Abortion is the intentional termination of a pregnancy, which is often performed within the first 28 weeks of a pregnancy. The United States Supreme Court has allowed abortion since the 1973 ruling of Roe v Wade. Similarly, abortion is allowed in Canada at all stages of pregnancy and is governed by the Canadian Health Act. The debate surrounding this issue cannot be overstated, and as a result, the study tries to expand on abortion in regard to religious roles, social difficulties, and some preventative and intervention techniques.
Religious beliefs have the greatest impact on the debate over whether abortion should be legalized or not. A number of Jewish and Christian faith groups in Canada and U.S. have publicly admitted that abortion is sometimes an acceptable option and therefore it should remain legal. However, some conservative and mainline denominations are generally opposed to abortion. For instance, the Roman Catholic Church teaches that abortion is some form of murder and no matter what the situation is, the act should be unacceptable. The only exception would be a medical procedure as recommended by a professional and only under the condition that the fetus or the mother is in danger. Principally, most religious denominations come to the following agreements:
All agree that they want the abortion levels to drop.
In situations where abortion is considerable, the concern is to present the least health risk to the woman.
Once the humane personhood is achieved, prolife and prochoice devotees advocate that the fetus’ life is preserved, unless other medical professionals say otherwise.
Social Issues
Inadequate access to clinics and hospitals: Coupled with religious myths, women seeking to abort for various reasons may face serious challenges in Canada, especially because of the great distances to be travelled across provincial borders. More so, other factors that pose a challenge include migration issues, inadequate financial resources and physician’s invoking clauses that restricts them from performing the procedure. More so, lack of access to services is further complicated by the statistics that: only one in six hospitals provide abortion services. Abortion Stigma is also another problem fueled by religious myths and discrimination. Despite it being legalized, religious society and the cultural set up view abortion as mortal sin.
Prevention
To begin with, abortion can be prevented through continuous education and empowerment of both the young and the old. It is imperative for the victims to know their legal rights. This will prevent the society from influencing their choices through stigmatization or cultural coercion. Secondly, individuals faced with the task of unwanted pregnancies should consider parenting. This will go a long way in preventing high risks associated with abortion. Also, if parenting is not the right course, then the bearers should consider adoption. More so, support from close family, friends and medical professional’s plays a huge role in preventing abortion. Counselling is one of the most recommended techniques to prevent abortion. Lastly, abstinence and educating oneself is a sure way to avoid such cases.
Intervention
Medical abortion is one sure way to intervene in abortion instances. It is basically a non-surgical abortion in which pharmaceutical drugs are used to induce abortion. Medical intervention may be preferable especially in early gestation, during uterine malformations or if it is the woman’s preference. Secondly, the use of behavior change communication intervention has proved to be effective in improving knowledge and perspectives of the individuals considering abortion. Other approaches includes surgical abortion, abortion care, family planning, use of long-term hormonal birth control options and psychological intervention.
Bibliography
Bailey, Jacqui. 2012. Abortion. New York: Rosen Central.
Garfield, Jay L., and Patricia Hennessey. 2014. Abortion, moral and legal perspectives. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press.
Legge, Jerome S. 2005. Abortion policy: an evaluation of the consequences for maternal and infant health. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Nelson, Adie, and Augie Fleras. 2015. Social problems in Canada: issues and challenges. Scarborough, Ont: Prentice-Hall Canada.
Planned Parenthood Federation of America. 1985. Five ways to prevent abortion (and one way that won't). [New York]: [Planned Parenthood Federation of America].
Rose, Melody. 2008. Abortion: a documentary and reference guide. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press.
Waldron, Mary Anne. 2013. Free to believe: rethinking freedom of conscience and religion in Canada.
