Unwanted Pregnancies, Essay Example

In our society, one of the definitions of an unplanned pregnancy can be defined as a woman having a baby when she is not physically or mentally prepared. The term unwanted pregnancy is applied to denote the women who have pregnancies that are neither desired nor intended. The pregnancies which are concluded by abortions are also included in this evaluation (Russo 147). The unwanted pregnancy comes in different points in a woman’s that may not be the best moment to care for a child.In today’s society, the subject of unwanted pregnancy is a very delicate subject. However, a woman has the right to govern her own body and make decisions that is appropriate forthem. Abortion is a right that legislation must protect as a legal act for women to reserve a women’s freedom of choice. We must discuss the parameters of unwanted pregnancy, which is a pregnancy, which a woman did not expect;the pregnancy was unintentional,or not wanted at the time of conception. The universal meaning of abortion is describe as ending an unwanted pregnancy. The epidemic of unwanted pregnancy is prevalent amount adults and young teenagers. The alternative options to birth are seeking a physician to perform an abortion, which is common procedure. Regardless of the circumstances, women should have control over her own body. Abortions should remain legal in the United States. There are instances where abortion needs the legal system to make a decision in courts, in cases of rape and incest. These decisions of unwanted pregnancy because of rape and incest can be argue that every child deserves the right to live; however, a woman should have the right and freedom to make that decision not the courts. If the women decide to have the baby even if society frowns on the birth, it is her personal right to make that decision. Abortion should not be mandated by the government, it should be left up to the woman’s own particular circumstances.

“What would happen if the child were discovered to have a disease which would have the outcome of a serious deformity? These two questions are explored from the perspective of the author with regards to unwanted pregnancy “(Lee 146).

The advantages to unwanted pregnancies are the abortion prevents women from bring a child into the world that is not wanted. In addition, the women are not psychologically, physically, or emotionally prepared to take care of an unwanted child. This abortion helps avoid a life of uncertainty for the child and even death. In our society, teenagers are getting pregnant at earlier ages when they are not mentally prepared for motherhood. The abortion prevents the child from dropping out school and suffering from the shame from being pregnant so young. The abortion gives the young teenager a second chance in life and an opportunity to have a healthy relationship with her child when the time is right. Another advantage is the teenager’s abortion provides a chance for better educational and financial opportunities.

The teenagers today are more educated about contraceptive and preventive measures for unwanted pregnancies, thus there are less teens getting pregnant. There are hotlines, teenage groups, school counselors, local health department, school interventions, and thousands of media outlets that give a woman options and support. The government has spent billions in promoting contraceptive use and abstinence funding for every state. The concentration of changing the trends of teenagers getting pregnant at a young age has proved successful. Finally, the public outrage concerning abortion clinics and social groups that fiercely fight abortion. The societal impact has made it uncomfortable for women to get an abortion, thus women in our society are discourage to visit an abortion clinic.

“The state’s teen pregnancy rate has dropped for the fifth consecutive year, according to data released to the Alabama Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy by the state’s department of public health”(Montgomery Advertisers 1). There are other programs such as the abstinence programs for youths promoted by the government has been successful in decreasing the number of teen pregnancies. “The United States is one of the foremost nations with regards to the lowest rates of unwanted pregnancy. Over the past decade, the United States government has promoted sexual abstinence programs in all of the states” (Stanger-Hall, Kathrin & Hall e24658). There is evidence that teen pregnancies are decreasing because the educational system and the government programs have provide support and funding for reeducation. The high schools are more open in the new millennium than in the 1950s. As a result, teens are more prepared, more educated and they access to contraceptives. In 2009, the teenage pregnancy rate was determined at 61.4 per thousand. In 2001, there was a drastic decrease in the number of teen-agepregnancies, which was at 29.6 per thousand. In 2012, the teenage pregnancy rate was estimated at 27.7 per thousand (Montgomery Advertiser 1). The United States has some of the lowest teenager unwanted pregnancies, however, there are other parts of the world that have higher pregnancy rates. The areas of the Caribbean, Latin America, and Africa demonstrated the most elevated levels of unintended pregnancies. The Asian continent was the next largest source of the unintended pregnancies, followed by North America, Australia- New Zealand, and Europe (Russo 149).

