Sociological Perspective On Abortion

Almost all beliefs are socially constructed and are therefore shaped by macrostructures of society and social interaction. Beliefs are not innate and are not determined by biological predispositions or genes. One socially constructed belief that I feel strongly about, due to a variety of influences, is the social issue of abortion. I take the stance of pro-choice since I believe that a woman’s privacy and autonomy is important. Since beliefs surrounding abortion are shaped by an individual’s experiences, socioeconomic status, culture, and other agents of socialization, people will always hold opposing views on the topic(). By using my sociological imagination, I can understand how my stance on abortion is based off of the context in which

Since my mother’s side of the family is Iranian while my dad’s is European, I am exposed to a wide spectrum of beliefs about women and sexuality. According to Iranian culture, sex before marriage, as well as abortion, is considered taboo and illegal for women. This is partially due to Islam, the religion of muslims, and the fact that women are treated as second class citizens there. These kinds of laws cultivate a hostile environment toward women: Iranian law forbids the execution of virgins so if a virgin woman is condemned to death, she must lose her virginity through rape (). Being exposed to such radical views surrounding abortion has given me insight about the latent (unintended) consequences of making abortion illegal: taking away the right for a woman to control her own body makes it easy for men and the government to take advantage of her(). On a different note, the United States can be used as an example to demonstrate the latent functions of legalizing abortion. The United States Supreme Court ruling on Roe v. Wade established that women could legally receive abortions (within a certain time frame during pregnancy) due to a woman’s right to privacy (). Years down the road, this court ruling had a huge effect on crime rates nationwide. This was likely due to the fact that Roe v. Wade prevented the birth of unwanted children in poorer communities, many of which

Using my sociological imagination, I understand that I consciously take the stance of pro-choice since I’m exposed to different cultures which offer me awareness about the latent (unintended) and manifest (intended) consequences of abortion laws (). As a rational actor, I can weigh the benefits and disadvantages of having laws that legalize