Abstract
This work provides research on the effects of abortion on females. It is a controversial and attention-grabbing topic for study and may avail a solution to the dangers that come along with abortion and the question of whether abortion should be legalized or prohibited for good. Abortion can occur naturally, and at times it may be induced due to health complications or other reasons (Johnson, 1999). Again, abortion is legal in some countries, especially when there are pregnancy complications, while in other nations it is yet to be legalized. This situation gives birth to safe and unsafe abortions as in countries where it is illegal some people will do it secretly which is risky. Precisely, this study explores the effects of abortion on women in the US.
It presents the social as well as health outcomes related to the practice, in addition to the contemporary statistical details centered on research findings. The research also analyzes the legality of abortion in the United States and offers some recommendations. Participants in the study will include health care providers, females who have done abortion and their family members, students from secondary schools, hospital administrators, and policymakers among others. Moreover, the research uses both qualitative and quantitative research approaches to collect the necessary information. Analysis of the data collected shows that many women experience various effects of abortion which includes stigma and social issues. Moreover, the research shows that some states in the US do not provide excellent abortion services in times of need. In sum, the study shows that abortion has many effects on women.
Abortion
Problem Statement
Abortion remains a contentious issue globally. Though the practice is legal in some countries, especially when a pregnancy causes health challenges to a mother, there are significant challenges that accompany it. Moreover, abortion has several effects on women which this research will try to unearth. However, it is essential to note that one can deliberately induce abortion, and it can also occur accidentally (Johnson, 1999). Research shows that around seventy percent of pregnancies worldwide are unanticipated (“History of Abortion,” 2018). Several studies also associate complications related to abortion and childbearing with most of the maternal deaths. Induced abortion involves the elimination of a growing fetus from the womb using pills or other methods. Among the factors that lead to abortion are social, economic as well as religious issues (Johnson, 1999).
Abortion can help control the size of a family and save the life of a mother in case of complications. However, the practice also has some demerits. Abortion can cause a health problem in addition to promoting irresponsible behavior, especially among the young girls (Johnson, 1999). It can also lead to death. As mentioned above, about fifty percent of pregnancies in the US occur accidentally, and about 25 percent of women abort the pregnancies. Research shows that two percent of females between fifteen and forty-four years of age abort every year in the US. Additionally, fifty percent of women by forty-five years of age will experience accidental abortion (“History of Abortion,” 2018). Therefore, as the studies show, abortion is a common practice and may cause maternal deaths if not conducted carefully. Two methods of abortion are common. Some people use pills while others use surgical means to extract the fetus. The research will investigate the experiences that these females encounter when they undergo an abortion. It will provide the social as well as the health effects of terminating pregnancies and avail statistical data to support the findings. Furthermore, the research will scrutinize the legality of the practice in the United States, in addition to providing recommendations to improve the situation.
Research Questions
The research addresses the following two questions:
Is abortion a safe practice, and what are the effects of the procedure to females who decide to end their pregnancy?
To investigate how the government regulates abortion in the US. How the US legal system treats the practice, and where the regulations uphold the women reproductive rights to pave the way for abortion.
Literature Review Concepts
The research includes three literature review concepts. The first concept is the legal aspects of abortion. According to Medoff (2010), the modification has led to the proliferation of anti-abortion laws. In the Roe v. Wade lawsuit, the Supreme Court established a framework that strengthened the control of abortion at state level (Gurtovnik, 2008). Nevertheless, most people who are against abortion argue that the health exemption allowed by the court is a substantial impediment to effective control of abortion in states (Bellieni & Buonocore, 2013). The Supreme Court annulled some anti-abortion policies after the ruling in the Roe v. Wade case. Notably, the court maintained that the states could not prevent a woman from doing abortion in the first trimester. Therefore, the woman can freely access the services from a licensed physician (Gurtovnik, 2008). In trimester two, the state can bar a woman from terminating a pregnancy to protect the fetus life.
However, if there are health complications, the state can allow the woman to end the pregnancy. The second concept involves the health aspects of abortion. Research indicates that abortion and miscarriage can lead to mental illnesses. Therefore, psychological assistance is useful to females who deliberately or accidentally lose their pregnancies (Fine-Davis, 2018). A study by WHO shows that most maternal deaths occur in the developing nations (Medoff, 2010). Many countries have legalized or liberalized abortion to make sure that people use safe methods. Before, people used to do hide when doing abortion, but the situation seems to improve over time as governments continue to legalize the practice. In the last four decades, researchers have conducted many studies to find out the psychological impacts of abortion. Most women who develop mental illnesses are those who do not have someone to support them such as families and partners (Fine-Davis, 2018).
Forced abortion can cause lasting health risks primarily if you use wrong methods (Bellieni & Buonocore, 2013). The third concept is the social facets of abortion. There are numerous social features with respect to abortion. Most of them include the personal as well as family perspectives (Bellieni & Buonocore, 2013). At the individual level, the decision to terminate a pregnancy may encompass emotional distresses, physical challenges like pain, ethical concerns, and social relations among others. Factors that can influence the decision to end a pregnancy include socioeconomic status, education level, the community’s view towards the practice, religious reasons, and age (Bellieni & Buonocore, 2013). Furthermore, abortion aftereffects affect the whole family. A mother may be worried that she may lose the ability to support the children that she already has. The family may also encounter economic challenges as they try to ensure that the abortion procedure is successful. Again, the family needs to offer emotional support to the affected person. The decision to end a pregnancy also affects the sexual partner of the female. Lastly, the response of the community towards the decision may be negative or positive. In short, abortion concerns almost everyone in the society.
