Abortions And Their Effects On Society

ABORTIONS AND THEIR EFFECTS ON SOCIETY

There are so many issues that are of concern in the society today and abortion is one of them. It is in fact a very sensitive issue and has raised arguments and debates among different groups of people. According to Lee (2004) abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removing the fetus or the embryo from the uterus before it is viable or completely formed. There are two types of abortions, the spontaneous abortion and the induced abortion. Failure to understand the difference between the two is what has caused the debate on whether abortion is good or bad and whether it should be legalized or not. Experts believe that induced abortion is one of the safest practices in medicine because it ensures that the woman is safe from any danger.

Most countries that have legalized abortion therefore refer to it as an induced abortion and not just abortion. Induced abortion is usually carried out by qualified doctors and in hospitals by use of different methods. The spontaneous abortions usually occur without notice or without the woman intending it to occur and it are called a miscarriage. There are also people who engage in unsafe abortions for example when they used unsafe pills to terminate the pregnancy. The unsafe abortions have had negative effects on women and it has been the reason for the negativity towards abortions all over the world. Women go for abortion for different reasons across the world with the most common reason being that they are not ready for a child or they want to focus their time and energy on other things at the moment or on other children. Many people and groups especially religious leaders and churches have argued that the above named reason is not a justification for termination and that a child is a gift from God. They have also argued that abortion kills a human being even though other experts like doctors have also argued otherwise that an embryo or fetus that is not fully formed is not a human being.

The main source of debate on whether abortion is wrong or right or whether it should be legalized or not is the induced abortion which has brought a lot of controversy (Rosenthal, 2012). Some people argue that abortion is a private decision of the woman while others argue that it is a public decision because it involves the unborn child. The debates for or against abortion are cantered on the morality of the person doing the abortion and also the laws that permit or restrict abortion. Activists who argue against abortion usually say that the unborn fetus is a human being and aborting it is like murdering it while activists who argue for abortion say that the woman has reproductive rights and can decide whether or not to carry a pregnancy. This shows that the debate on abortion will never end. Abortion has its effects on society. The effects are both positive and negative. The most common negative effect of abortion on society is that it threatens the life of women for example it can cause many health complications such as maternal mortality or sterility, abdominal pains, sexual dysfunctions and many more complications.

Women who abort also tend to have a sense of guilt for the first few months after the process and some of them are usually rejected in the society especially in a community which values children. Some of the positive effects of abortion on society are that the women can have a place in the society. The woman who aborts has the time to go to school or finish school and develop a career for herself. Worell (2001) believes that legalizing abortion can be a solution to a number of serious domestic social problems in the society. This is because abortion will prevent unplanned pregnancies which if not prevented might lead to lack of money to support the child or even domestic violence

Conclusion

Whether abortion is right or wrong remains a private decision of an individual because the debate on abortion will never end. However, people who are for abortion should be ready to endure the consequences of abortion. Even though there are positive effects of abortion on women and the society as a whole, there are also negative effects which should be considered and prevented in any possible way.

References

Lee, E (2004) Abortion, Motherhood, and Mental Health: Medicalizing Reproduction in the United      States and Great Britain Social Problems and Social Issues. New York: Aldine

Rosenthal, M (2012) Human Sexuality: From Cells to Society. California: Cengage Learning

Worell, J (2001) Encyclopaedia of Women and Gender: Sex Similarities and Differences and the Impact of Society on Gender. Boston: Elsevier