Introduction
Abortion is the removal of a pregnancy before it is due. It is the elimination of a fetus or embryo from the mother’s uterus before it is due for birth. Abortion can either be induced or can occur due to complications of pregnancy in other terms referred to spontaneous abortion. It can be induced if the health of the pregnant female is at risk or due to other reasons. Spontaneous abortion is a result of miscarriages. In most cases, abortion is used to refer to the induced abortion other than the spontaneous. Abortion has been practiced for a very long period and various methods have been used. Some of the ancient methods include the use of sharp objects and other traditional methods that were practiced by medicine men. Today, the methods have advanced and we have the use of medicine and surgical procedures. Different communities and different races have their own view in regard to Abortion. Some perceive it as a legal procedure while others feel that it’s illegal and the practitioners should be punished. Some nations have gone to the extent of legalizing it, allowing its citizen to perform it freely. However, most nations feel that it’s an illegal procedure, unethical and unreligious. Most Christian and Muslim nations feel that everyone has the right to live and should not be deprived of this right. They argue that abortion amounts to murder (MariAnna, 2002 P43-70).
With the increase in access to family planning awareness and the use of contraceptives, abortion rates have gone down worldwide. In the United States, abortion is one of the commonly practiced medical procedures that are performed in day-to-day life. Over forty percent of all pregnant women end their pregnancy through abortion. This is most common among young Americans, the poor, unmarried, victims of rape, and women over 40 years. It was legalized in 1973 and since then abortion rates have increased. Many scholars have argued that legalizing abortion has resulted in its increase. My research is aimed at answering the following two questions: can we say that the increase in abortion rates in the United States has been caused by its legalization or are there other independent factors causing it? Which is the most venerable ethnic group in the US in terms of abortion?
Literature Review
Almost all women of all classes seek an abortion. Many scholars have been wondering why women opt for abortion especially in the U.S. where we expect the rate to be low because of civilization. Ironically, pregnancy termination in western countries is high than in less developed countries. These are the countries that have access to family planning education and contraceptives just at their doorsteps. Since abortion was legalized in the US in the year 1973, the rates of abortion have gone up to approximately 1.2 million every year (Anon. “Abortions rising under Bush? Not true” 2005). The government has tried to introduce better and more effective family planning methods, which exhibit no changes. More than 3 million pregnancies every year are considered to be unplanned and half of them end up being aborted. There have been several proposals made by the state law to cater to certain issues. Minors are required to inform their parents before taking up an abortion but the big question is; how will the law protect young adults who are not minors? Some provisions propose that the spouse should be informed before the wife decides to take an abortion; at what stage should the pregnancy is terminated? Can the government fund abortion? (Anon. Abortion overview, 2010).
Before the law on abortion was enacted (in the 19th century), women found it difficult to terminate pregnancies. They could only do it under the assistance of medical providers because abortion was restricted and if the women were caught, they would be punished together with the providers. It was later prohibited and was only performed in hiding. However, in 1965 the number of deaths caused by illegal abortions rose to 265 and this attracted the government’s attention. Many discussions were held in the Supreme Court on issues related to abortion and out of it; the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (NARAL) emerged. It was in 1973 when the then justice Harry Blackmum wrote the Roe V Wade law that allowed women to perform an abortion in the first 6 months of their pregnancy (Anon. Abortion overview, 2010).
Today, policymakers in the United States are having emotional issues in dealing with abortion. Most individuals have different perceptions regarding abortion which is determined by their morality, religion, human rights, and the woman’s position in society. This is not a problem that is affecting the United States only but it is becoming a controversial problem in many nations. Policymakers are confronted with the problem of reducing the rates of abortion. In most nations’ abortion has been legalized while others have made it difficult to access. The United States is one of the countries that have legalized abortion; the policymakers thought that by legalizing abortion the death rates caused by unsafe abortion would reduce but didn’t take much thought on its prevalence. It is argued that legalizing abortion reduces the rates of abortion and this is true in many nations. In the US, when abortion was legalized the rates went up instead of reducing. However, other predominant factors have been attributed to the rise in abortion levels. One major factor is the rate at which women get unplanned pregnancies and the use of contraceptives.
Of all the pregnancies in America, half are unplanned. Four out of ten of these unplanned pregnancies end up in abortion and about 22% of all pregnancies are aborted. The rate of unplanned pregnancies is high among black women than the whites with 69% and 49% respectively. It has been recorded that for the period 1973 to 2005, the total number of abortions performed was approximately 45 million. In every year, more than two percent of all the women between fifteen to forty-four years go for abortions. In the US abortion rates are high among women below twenty-five years; thirty-three percent among the women between 20 to 24 years and seventeen percent obtained by teenagers (Anon. Facts on Induced Abortion in the United States, 2008).
Black Americans go for abortions at a higher rate than whites. Women living below the poverty line are at high chances of obtaining abortions than those slightly above the poverty line. This is because the rate of them getting unintended pregnancies is four times higher (Anon. Facts on Induced Abortion in the United States, 2008). Being asked why one would go for abortion, some women said they would not afford to bring up other children since they had what they wanted, others said that it would interfere with their work, and others were studying and argued that having a child will increase the burden and they may not concentrate with their studies while others said that the pregnancy resulted from a rape ordeal.
Research Methods
Based on my research hypothesis, I will use the qualitative research method. This is a search method that is common in social sciences and market research. It is aimed at giving the researcher a deeper understanding of how different people behave and the reasons for their behavior. It is a research method that helps the researcher to explore why and how a certain social phenomenon occurs and not just where or when it occurs. Under this method, small samples are preferred to large ones. I have preferred to use qualitative research because it will produce only the information related to my research question (Russell 2006). I have planned to collect my research data from the black women living in the suburban areas of the US. I have chosen these respondents because they are the most venerable out of their color and their social lives.
