Causes and Effects of Teenage Abortion in the US - Research Paper Example

Causes and Effects of Teenage Abortion in the U.S. Introduction Each year in the United States, approximately 750,000 teenagers between the ages of fourteen and nineteen become pregnant. Of this number, an average 200,000 teenagers a year seek an abortion (Smidt 79). As more teenagers find themselves becoming pregnant, more are finding ways to avoid the responsibility of parenthood at such a young age. Unfortunately, not only do the excuses for obtaining abortions continue to rise, but so does the number of young pregnant females obtaining an abortion. As with any physical damage to one’s body, though, abortion comes with its consequences. Causes of Abortion Rape and Date Rape Pregnant teenage females often seek abortions when their pregnancies are a result of rape or date rape. Rape is the forcing of sexual intercourse by one person on another. More often than not, rape is administered by a complete stranger, though there have been many cases of friends, extended relatives, teachers, and even church officials raping and impregnating young women. Date rape, on the other hand, is rape that is administered usually after the female has been drugged or otherwise made unconscious. This form of rape is often done by someone that the female knows well, like a friend or even a boyfriend. However, there are some men that drug women they do not know while at a party or a gathering and then invite them out to a place where the rape occurs. Date rape generally takes place while the female is spending time with the potential rapist, like on a date, hence its name. Pregnant teenagers tend to get abortions if their pregnancies resulted from any form of rape because they feel that they did not willingly get pregnant and should therefore not have to keep the baby. In scenarios involving a rape, teenagers see the baby as a punishment for the rape, as well as a reminder. When they abort the fetus, they are doing so as both a process of healing and to avoid the consequences of what took place. In some instances, the teenager aborts the fetus because she does not want to reveal to her family or close friends that she had been raped, especially if the rape had been done by someone that she is familiar with. Incest and Sexual Abuse When a teenage pregnancy is the result of incest, the other parent of the unborn baby is either the father of the teenager, her brother, or an uncle. Similar to rape, incest often comes without the consent of the other person. Sexual abuse can also be brought on by a male family member, but the teenager can also face sexual abuse from her boyfriend or a close male friend. The primary factor in both incest and sexual abuse is that the teenager had no say in the engaging of sexual intercourse. Unfortunately, physical violence can also be administered during the process of the abuse, rendering the teenager helpless to get away. There are many reasons that a teenager gets an abortion as a result of incest or sexual abuse. The first reason is simply because the pregnancy was due to incest and the teenager does not want to keep the baby who was fathered by someone that she is related to. The teenager might also abort to avoid revealing that a family member had gotten her pregnant. They want to avoid the shame that comes with such a confession, even though they had no part in what took place; they might also have been threatened to keep it a secret, and might not have a choice of whether or not to abort. Likewise, if the teenager was sexually abused by her boyfriend, she does not want to keep a baby that was created by force with someone that she loved and trusted. Another reason is because many children that are conceived out of incest often have physical deformities or mental illnesses. Teenagers abort for this reason as they do not want the responsibility of raising a baby that might be sick and need special attention and care. Promiscuity Promiscuity is when a person has many sexual relationships, which makes up a large percentage of pregnant teenagers at any given time in the United States. Many of these teenagers are rebellious or have problems at home, and their response to them is to become sexual active with numerous people. When a teenager aborts a fetus due to being promiscuous, it is often due to the fact that the teenager does not want to give up being promiscuous. If the teenager were to have a baby, not only would they be unable to have sex during the course of the pregnancy, but they will not be able to find time to engage in sexual activities after the baby has been born. In this case, teenagers see their unborn children as chores. In an attempt to not give up their sexual freedom, they turn to abortion. Also, promiscuous teenagers tend to abort as they do not want people, such as their parents or close friends, to know that they are sexually active. They may also abort if they are not sure who the father of their unborn child is and they do not want to experience the humiliation that is guaranteed to come if they try to find out. To avoid all of the consequences and the responsibilities that come with being promiscuous at a young age, teenagers will abort their fetuses. Feeling Insufficiently Mature The reason that is seen the most as to why young teenagers abort their fetuses is because they acknowledge not being old enough or prepared enough to be a mother (Arai 48). In the present day, teenagers are getting pregnant as young as twelve years of age; these teenagers have yet to fully experience what it means to be a teenager and they are already facing the duties of a mother. The older teenagers even admit to not being mature enough to take care of a baby. Many of them even use the fact that they got pregnant at such a young age to prove how immature they are and why they should not be a mother. Again, the thought of having and taking care of a baby has become a chore, one that many young females do not want to tend to. Similarly, young mothers-to-be are often unable to afford the responsibility of raising and taking care of a baby. Many teenagers are not working as they are in school most of the time. Those that do work only work part time and receive minimum wage, which is hardly enough to take care of their own needs let alone the needs of an infant. While some pregnant teenagers are able to rely on the monetary help of their own parents, there are many others that do not want to put that strain on themselves or their family. Having a baby changes the lives of these teenagers, and being so young they do not want to deal with these changes. They have the responsibilities of being in school that they have to worry about, and they are unwilling to give up their social lives with their friends. Young teenage females would rather not have to worry about getting someone to watch their child if they want to spend some time with friends. When a baby is born, all immaturity must be dropped; many teenagers understand this but do not want to stop acting their age, so they