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.