The Changing Face of Abortion

I think it is discrimination against women to say that they wont be able to understand that

Maybe we should help women who choose life with their children.

Conception and development is a natural process that spontaneously aborts more than 60% of the time (and possibly as much as 80% of the time). That means 3 or 4 out of 5 conceptions never become babies. Nature knows when a fetus shouldn't be born. Perhaps mothers know too.

What is truly sad in this country is that, all to often, especially for women who already have children, abortion is a choice made in absolute desperation. Real choice would mean that they could raise their children in safety, health, and with all of the advantages of living in a land of opportunities. I believe many women would chose life, if life did not seem to be the more desperate choice.

To all females out there. Read some comments about this article. You can debate when life starts, but I will say without and Studies being made less than 2% of women have sex so they can have an abortion. If every abortion required an operation removing a sperm sample from the man. Abortions would drop below 2%, Some men would go to jail, and Society would see how abortion as a womans right is really mans way out.

This article makes it sound like the abortion rate has gone down due to educated teens on safer sex. But couldn't it be that teenagers and women in general are still getting pregnant, but making a different decision either to keep her child or adoption, rather than abortion? This article doesn't give the entire story. They just want to pat the experts on the back for educating teens on birth control, but maybe they should pat the women on the back fo rmaking a decision other than abortion.

One of the factors in reducing teen pregnancy rates, and therefore teen abortion rates, is the contraceptive depo provera. It is an injection given 4 times a year. Studies have shown that teens are notoriously forgetful about taking a pill once a day, but getting an injection once every few months is much easier. Once they turn 18, however, many lose their health insurance - depo is expensive - and their contraceptive choices involve more work, and more money. Contraceptive failure - or no contraceptives at all - is more common.

It is no surprise that poorer women have more abortions - knowing you may be bringing a child into the world that you can't provide for is frightening. Remember the scene from "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck? The lead character kills her infant child at birth because her family is starving.

Historically, when times are tough, women are forced to make tough choices.

If we want to lower the incidence of abortion, we must take better care of women, and provide them with affordable contraceptive choices, for all age groups.

The decline in abortion rates among teens mirrors a decline in teen pregnancies--from 107 for every 1,000 teenagers ages 15-19 in 1982, to 75 per 1,000 teenagers in 2002 (the most recent year for which data is available).

sicntired, don't you read?

As a sexually-active male, I have always felt responsible for making sure that birth control was properly used, however i've been with female partners who really didn't think about it until I broached the subject. Come on! If these woman had been with a partner less amenable then myself who knows where they'd have ended up? I realized that these women were likely dim-witted, so didn't want to be with them anyway. If they didn't respect themselves enough to practice a modicum of sexual intelligence, they sure as heck weren't going to respect me down the line or respect the life of their fetus should they become impregnated.

As someone who had an abortion, I have some thought as well. I am a minority (American Indian) and at the time, I was 21, still in college and could not see how I could disappoint and hurt my family by telling them about my pregnancy. I also could not fathom taking care of a child, going to school, etc. It was too much for me mentally - and I was on birth control. It has been 5 years, I am on a stronger form of birth control (I am limited because of a genetic clotting disorder so that makes it more diffiicult) and I am still dating the same man. There are some negative effects from abortions emotionally but I feel that it was the best decision for me at the time, although not necessarily the right decision from a Christian perspective. But I knew I would not be a good mother as I was too young and selfish and I would resent my own child. How fair would that have been? I also knew the likelihood of that child ending up as a ward of the state and I didn't think that was fair, either. So I made a decision that I have to live with. It does not haunt me every day as it used to but people need to understand the consequences of such an action and be prepared to live with it. My boyfriend also experienced some of the same thoughts, etc. because he went through this with me. Sometimes, it just is what it is.

So we have numbers on abortion rate, but do we have numbers on teen pregnancy? I don't think this is any reflection on the sex education these youth are receiving but simply a relfection in the shift in moral standards. My guess is that teen pregnancy is at an all time high... just a thought

What do you mean by "But the news isn't all good." Isn't Newsweek a news magazine. I think your editorializing opinion is out of place in a "news" piece.

I would also wager that once women reach the 20 -24 year range they may have less access to contraception. As teens they are on the parents plan and as they get older they may be on their employers or spouses plan. The most vunerable age for not having health care is probably within this age group so the women use less safe methods of contraception. Unfortunately, once pregnant, they realize they don't have the emotional or financial ability to have the child so they consider abortion as a valid option. Universal health care would probably decrease the rate.

I would also wager that once women reach the 20 -24 year range they may have less access to contraception. As teens they are on the parents plan and as they get older they may be on their employers or spouses plan. The most vunerable age for not having health care is probably within this age group so the women use less safe methods of contraception. Unfortunately, once pregnant, they realize they don't have the emotional or financial ability to have the child so they consider abortion as a valid option. Universal health care would probably decrease the rate.