Taking into consideration my research hypothesis, I will use different data collection methods. Besides the use of articles, books, journals, and reports, I will use participant observation, unstructured interviews, structured interviews, and an analysis of documents and materials.
Participant Observation
Participant observation is aimed at giving an in-depth understanding of the cultures, beliefs, and practices. The researcher gets involved in a certain culture and adopts their way of life. Before doing this, the researcher has to select a certain geographical area where he wishes to carry out his research and then define what he wants to accomplish. In my research am intending to change my residential area to live in some of the suburban areas in the US. In doing this, I will have a chance of knowing their cultural practices and their beliefs. I aim at finding out whether people living in the suburban areas have certain beliefs and values concerning abortion, why they would consider abortion, and what their stand on legalizing abortion is. My presence may alter the information I will get from the observed environment but I intend to partially involve myself in selective activities, examine the available documents, and select some objects that I will interview.
Interviews
In regard to interviews, I have already used unstructured and non-standardized interviews with no specific questions. This is to help me get a deeper understanding of the question I am about to tackle. Meanwhile, I am in the process of preparing semi-structured interviews with a set of questions, which will help me get information from my respondents.
Documents and Materials
Some certain documents and articles have been written in relation to abortion in these areas. I will refer to them as a guideline to carry out my field study.
Discussion of Hypothesis
An abortion that is conducted under legal conditions is usually safe and is performed by a qualified medical provider. It is performed at the early stages of the pregnancy when there are fewer chances of developing complications. It involves the use of surgical procedures in a clean environment. On the other hand, illegal abortions are usually performed in unsafe environments and one can easily develop complications. When the policymakers in the United States legalized abortion, they did so to control the death that had earlier on been caused by abortion. Death rates as a result of abortion are higher in developing countries where abortion is illegal than in the countries that have legalized it.
The US government had not reasoned that with legalizing abortion, the rates would go high. As a matter of fact, one reason for legalizing abortion was to reduce its prevalence. Many scholars have been perplexed by the current trend and have taken it into the heart to investigate whether legalization is the leading factor behind the increase in abortion. I was also motivated by the same and was surprised to find that the leading factor for abortion is the increase in the number of unintended pregnancies. Most couples plan to have a given number of children in a given duration and if the woman gets pregnant before the time planned, the next option is to terminate it. Whether abortion is legal or not, the majority of the women who experience unplanned pregnancies will go for abortion. They would not take much consideration as to whether the procedure is safe or unsafe because all they would be seeking is the termination of the embryo. Other than saying that abortion is directly related to its legality, we can say that abortion and sexuality are directly related (Karraker & Grochowski 2006). The policymakers in the United States, in their effort to ensure safety for women, should also encourage them not to have unplanned pregnancies.
Dailard (2010) observes that another factor that has contributed to the rise in abortion rates is the fear of using contraceptives or using them inconsistently. The US government has ensured that women can access effective family planning methods. Most of the methods revolve around the use of contraceptives. It is the dream of every couple to have a given number of children. Their success in achieving this depends on the effectiveness of the contraceptives they use. Most of the contraceptives have negative effects while others are difficult to use consistently. Women find difficulties in using the pill every day; some even forget and skip their daily dosage. This results in unplanned pregnancy which the couple may choose to terminate. Some couples find it difficult to use condoms or diaphragm consistently. Some contraceptives have adverse side effects for example the use of the IUD and hormonal contraceptives such as injections and most women fear using them (Carroll, 2006). Other factors that affect the effectiveness of family planning methods are cultural and religious beliefs, educational level, and the age at which one gets married.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I would say that even if legalizing abortion has resulted in its increase; it is not the only dominating factor. It is clear that legalizing abortion decreased the number of deaths that was caused by illegal abortion. It made abortion simpler and safer but did not necessarily mean to increase the number of abortions. The other factors that have increased abortion are the rate at which women get unintended pregnancies and the ineffectiveness in the use of contraceptives. Every couple has its dream of the number of children that they wish to get within a certain time. If the woman gets pregnant before the planned time, the couple chooses to abort the fetus. Most of these unplanned pregnancies are caused by the ineffective use of contraceptives. Most people fear using contraceptives because of their negative effects. Others actually forget when they were supposed to use them for example the daily pills users. Cultural and religious beliefs, educational level, and the age at which one gets marriage also influence the effectiveness of the use of contraceptives. Some cultures and religious beliefs prohibit the use of contraceptives and advocate for natural methods.
Black American women perform abortions at a higher rate than whites. Reasons for this are not known but it could be because of the awareness and resources that they are exposed to. The poor perform abortions at a higher rate than the middle-class individuals. In the future, I plan to research what can be done to reduce the rate of unintended pregnancies and which contraceptives, if used, can bear the best result with very minimal side effects.
Reference List
Anon. (2010). Abortion: abortion overview. Web.
Anon. (2005). Abortions rising under Bush? Not true. How that false claim came to be – and lives on. The Biography of a Bad Statistic. Web.
Anon. (2008). Facts on Induced Abortion in the United States, incidence of abortion. Web.
Carroll, J. L. (2006). Sexuality Now: Embracing Diversity. New York: Cengage Learning
Dailard, C. (1999). Abortion in Context: United States and Worldwide. Web.
Karraker, M. W. & Grochowski, J. R. (2006). Families with futures: a survey of family studies for the 21st century. London: Routledge.
MariAnna, C. J. (2002). Abortion: a collective story. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group.
Russell, H. B. (2006). Research methods in anthropology: qualitative and quantitative approaches. G – Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series. Rowman Altamira.