Abortion

Disparities in Abortion Rates: Causes and Prevention
Abortion has been a major issue of controversy in recent times. The issue whether abortion is necessary, right or wrong has often pitted proponents and opponents on opposite sides. Some people believe that abortion should be carried out when and if necessary and that unintended or unwanted pregnancy should be terminated. Others feel that abortion is a form of murder and should never be performed no matter the circumstances. In this article, the authors looked at the disparities in abortion rates in United States and discussed some social and environmental factors responsible for increased rate of abortion. While I agree with some content of the article, I totally disagree with them on some aspects.
According to the article, abortion in the United States is higher than in most other developed countries. The authors noted that abortion is higher among Black Americans and Hispanics and women of lower socioeconomic status. They tried to make a case for, and justify the reasons why, there is increased abortion rates among these groups in comparison to white women. However, while I may agree that socioeconomic status may contribute to increased incidence of unintended or unwanted pregnancy and thus to increased rate of abortion, I make bold to state here that the increase should in most cases be seen as reflective of individual failings and individual woman’s behavior rather than a reflection of adverse social circumstances. Individuals should take responsibility for their acts rather than put the blame on economic and social forces. Besides, there are white women with low socioeconomic status, and thus if there the incidence of abortion is not increased in this group, then it is logical to say that the individual behavior plays a major part in the increased rate of abortion and not race or social status.
Furthermore, unintended/unwanted pregnancy is associated with sexual activity. Most pregnancies happen due to lack of contraceptive protection, wrong use of contraceptives or using a contraceptive that is not affective. The article noted that studies have shown that black adolescents initiate sexual intercourse at younger ages than whites. It however, did not state any convincing reason to justify the findings. But I think that generally, adolescents in the United States become sexually active at very young age regardless of race. I would rather agree that there is an inverse relationship between socioeconomic status and sexual experience. Females from a low socioeconomic background tend to initiate sexual intercourse earlier than their counterparts from a high socioeconomic background. This is because adolescents who live in neighborhoods where there are high levels of poverty, idle youths, social disorganization, lower proportion of working women, and lack of educational opportunities, would have nothing to engage them and occupy their minds other than engaging in reckless sexual activities and other risky habits. Consequently, these result in unintended pregnancies and abortions.
Moreover, the authors of this article advocate that once an unintended pregnancy has occurred, availability of timely and high-quality abortion is essential to ensure that women have the best possible outcomes. I strongly disagree with them on this. The quality and time of abortion does not justify its use. I rather believe that limiting access to and utilization of abortion services would help cut down abortion rates. Efforts should be geared toward preventing unintended pregnancy rather than providing easy access to abortion when it happens. If you do not want to become pregnant, then desist from practices that may result in pregnancy. Limiting access to abortion services would also serve as a deterrent to would-be unintended pregnant women because they would want to desist from reckless sexual activities knowing fully well that if they ever become pregnant, they would have to carry the pregnancy till term. On the other hand, providing “high-quality” abortion services as advocated by the authors of this article would encourage promiscuity and reckless sexual activities.
However, women who decide to keep their unintended pregnancy till term should be encouraged and given adequate pre- and post-natal care. The social media, print and electronic media should be used in educating the masses on the dangers inherent in abortions and early and unprotected sexual practices. Abortion is an act of murder and should never be encouraged. It is worthy to mention here that I personally support only one type of abortion. This is when there is complication in pregnancy in which case the mother’s life is in danger if the baby is not aborted. In that case it is better to terminate the pregnancy and save the life of the mother rather than losing both mother and baby. For me this is the only form of abortion that is necessary.