The Decision to Get an Abortion

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Recommended: Sociological perspectives on abortion

Contraceptives are effective ways for coupes to prevent pregnancy. However, even with the best possible contraceptive available none are 100% reliable. Sterilizations do not always work, can come undone naturally in men, offer no protection from STI’s, and is usually expensive. Condoms can break, leak, or slip. Abortions are no different. Abortion is the termination or expulsion of an embryo before viability. They can occur spontaneously or be planned with counseling. If a woman were to choose to get an abortion it should be her choice and no one else’s. Abortion and pregnancy are things affecting her body personally. Dehlendorf and other researchers state “The abortion rate in the United State is higher than that in most other developed countries” (1772). Abortion proves to be one of the most controversial contraceptives within our society. Conversely, abortions possess their own advantages and disadvantages including social pressure, possible after effects, and methods for the procedure.
When making the choice of whether or not to get an abortion a woman may be face with pressure from all facets of her life. Sometimes religious families will pressure the pregnant woman to influence her choice with threats or emotional difficulties. Friends may even abandon or turn on the individual, increasing the difficulty of the process. Even the individual’s religious beliefs become a test of faith or convenience. These internal influences can cause just as much emotional damage as the external. Donatelle states, “Although feelings such as regret, guilt, sadness, relief, and happiness are normal, no evidence has shown that an abortion causes long-term negative mental health outcomes” (108) and “Given that unintended pregnancies are the pri...

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...d contraceptives and impending pregnancy. And abortion proves to be an emotional process affecting the life of the woman. The chances of domestic violence, family rejection, and other symptoms increase. Even if short term the damages could cause unsuspected consequences.

Works Cited

Donatelle, Rebecca J. "Abortion." My Health: An Outcomes Approach. Boston: Pearson, 2013. 108-09. Print.
Silverman, Jay G., Michele R. Decker, Heather L. Mccauley, Jhumka Gupta, Elizabeth Miller, Anita Raj, and Alisa B. Goldberg. "Male Perpetration of Intimate Partner Violence and Involvement in Abortions and Abortion-Related Conflict." American Journal of Public Health 100.8 (2010): 1415-417. Print.
Dehlendorf, Christine, Lisa H. Harris, and Tracy A. Weitz. "Disparities in Abortion Rates: A Public Health Approach." American Journal of Public Health 103.10 (2013): 1772-779. Print.

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