The disadvantages of unplanned pregnancy could lead to poverty and create animosity towards the child because the added burden of motherhood. The women must be prepared to take on the lifelong responsibility for this unwanted child. There are a number of disadvantages to unwanted pregnancies such as untreated diseases such as sexually transmitted diseases (STD) which could lead to birth defects. The unborn child has the potential to be deformed or suffer from premature babies because the women may not be in the best health. The mother may suffer from depression, post-partum illnesses, and emotional problems.Research has shown that fourteen percent of the women experience depressive symptoms during their pregnancy and that twenty- five percent of the women experience higher levels of depressive symptoms during unwanted pregnancies (Somerset 71). The basic need to feel loved by someone else might be a cause for an unforeseen motherhood. An adolescent sometimes have a low self-worth and merely be searching for validation in the bedroom. Nevertheless, numerous young adults who have awesome, passionate loved ones and are extremely confidante are merely searching for the couple of minutes of happiness and stay away from utilizing safeguards. While numerous teenagers make use of the justification that intercourse can feel much better without a condom, an unexpected conception will probably happen. One primary consequence of adolescent childbearing is the fact the toddler might be brought up by a single parent. Although the majority of girls are seeking affection and validation in sexual activity, many males are searching for the simple gratification because they are not thinking about being a teenager parent. The challenges of high school and spending time with close friends might be too much to handle for many teenagers, so they just leave. Raising a young child, as teenager is complicated, however raising a young child on your own will be nearly impossible.

The unplanned pregnancies can be an unnecessary burden on the new mother including the possible malnutrition, resentment towards the unborn child and poor health of both the mother and unwanted child. An unforeseeable conception causes the parent unexpected financial burdens. This could result in the mother to work in very low paying jobs that could result in the mother and newborn living in poverty. The young child grows up without the mothers love. The most cruel thing a person can do to another human being is deny them love and affection. This intentional denial of a close relationship affects the child for a lifetime.

The disadvantage of unwanted pregnancies is the parent normally experiences severe depression and stress. The stress causes many medical complications such as malnutrition, premature birth, mother is unhealthy mental and physically and severe stress harms the baby. In addition, the baby suffers since the mother probably has resentment and ill feeling towards the new baby.

Teenagers do not have a real grip on life because they believe contraceptive or birth control pills will keep them from being pregnant. They form a sense of invincibility because they have never gotten pregnant while being active. However, that is not the only reason they get pregnant. Teenagers get pregnant because they are lack affections and attention from their own homes. This lack of affection makes the teenager vulnerable because they were they hunger for love on their sleeves. The second reason for unwanted pregnancy is peer pressure to gain acceptance from their friends. The third reason is a teenager’s lack of self-esteem, which others can prey on that weakness while they are confusing sex as love.

There is no doubt legal abortion is a good service that is accessible for any women that decides to abort their child. We only have to look back in the past to the days when abortions were down with hangers, unhealthy rooms, drinking harmful solutions that harm the women as well and not to mention how many women died from infections from abortions done in the alley.There may gruesome stories in the abortion history that many have forgotten the inhumane conditions women were forced to endure because abortion was illegal. Today, the benefits of abortion far outweigh the disadvantages because the legal system is respecting the right of women to control her own body. That freedom is worth fighting for because with too much government interventions, we lose our rights given to us by God.

Works Cited

Lee, Nancy Howell, and Miller Mark Crispin. The Search foran Abortionist: The Classic

Study Of How American Women Coped With Unwanted Pregnancy Before Roe V. Wade. [N.p.]: Open Road Media, 2014. Discovery eBooks. Tue. 15 Sept. 2014.

Montgomery Advertiser. ¨Alabama Teen Pregnancy Rate Drops for Fifth Consecutive Year.¨ Montgomery Advertiser, 7 November 2013. Tue. 15 September 2014. http://archivemontgomeryadvertiser.com-article-20131107-NEWS-!·!107012-Alabama-teen-pregnancy-rate-drops-fifth-consecutive

Russo, Nancy Felipe, and Julia R. Steinberg. “Chapter 7: Contraception And Abortion: Critical Tools For Achieving Reproductive Justice.” Reproductive justice: A global concern. 145-171. Santa Barbara, CA, US: Praeger/ABC-CLIO, 2012. PsycINFO. Tue. 15 Sept. 2014.

Somerset, Wendy, et al. “Chapter 4: DEPRESSIVE DISORDERS In Women: From Menarche To Beyond The Menopause.” WOMEN AND DEPRESSION: A handbook for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. 62-88. New York, NY, US: Cambridge University Press, 2006. PsycINFO. Tue. 15 Sept. 2014.

Stanger-Hall, Kathrin F., and David W. Hall. “Abstinence-Only Education and Teen Pregnancy Rates: Why We Need Comprehensive Sex Education in The U.S.” Plos ONE 6.10 (2011): 1-11. Academic Search Premier. Tue. 15 Sept. 2014.