San Miguel 1

Ashley San Miguel

Mrs. T. Briones

ENGL 1302 – 228

10 April 2024

Should Abortions be Accepted or Not?

Every person has their own view or belief on certain subjects whether it is social media,

the LGBTQ+ community, or being pro-life/pro-choice which is related to abortions. However,

these opinions can come from how people were taught growing up, or religion which can have a

major influence on how others view the topic of abortions. In the article “Religion as a Micro

and Macro Property: Investigating the Multilevel Relationship between Religion and Abortion

Attitudes Across the Globe,” “Americans supported legal abortion by wide margins if the

mother’s health was ‘in danger’ or ‘the child may be born deformed’ but opposed abortion when

“the family does not have enough money to support another child’ (Blake 1971)” (Adamczyk 1).

This gives us an idea that abortions are approved in certain circumstances, but not all the reasons

for getting them are accepted. It is wise to have a better look and understanding on how women’s

lives can possibility change so drastically with just one decision. This essay presents different

views on whether abortions should be accepted by giving us a view of women’s decision in

getting one, religion beliefs influence, and women’s mental health before or after.

Reasons Behind Abortions

Women have numerous of reasons behind their decision regarding going through the

procedure to terminate the baby. People with a very risky medical condition are told that going

through pregnancy can cause further damage to a person’s physical health or mental health. In

the article “Understanding Why Women Seek Abortions in the US,” it states that women seek
 San Miguel 2

this choice when they are not financially well to be taking care of a child, have multiple mental

problems, or are not fully ready to be committed to take care of the child (Biggs, et al). It is not

really a good lifestyle for a child to be in if the mother is not mentally well or is not interested in

committing to the responsibility. This can cause a person to have a bad childhood, feel neglected

or have the same mental problems as their own mother since they were forced to grow up in that

environment. According to another article “Reasons U.S. Women Have Abortions: Quantitative

and Qualitative Perspectives” it mentions, “Roughly equal proportions of women in both surveys

indicated that baby would dramatically change their lives, that they could not afford a baby now,

that they did not want to be a single mother or had problems with their relationship, and that they

were not ready for a child or another child” (Finer, et al, 4). This can give you another idea of

how a child will have to grow up. A child does not have to live a difficult life just because a

mother does not want to take the responsibility of taking care of a child or not wanting a baby in

the first place. Children are put up for adoption just because of having the belief that life will be

easier for those babies. However, that is not always the case. There are kids who come out with

abandonment issues, depression, or mommy or daddy issues while others get to be adopted to a

good family home. It is cruel to put both the mother and child through challenging situations just

because of some own belief or opinion. Another thing is that a doctor can even tell you that

abortion is necessary. A person suffering from past medical problems is mostly asked to think

about going for an abortion. Death during childbirth is something that can happen when the

mother of the child suffers from past medical problems that could have possibility weakened the

body to the point of not having the strength to fully make it through the birth. Another thing is

that it can possibility cause the child to be born with a disability or medical problems later in

their life.

Mental Health
 San Miguel 3

Mental health is something that can be there before or after a pregnancy or abortion. It

should be focused on considering there are people who suffer from it daily. A women can be

struggling with mental illnesses such as like depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),

or anxiety way before having the knowledge of being pregnant. The article Unintended

Pregnancy, Induced Abortion, and Mental Health,” states “Pre-abortion depression scores and

post-abortion rates of decline were similar regardless of method of termination” (Horvath, et al,

2). It also states, “They found that 36% of women obtaining surgical abortion and 35% of those

obtaining medical abortion had depression prior to their abortion care, compared to 17 and 21%,

respectively, at the 1-month post care assessment [14]” (Horvath, et al, 2). Regardless of whether

a woman goes through with the termination or not, they will still stuffer before, during, or after a

pregnancy. However, their mental help can also become worse if they go with the pregnancy or

go with the abortions. An example could be a victim of rape. Imagine what goes to a woman’s

mind when being told that they will have to go through the pregnancy against their own will just

as she was forced into doing something against your own will, too. Or if they go with the

abortion, they will still have to deal with the memory of that event engraved in their mind. That

person will feel trapped and feel as though she cannot longer ask for help. This can also cause a

mother to be neglectful of the child considering they will possibility suffer from PTSD and will

cause them to see their attacker in their child. Some may say that it is not the child’s fault which

is true, but someone with a mental problem would not see it like that. It can lead to mental abuse

or physical abuse in some cases. In other words, there are always different effects and causes

when it involves the topic of mental health because one does not know how a person’s mind will

react to such a drastic change.

