Nowadays, the problem of abortion, and, consequently, the problem of antiabortion become vitally important particularly for well-developed, post-industrial societies. It is evident that it is not a problem of an individual anymore but a really social problem because it concerns not only the health of a woman but it also produces a serious impact on a demographic situation in the whole country and on a psychological atmosphere in the society at large and within the family in particular. Traditionally, antiabortion beliefs are very strong even in the most democratic societies but on certain conditions even conservatives agree that abortion may be necessary or even inevitable. Personally, I believe that the society must be very careful resolving the problem weather to support or completely reject antiabortion ideas but, anyway, I am convinced that women must have a choice and a chance for abortion.
In my work I'm going to explain my viewpoint and certainly, I'll try to analyze the degree antiabortion concerns individual and other constituent parts of our society. First of all, I would like to refer to some statistic data which prove that we can't forbid abortion, particularly in well-developed countries. According to Henshaw and Van Vort, only in the USA, among 6.2 million pregnancies that occur each year, 1.6 million end in abortion, it gives an abortion ratio of 347.8 abortions per 1000 live births (1992). The data may vary depending on the country and its level of development but still the numbers are very impressive. Also we shouldn't forget that women in despair may commit desperate acts which may have fatal results.
But I want to underline that abortion is not the problem of women only it is the problem of the whole society. To prove this statement I think it will be enough to mention that over 1000 violent attacks on abortion clinics and doctors were committed from 1977 to 1991 and we should remember that a lot of attacks remained unreported (Grimes, 1991). So, it means that definite social groups are ready to defend their antiabortion belief even by the violation of law. Another evidence of social significance of the problem is the fact that in some communities in the USA, for example, Boulder, Colorado, women are legally protected from antiabortion protestors (Hern, 1991). It is also noteworthy that about 12 % of Americans are totally against abortion while others who are either pro or contra abortion can change their mind under certain circumstances such as the danger to woman's life, the pregnancy as the result of rape, etc.
However, antiabortion belief may also cause problems within families which are part of the society. The fact is that it is extremely important for a woman to have a supportive atmosphere from the part of the closest relatives, namely husband and parents. Specialists highly recommend taking the abortion decision by both partners that may make the family stronger while disagreement can lead to divorce. But we also should remember that women cannot be forced to abortion as well. So the role of the family in taking the decision is not less important than the influence of the community or personal beliefs.
Taking into account all above mentioned, I want to say that antiabortion is a social phenomena that concerns not only a woman but also her family and the society she lives in but we should realize that women have to have a chance for abortion and make a conscious choice for or against it because it is their moral and legal right. Moreover, it is evident that even violation of law aiming at a total forbidden of abortion is doomed to fail because the only result that the forbidden may have is the increasing of illegal abortions and greater risk for women's health.
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