Essay about Adolescent Abortion

Jones, R. K., & Jerman, J. (2014). Abortion Incidence and Service Availability In the United States, 2011. Perspectives On Sexual & Reproductive Health, 46(1), 3-14. doi:10.1363/46e0414

Abortion has been a complex social issue in the United States ever since restrictive abortion laws began to appear in the 1820s. By 1965, abortions had been outlawed in the U.S., although they continued illegally; about one million abortions per year were estimated to have occurred in the 1960s. (Krannich 366) Ultimately, in the 1973 Supreme Court case of Roe v. Wade, it was ruled that women had the right to privacy and could make an individual choice on whether or not to have an abortion during the first trimester of pregnancy. (Yishai 213)

In every society whether it was legal or legal, abortions were used to control fertility. In the United States it was practiced legally until about 1880, by then most states had banned it except to save a woman's life. It was widely practiced through the entire period it was illegal. In the 1890’s there were an estimate of two million abortions per year and, one to two million annually during the 1920’s-30’s. Whether a

Today, teen pregnancy is as high as ever. Shows like “16 and Pregnant” and “The Secret Life of an American Teenager” are centered on young girls’ journeys as teen moms, in hopes that viewers will become more aware about safe sex preventing teen pregnancy. Reducing teen pregnancy also reduces the rate of abortions. Teenagers are the ones who are most likely to get an abortion, since they are the ones that are the least prepared to be mothers. Regardless of their reasoning, abortion is an option that allows not just teens, but all women who are not ready or do not want a child. However, many are against abortion since they see it as killing a baby or taking away a potential life. According to writer Steven Ertelt of LifeNews.com, Oklahoma’s abortion laws are restrictive compared to other states especially with the passage of the Oklahoma Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act, or HB 1721, in April 2015, which bans dismemberment abortions that tear babies limb from limb. Any abortion practitioners that breaks this law would face a fine of $10,000 and a few years in prison. This act is a big step towards saving more potential lives, shining light on the abortion process, and is a stepping stone for other states.

Abortion is one of the most talked about topics in teenage pregnancies. When researching abortion, you find many different view points and ideas to the situation. Some of the more obvious view points are those that are well known such as pro-life and Pro-Choice. Although people have abortions they don’t understand the side affects that come along with them.

The opponents of birth control to teens overlook the fact that providing birth control to teenage girls would make sex much safer. Certainly, the unsteady rate of teenage pregnancies would decrease. In previous times, girls between the ages of 16-17 would get pregnant unintentionally. However, in this era, 13 and 14 year old girls are having babies-teens who are completely unprepared to give birth and raise a child. In these instances, if the child is not given up for adoption, the responsibility usually becomes that of the parents. In addition, when teenagers are protected from unwanted pregnancies the number of teen abortions taking place each year could be reduced significantly. According to Guttmacher.org, some states in the U.S have reported that 50 percent of pregnant teens receive an abortion. Not only is this a costly procedure, but it is also

The topic I have chosen is Abortion Surveillance. The purpose of this report was to focus on women throughout the United States who have had legal abortion. According to the article and reported by the CDC a total of 664,435 abortions were documented in 2013. The data was reported from health organizations throughout 50 states, the District of Columbia, and New York City. The main population that was focused on all races, ethnicities, and economic standings of women between the ages of 15-44 years old. Which means during the 2013 the ratio of 12.5 abortions per 1,000 women or 200 abortions per 1,000 live births accrued. Positive note, the abortion rate did go done 5% from 2012 to 2013. The source of data for this article, which can be found on table 4-1 is Abortion Surveillance, Center of Disease Control and Prevention, Alan Guttmaker Institution, and Planned Parent Hood Federation of America.

With more and more people veering away from traditional ways, which was saving their virginity for marriage, teenage pregnancy is a serious topic, and abortion needs to be thought about. On teenhelp.com, there are a lot of statistics about teenage pregnancy. About 2.65% of girls ages 15-19 gave birth in 2013. Of these teenage pregnancies, 77% were accidental. Not being married was popular among these teenagers, as 89% of them weren’t (Teen Pregnancy Statistics, 2015). With teenagers having babies, you have to wonder, who is going to have to pay for the kid if the teenager isn 't well off. It was estimated that about 9.4 billion tax dollars were spent on teenage pregnancy and childbirth (Teen Pregnancy Statistics, 2015). That is a huge amount of money to be spending.

America has no respect for life even when it comes to human life. Now a day’s unexpected pregnancy is very common in teenagers, and abortions is one of the first choices when a baby is not wanted. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the abortion rate is 13.9 out of 1,000 women aged 15-44.

Parents must be included in their children’s decisions because parents can influence their children in a significant way. For instance, parental consent laws reduce the minor abortion rate by 19 percent (qtd. in Davis). “A 2008 study done by Michael J. New, Ph.D. shows that parental involvement laws reduce the abortion rate among 17 years old by 18.3 percent, among 16 years old by 14.3 percent, and among 15 years old by 8.6 percent” (qtd. in Davis). These statistics show that the states that require parental involvement laws the abortion rates decline greatly. Sometimes, teens want to have an abortion because they are afraid of their parents. However, if the law requires minors to inform their parents about their pregnancy and the possibility of an abortion, their parents will be able to help them. If a teen does not inform her parents about her being pregnant, this teen will never know if her parents would have been supportive and guide her through this difficult process.

24 percent of women having abortions are unmarried teenagers. Pregnancy can be a scary and extremely stressful time in a women?s life. To force a woman who is not ready for a child to go through with the birth is not the answer. Stress is not good for the fetus at all, and could lead to complications in the pregnancy, or even a miscarriage. People also seem to forget about a women?s mental health in these situations. A woman could be haunted for her lifetime of giving birth to an unborn child.

Along with the amount of teen pregnancies declining, the overall abortion rates have done the same. In 1996 1.36 million abortions took place, as to 2012 where 1.02 million took place. (Abortion Stats) That is a 25% drop over just 16 years. Abortion became a large ordeal when the Roe vs. Wade trial granted it legal during the first trimester of pregnancy no matter the circumstances, but leaving further laws up to state government. Abortion is a touchy subject that tries moral standards and the rights of a woman’s choice. In the pro-life and pro-choice debate pro-choice has won with 50% against pro-life at 44%, and the rest just being in a grey, in between area.

The Contraceptive CHOICE Project enrolled 9256 women in the St Louis area from 2007. The women were between the ages of 14 and 45 and were mostly young and poor. The study educated them about the full range of contraceptive options and provided whichever one they preferred. Participants were followed for three years. It found a teenage birth rate of 6.3 per 1000 among the study participants, far below the national average of 34.3 per 1000 over the same period. The number of abortions fell by 21% among all women in the study area, compared with no change in the number of abortions in the rest of Missouri (P Obstetrics and gynecology 120.6 (2012):

Within the six-year period, the number of teens who had abortion dropped 32 percent, with the largest decrease found in the age bracket of 15 to 17, which saw a 44 percent decline. The Guttmacher report also found that abortions among those 18 to 19 years old dropped by 25 percent, Life News details.

Abortions have become popular to the industry. About 43% of American women will have one or occasionally more than one abortions during their lifetime. Women's centers and hospitals perform more than a million abortions per year. Most abortions are done on women under the age of 25. Majority of abortions are done for teenagers. Abortions are obviously in great demand.