resort to aborting their fetus. Effects of Abortion Physical Complications Regardless of age, abortions have the ability to bring about physical complications to the person receiving the abortion. However, these complications and their risks are only increased the younger that someone is; teenagers are not physically fit to induce such trauma to their still-developing bodies. There are minor physical complications that most teenagers will face after an abortion and they include fever, vomiting, bleeding, chronic abdominal pain, and minor infections. Though the complications may differ from one another, every teenager that has an abortion will experience one or more of these complications. There are also major complications that can arise from an abortion. Some of these major complications are excessive bleeding, ripping of the uterus, injuries to the cervix, hemorrhaging, and endotoxic shock. These complications can easily be treated, but they have the ability of leading to long-term reproductive damage that cannot be treated with such ease. Sterility is one of the greater physical complications that comes with abortion. Once a woman becomes sterile, there is no way to reverse it. Also, when damage is done to the cervix, future pregnancies become difficult. Many will result in miscarriage or premature birth; in some cases, women are advised not to become pregnant due to the possible complications that she or the child could experience. If a teenager undergoes too many abortions throughout their young lifetime, which does occur for some teenagers, they could risk being unable to have children in the future. Even a single abortion has the ability of causing irreversible damage to the body of the teenager. The damage caused will effect them later in their life. Psychological/Emotional Complications Undergoing an abortion is a very traumatic experience for any woman, but teenagers, as young as they are, face greater psychological and emotional complications. The most common emotion experienced after an abortion is relief, but that feeling is short-lived. After the feeling of relief has left the teenager, they experience emotional paralysis or numbness. They are unable to grasp or understand their feelings; they may have survived the ordeal of the abortion, but it came at the cost of another life. Many of these teenagers develop nervous disorders, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, feel regret or guilt about their actions, or have sleep disturbances. Teenagers who have undergone an abortion risk developing post-traumatic stress disorder, which is an anxiety disorder that can develop after someone has been exposed to trauma. This disorder can be caused simply by having an abortion, but it can also develop if the teenager were forced into the abortion by a boyfriend, the father of the child, or family members or friends. When a teenager develops post-traumatic stress disorder, they become paranoid and experience hyperarousal, finding it difficult to concentrate or sleeping. Many teenagers with PTSD relive the abortion or have flashbacks and nightmares about the procedure, and they tend to do what they can to avoid remembering anything to do with the traumatic experience. Suicidal ideation and suicide attempts are also very common among teenagers who have had abortions. Though thoughts of suicide and attempts are not uncommon for any woman who has undergone an abortion, the risk has been proven to be even greater for post-abortion teenagers. Unable to handle the physical and emotional ramifications of abortion, as well as just undergoing an abortion, many teenagers talk of or resort to suicide or else self-injury to help cope with what they are going through. Drug and Alcohol Abuse After an abortion, many teenagers turn to drugs and alcohol to fight the emotions, flashbacks, and memories of the abortion. Since any quantity of drugs and alcohol can only repress memories and emotions for so long, the majority of these teenagers become addicted, abusing the substances and taking them in great amount. Unfortunately, by abusing drugs and alcohol, the teenager faces further complications in regard to their health on top of those already present because of the abortion. There have been some situations where the drug and alcohol abuse of a post-abortion teenager has led to yet another pregnancy, bringing the teenager back to the state that she is trying to forget. Treatment Treatment, therapy, and medical attention is available for teenagers, as well as all women, after an abortion. There are medications that can help treat some of the psychological and emotions effects that come after an abortion, such as depression or post-traumatic stress disorder. Other medications can be given to help with sleep disturbances or difficulties in falling and staying asleep. Therapy is recommended for teenagers immediately after they have had an abortion, which will help to understand their current mental and emotional states to determine if further attention is needed. Group therapy is the most sought-out type of therapy, which gives numerous post-abortion teenagers the chance to talk with girls that are in a similar situation. When an abortion results in the teenager becoming suicidal or abusive with drugs and alcohol, medical attention is required. These teenagers are placed in hospitals where they are placed under observation and given the needed care until they overcome their complications. They are then provided with medication to help alleviate some of the symptoms causing their depression before being placed in therapy. However, the aforementioned physical complications of abortion must be treated in a hospital or a special facility. As previously stated, many of these complications can prove to be even more serious and they can only become worse if they do not receive proper, immediate treatment. Conclusion Teenage abortion has become a rising problem in the United States. Teenagers are resorting to abortion because their pregnancies were a result of rape, date rape, incest, or sexual abuse. Many also abort because they want to uphold their promiscuous behavior or they feel that they are not mature enough for motherhood. The consequences of undergoing an abortion as a teenager are many. Physical complications include infection and damaged cervices, which can lead to the teenagers being unable to have children when they get older. Emotional consequences are the risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder, finding difficulty in sleeping, and even becoming suicidal. Many turn to drugs and alcohol to help fight the emotions and memories related to the abortion. Help is available for these teenagers, which can help them get the treatment they need to overcome the trauma connected with abortions. Works Cited Arai, Lisa. Teenage Pregnancy: The Making and Unmaking of a Problem. New York, NY: Policy Press, 2009. Print. Smidt, Sandra. Adolescence, Pregnancy, and Abortion. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis, Inc., 2010. Print. Read More