Teen Abortion Essay, Research Paper
Adolescent abortion by Yvette R. Harris; Society August 1997
For teenagers facing abortion, it is a psychological, social, and philosophical
dilemma that must be encountered. After the Roe v Wade case in which the court
decided that a woman should have the right to choose, limited abortion rights
were granted to minors. As a result, numerous states enacted various forms of
parental notification and consent laws. In most states, the law requires that
parents of teenagers provide written approval of the minor’s decision to
terminate her pregnancy, or that they be notified by a physician. An on going
debate has continued regarding the notification of parents on abortion. Many
psychologists believe that parental notification can have a long-lasting impact
on the teenager’s physical and psychological well being, decision making
capability, and family relationships. Opponents believe that such notification
laws are unnecessary because a significant portion of teenagers confide in
their parents about pregnancy and would seek their advice on pregnancy options
and alternatives. Therefore, parents are already involved in providing
emotional and psychological support and assisting her in the decision making
process. Also, a small percentage of teens are living in abusive and unstable
situations at home and the laws would cause them to delay seeking termination of
their pregnancy because of the fear of the parental reaction. On the other
side, those who believe that parents should be notified argue that if parents
are notified, they will be there to provide support in dealing with the
psychological impact of abortion. They also argue that teenagers are not
experienced at making decisions for themselves and therefore will not make the
decision that is best for themselves and for their family. Information must be
obtained on the psychological effects of abortion on teenage mothers before any
federal law goes into existence on teen abortions.
Committee approves bill requiring girls to notify parents before an abortion by
Mark Silva; Tribune News Service April 1999
Statistics show that in the United States abortion is committed by many teenage
mothers. A bill was passed requiring a teenage girl to notify her parents
before having an abortion. The problem the bill faces is that there is a
Privacy Amendment in the Constitution that broadly protects women’s rights to
choose abortion. Sponsors of the bill argue the fact that in any other surgical
procedure, other than an emergency, doctors are required to notify the parents
before they do surgery. However, in many economically and education deprived
sections of the US, many teenagers are living in potentially violent families-
or a father who might even be responsible for his daughter’s pregnancy. In a
case like that, the father may be so enraged about a daughter’s decision to have
an abortion he may physically and sexually assault the teenager and thus
psychologically damaging the teen for life.
For some teens, abortion as a means of coping can become a stressor-Anne
Speckhard
By many teens, abortion is used as a coping mechanism for adolescents who are
not ready for parenthood. However, abortion for some teens can be the very
thing that causes stress. Over 20 percent of teens who have an abortion have
posttraumatic responses, including depression. This is because a teen who
becomes pregnant will form a strong attachment to the fetus. This causes many
problems because it causes a grief reaction that is difficult to overcome.
Teenagers who were traumatized by their abortion experience often say they felt
forced to have an abortion and that the experience was tremendously filled with
emotion. The posttraumatic response to an abortion is not dissimilar to any
other traumatic event like a car accident or the witness of a death. The
teenager will have flashbacks of feelings of attachment to the child and often
return to the place of the abortion, and even deny that the abortion even took
place. In many cases, some adolescents will resort to drugs and alcohol to
escape the flashbacks and be able to sleep. Also, many of the teenagers who do
have an abortion many times come back pregnant again and have another abortion.
Many girls fear punishment from g-d and the negative reaction to abortion may
not be met with much comfort.
My Reactions and Feelings
The topic of Teenage Abortion is very controversial and there are many questions
surrounding the moral and legal aspects of it. Although I will be expressing my
ideas and emotions on both sides, I will like to first give you my view on it.
I believe that abortion is wrong. In only some cases, that I will get into
later, I believe that abortion is ok.
Adolescent Abortion
In this article, the debate is whether or not parents should be notified in the
case that a teenager wants to have an abortion. I believe that in many cases
notifying the parents of their daughter’s abortion is pointless. My thought is
that if a teenager is having sex before she is married and not using protection
that there is a lack of communication between the daughter and parents. There
is obviously not a good relationship between the teenager and her parents
because if there was the parents would talk to her about the risks of having sex
and what can happen if she does have unprotected sex. If that is not occurring
between a parent and child then they are not good parents. In the argument that
the teenager should have to tell the parents because she will receive good and
informative advice, support, and understanding I think is not true because if
the parents were like that from the beginning and offered that kind of love, the
teenager would have no need to go out and look for some other sort of forced
love (sex). I also believe that notification of parents before an abortion is
unnecessary because in some abusive families, something as small as a broken
plate can lead to abuse by the parents and therefore something like a teenage
pregnancy would utterly ruin the life of the teenage girl and put her own life
in danger. Since I believe that abortion is not right, I still think that
parents should be notified. This is because parents have been there for the
teenager her whole life. In addition, have made many important decisions and
sacrifices for her and will most likely do whatever is best for her, whether it
means to have an abortion or to keep the child and help her raise him/her.
Committee approves bill requiring girls to notify parents before an abortion
As I read this article what stood out the most for me was the situation in which
a father rapped his daughter and consequently got her pregnant. As I am a
believe in pro-life and that pregnancies should not be aborted, this is one of
the only situations that I believe it is acceptable. If a daughter was to tell
her father that she wanted to get an abortion and she was raped by him,
obviously he would become abusive. Therefore, I do not think that in certain
situations it should not be a law to inform parents of an abortion. In the
situations that I think abortion should not be done is when a girl has sex and
she willingly accepts it. I feel this way because when you have sex, you
accept everything that comes with it. That includes bringing a new life into
this world. Therefore, no one has the right to take the life of the pre born
child. Many times teenagers make mistakes that they later regret. Even though
many of them are not as extreme as getting pregnant, they still have to deal
with the consequences of the mistake and learn to deal with them. They cannot
go back and change what they did because it is impossible to do so and the only
way to deal with their mistake is it accept it. Teen pregnancy cannot be
escaped through abortion because there are many long-term psychological affects.
A teen mother must take care of the child that they conceived with the help of
the father and raise it into the best family and environment that they can. If
they do not do that, they are cowards who cannot accept responsibility and
should be convicted of manslaughter-they knowingly hurt the life of an innocent
person.
For some teens, abortion as a means of coping can become a stressor by Anne
Speckhard
This article reiterates my thoughts about how abortion is a wrong thing to do,
not only for the unborn child but also for the effects of the mother. When a
teen becomes pregnant, she is naturally bonded to her child no matter what she
plans on doing with him/her. As a result, abortion is a very traumatic event
that can have long lasting effects on them. The effects can be as severe
depression and an inability to cope with the outside world. Because of these
effects, she can become extremely violent and be hazardous to herself and others
around her. As I read this article, I was shocked to read about the teenager
who had an abortion and was so greatly hurt by it she returned on her abortion
anniversary and attempted to set the clinic on fire. She was risking the lives
on many innocent people for a reason that could have been prevented. In order
to maintain the attachment to he fetus, the child should have been born and not
been aborted. The attachment is something natural that I think occurs between a
mother and fetus and is there for a reason, so that the mother can take good
care of the child when he/she is born. It is not natural for the mother to have
the pregnancy aborted because otherwise she would not feel a connection to the
fetus. I also think that abortion is wrong because in this article is explains
how many of the mothers who go through an abortion have difficulties overcoming
it. Many teenagers have immoral sexual relationships which put their lives in
danger because of STDs and the risk of becoming pregnant again. If such things
can occur with teen abortions, should not teen abortion be banned? At least
until further research is done to better analyze the psychological effects of
abortion on teenagers, I think that teen abortion should be banned and only
permitted in certain situations such as rape and incest.