Teenage Abortion, Essay Example

Teenage abortion has emerged one of the major public debates in America because of the economic, cultural, and social stakes. It is reasonable to argue that marriage as a cultural institution has been losing its significance in America, like many other developed countries. Premarital sex does not have the same negative social stigma it once had. As a result, teen pregnancies are becoming more common news. Young people do not often carefully assess the risks of their actions including unsafe sex which sometimes lead to unwanted pregnancies. A child is a huge responsibility and many teens are not mentally ready, thus, they are forced to consider abortion due to one or more factors. But teen abortion attracts controversy because it violates the ethical and moral values held by certain groups. In an ideal world, unwanted pregnancies would not occur but the society should allow teenage abortion because the potential benefits of teenage abortion outweigh the potential costs to the affected stakeholders and the greater society.

Teenage abortion should be allowed because not doing so impose huge economic and health costs on the teenage mothers. Children come with responsibilities and not surprisingly, teenage mothers are more likely to drop out of high school. Teenage mothers are also more likely to suffer from health problems (National Abortion Foundation). Dropping out of high school means teenage mothers would have lower lifetime income which will also negatively affect the child’s wellbeing. Similarly, health problems also mean greater medical expenses as well as lost productivity for the teenage mother in her career life. Thus, not only teenage mothers’ have their economic prospects reduced but their financial position is further worsened by their medical expenses. In addition to decline in career income and health, there are other costs, too. State of Michigan government reported in 2006 that the costs of childbearing are the greatest for teenage moms at $4,951 for mothers 17 years and younger (Michigan.Gov, 2006).

Teenage abortion should also be allowed because the costs of unwanted birth do not only accrue to mothers but may be even greater for the child. Daughters of teenage mothers are more likely to become teen parents themselves and sons of teenage mothers are more likely to be incarcerated. This is not surprising because teen mothers are more likely to remain unmarried and live in poverty. Similarly, children born to teenage moms are also more likely to born underweight, experience neglect, and enter the child welfare system (Michigan.Gov, 2006). Children born to teenage mothers are also more likely to drop out of high school, further fueling the poverty cycle (Brace, Hall, & Hunt, 2008). Teenage pregnancy also increases the risk of having a second child before the age of 20 which only means greater number of children living in poverty in the nation.

Teenage abortion should also be allowed because the consequences do not remain limited to the direct stakeholders such as the mothers and the children but also accrue to the society. Thus, it is in the best interests of the society to allow teenage abortion and even provide economic assistance for abortion procedures to pregnant teens with limited resources. It is estimated that the annual cost to U.S. of teenage pregnancies is $9.1 billion. It is important to note that almost half of all teenage pregnancies are unplanned (Brace, Hall, & Hunt, 2008), thus, denying abortion rights to teens is akin to denying them a future that could have been much better.

The opponents of teenage abortion primarily cite their ethical and moral values which have often been shaped by their religious beliefs. They argue that a life is created by god and only god has the right to take away life. They also claim that abortion is akin to a murder because a fetus has the same rights as an individual living in the society (Short, 2013).

The opponents have the right to have the beliefs they hold onto but they tend to forget state and church are separate in the U.S. This means public policies and laws and regulations are not accountable to values and beliefs shaped by religious ideologies. If someone doesn’t want to pursue abortion due to her beliefs, she has the right to do so but the opponents are wrong to impose their beliefs onto others. Teenage childbirths are not trivial issue but have lifelong impacts on mothers and children and also impose huge economic and social costs on the society. Almost everyone would agree that the best course of action is for young people to not put themselves in harm’s way where they have to make difficult choices like abortion but this world is not perfect. Every actions has usually both negative and positive aspects but the merits of any action should be decided by comparing its pros and cons. It is clear that the benefits of allowing teenage abortion significantly exceed the potential costs, thus, teenage abortion should be legal in all 50 states in the U.S.

Teenage pregnancies impose huge economic and health costs not only on teenage mothers but also their children. While the idea of abortion violates the ethical and moral values held by many in American society, religion has no place in public policymaking and laws. Society should allow teenage abortions because the society will be better off in the short and long term.

References

Brace, A. M., Hall, M., & Hunt, B. P. (2008). Social, Economic, and Health Costs of Unintended Teen Pregnancy: The Circle of Care Intervention Program in Troup County, Georgia. Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association, 1(1), pp. 33-46.

Michigan.Gov. (2006, November). By the Numbers: The Public Costs of Teen Childbearing in Michigan. Retrieved November 21, 2013, from www.michigan.gov/documents/mdch/By_The_Numbers-The_Public_Costs_of_Teen_Childbearing_Michig_292783_7.pdf

National Abortion Foundation. (n.d.). Teenage Women, Abortion, and the Law. Retrieved November 21, 2013, from http://www.prochoice.org/about_abortion/facts/teenage_women.html

Short, E. (2013, October 21). God, Man, and Abortion: A New Summons to Hope. Retrieved November 21, 2013, from http://www.crisismagazine.com/2013/god-man-and-abortion-a-new-summons-to-hope