May the religious forgive me, but it is absurdly cruel and unchristian to blame these mothers for their own deaths. When there is a death in our family, we realize that one a year is already a tragedy. Imagine a soul being taken away every other day or four per day!

These women are so desperate that they expose themselves to these risks, thinking there is no other way out. They are alone, often without any support. If the procedure was legalized, they would get it done in a hospital with a well-equipped staff to serve them: a group of health professionals interested in the patient’s well-being and not the money she has to offer them. They will count on the support of a psychologist and social worker to talk to and help them decide if this truly is the best choice. And they could, in fact, have a choice. In Uruguay, a country that recently legalized abortion, this is exactly how it works. Some even change their mind and decide to continue with the pregnancy, receiving the necessary support to have the child. Others proceed with the decision to end their pregnancy and do it in a safe way without complications, maintaining their health, dignity, and soul.

We cannot cover the sun with one finger, believing that keeping abortion illegal will cause women not to get abortions. Also, we should not exclude ourselves from being held responsible when we learn from the newspapers that women are dying on “butchers” tables every day. Yes, it is our responsibility, if we continue to feel that they do not deserve to be protected by the law. Being in favor of legalizing abortion does not necessarily mean you are in favor of abortion. No one needs to be in favor of cancer and cigarettes to be in favor of the state offering lung cancer treatment to smokers and saving their lives by law. With properly regulated abortions, offered safely, especially to those women who have low income and have no assistance, we can begin to discuss whether it is right or not, based on our personal opinions. The most important – and urgent – thing is for these women to stop dying.