Religion
 San Miguel 4

There are several types of religion all over the world whether it is Christianity, Catholic,

Buddhism, Judaism, etc. Religions have their own certain beliefs or views when it comes to

abortions; some may be against the whole idea, others approve, or some just stay in-between.

The article “Managing Religion and Morality Within the Abortion Experience: Qualitative

Interviews With Women Obtaining Abortions in the U.S” it gives a better idea on how religion

see abortions by stating, “Most major religions express doctrinal disapproval of abortion, and

this condemnation is reflected in individuals’ stated beliefs; research has demonstrated a strong

connection between individual religiosity and negative abortion attitudes” (Frohwirh, et al, 1). In

this article “Religion as a Micro and Macro Property: Investigating the Multilevel Relationships

between Religion and Abortion Attitudes Across the Globe” it gives a glimpse of those religions

opposed of the subject, “All of the major religions (Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Hinduism,

Judaism, and Buddhism) offer reasons to oppose abortion” (Adamczyk 2). There is a good and

bad side to this. Even though people are more open minded on this topic, religion is still

something that its own belief will never change even if someone tries to persuade them. There

are different events that have different meanings to that, and one can be if the person pregnant

herself says that that they will going through the pregnancy because of their religion. Since it is

their own decision to go through with it, not others' opinions on the matter. However, there are

some cases where parents are the ones who force the idea of going with the pregnancy just

because of their beliefs. It is understandable if the woman has the same belief, but if it is

someone that has separated themselves from religion it is a completely different story. It is not

right to force someone to go through a pregnancy or abortion just because of one’s own belief,

especially if it is not the person that is going to have the baby.

Conclusion
 San Miguel 5

Overall, abortions are something people should investigate considering it has pros and

cons to it. It is wise to do further research on this topic considering that not everybody knows the

cause or effect of getting one or not. In the article “I Am Ready and Willing to Provide the

Service … Though My Religion Frowns on Abortion’-Ghanaian Midwives’ Mixed Attitudes to

Abortion Services: A Qualitative Study” it mentions something similar which is, “expressed the

need that someone who is educated should care for women to avoid preventable ill health”

(Oppong-Darko, et al, 4). Women should have the freedom to make their own decision

considering it is their own body and mind that is going to be put through all the work and trauma.

People should have an open mind about this and even if they have their own opinion, it should

not be forced on a person just because. At the end of the day, the pregnant individual has the last

say. However, it is also for those mothers to keep in mind that cause and effect of their actions

and to think thoroughly about what will become of the future.

 San Miguel 6

Works Cited

Adamczyk, Amy. “Religion as a Micro and Macro Property: Investigating the Multilevel

Relationship between Religion and Abortion Attitudes across the Globe.” European

sociological review 38.5 (2022): 816–831. Web.

Biggs, M Antonia, Heather Gould, and Diana Greene Foster. “Understanding Why Women Seek

Abortions in the US.” BMC women’s health 13.1 (2013): 29–29. Web.

Finer, Lawrence B. et al. “Reasons U.S. Women Have Abortions: Quantitative and Qualitative

Perspectives.” Perspectives on sexual and reproductive health 37.3 (2005): 110–118.

Web.

Frohwirth, L., Coleman, M., & Moore, A. M. (2018d). Managing religion and morality within

the abortion Experience: Qualitative interviews with women obtaining abortions in the

U.S. World Medical & Health Policy, 10(4), 381–400. Web.

Horvath, Sarah, and Courtney A. Schreiber. “Unintended Pregnancy, Induced Abortion, and

Mental Health.” Current psychiatry reports 19.11 (2017): 77–77. Web.

Oppong-Darko, Prince, Kwame Amponsa-Achiano, and Elisabeth Darj. “‘I Am Ready and

Willing to Provide the Service … Though My Religion Frowns on Abortion’-Ghanaian

Midwives’ Mixed Attitudes to Abortion Services: A Qualitative Study.” International

journal of environmental research and public health 14.12 (2017): 1501-. Web.