Methods
This part describes the actions that the research will consider during the exploration of the consequences of abortion. It will also include the rationale for using specific techniques and processes used in identifying, selecting, developing, and analyzing data needed in understanding the research problem. The research will use both the qualitative and quantitative research methods. The paper will have five parts. The first part will cover the analysis of various research methodologies in addition to identifying the most suitable research approaches for the study. The second part will include a discussion about the population for the study. The third segment will expound on the sampling frame of the research. The fourth part will encompass a discussion on the techniques that the study will use to collect data, while the last section will focus on the analysis of the gathered data. Qualitative research is descriptive research.
Researchers use the method to understand the fundamental views, reasons, and motivations behind something. The qualitative study uses diverse data collection methods. It uses semi-structured as well as unstructured means, for example, interviews, discussions as well as observations (Shahbazi, 2011). In contrast, quantitative method emphasizes the measurement and investigation of spontaneous links among diverse variables instead of processes. The approach uses measurable data to explain facts. Data collection methods in a quantitative study are typically structured (Jones & Jerman, 2017). This study will mostly use qualitative approach because the research is phenomenological and seeks to comprehend the insights concerning the effects of abortion in the United States. Again, the theoretical work supporting the study is explanatory. The research aims at enhancing the understanding of the impacts of abortion on females.
It will explore the various consequences of the practice among the women in the US in addition to the whole society. The study will use a population of about fifty respondents. Most of the reviews on abortion have used non-probability samples. In this sampling method, the researcher collects and carefully analyzes data to ensure that the feedback provided on various questions offer sufficient evidence on the subject matter (“Apps.who.int,” 2018). On the part of data collection, the investigation will use primary and secondary data. The study will specify the type and number of interviews that the research will need. The process will use random sampling to obtain participants. However, the research will need to consider some factors when selecting the kind of techniques to use. In this case, the study will use structured, unstructured as well as semi-structured interviews. For the data analysis, the transcription of the data collected through meetings as well as focus groups will take place.
The conventional content and the units of measurement will involve the use manual methods. After going through some hospital records, we will get the information on the various cases involving abortion. In fact, in some documents that the research group reviewed, there were several cases of abortion. Some participants from the focus group also said that they encountered various challenges after terminating their pregnancies. The problems include social and psychological difficulties.
Findings
This section provides a summary of the finding of the research and the importance of the results. The findings may bring a solution to some of the adverse impacts of abortion to women. We can accomplish this by making sure that the government implements better guidelines in addition to ensuring that the people follow the policies. The rules will ensure that healthcare providers use safer methods of abortion and the society provide the necessary assistance including psychological support or counseling. Centered on the findings from the participants in the study, the majority of them were between the twenty and thirty-five years old as it is the time in life when they have good reproductive health. Approximately thirty percent of all the respondents have encountered some challenges related to abortion.
Based on the hospital documents used during the study, nearly eleven percent of abortions that occurred during the first trimester needed stitching because of cervical injuries. Younger females are the one who mostly suffered from this condition after the procedure. According to the participants in the research, twenty percent of the women who had done abortion reported that they suffered from psychological problems among other issues. Few days after terminating the pregnancy, some of the respondents indicated that they suffered from nervous disorders. Others either complained of sleeping disorders or remorse for ending the pregnancy. Some even said that they felt guilty. Participants from the focus group who had gone through counseling after abortion reported that they experienced low self-esteem, hopelessness, and constant challenges with their partners and other ties among other problems. Therefore, considering the findings of the research, it is clear that some effects accompany abortion. The issues occur irrespective of methods used for abortion.
Limitations
This part presents the barriers that the research team encountered during the study. Restrictions refer to the influences beyond the researcher’s control but have some impacts on the outcome of the study. The researcher is not able to set the limits to these effects or conditions while conducting the investigation. While exploring the effects of abortion on females in America, the research team experienced several limitations. First, the research team encountered problems in getting participants, accessing health facilities, as well as in gaining access to patient records. The researchers, therefore, were not able to get important information in some areas, and this affected the outcome of the study.
Furthermore, when doing the interviews, there was a problem of longitudinal effect because of the restraints that emanated from deadlines of the tasks (Erdman, DePiñeres, & Kismödi, 2012). The study on the repercussions of abortion needed more time to investigate behaviors of females who have undergone or are planning to undertake the process. Nevertheless, the research mainly relied on the literature review and studies by other researchers (Erdman, DePiñeres, & Kismödi, 2012). Therefore, much time is essential when researching the abortion aftereffects. Lastly, self-reported data affected the research as it is hard to verify the information. During the research, a large part of the data depended on the information gotten through interviews as well as focus groups. The research team also incorporated information extracted from hospital records. Such form of data can encompass significant biases as the researchers may forget some facts, and this adds to the limitations of the study.
Conclusion
The paper presents the results of the research on the effects of abortion on females in the US. Through a qualitative study, it is apparent that abortions result in many aftereffects that affect women who have undertaken the procedure. On the cause of the study, the research team encountered several challenges that limited their potential. This paper has highlighted all the limitations. The work also offers some recommendations that can help improve the problems that come along with abortion. The research recommends that the government at the federal as well as state levels should set aside enough funds to establish effective programs. The study shows that high school kids are at high risk of getting pregnant. Therefore, to avert or reduce the number of such pregnancies, the government needs to invest more in public health programs and other arrangements that will reduce teenage pregnancies. The plans will go in line with the emerging trends in reducing the number of abortions, and unwanted pregnancies. The programs will also help in reducing the severe consequences that abortion causes, and early parenthood. The study also suggests that the governments should eliminate barriers and regulations that can deter access to safe abortion services. Third, the government should make sure that all females who legally qualify for safe abortion have a friendly environment to access the services. Lastly, women who are have undertaken abortion and those who are planning to abort should not be subject to mandatory counseling. Instead, institutions should access psychological support on voluntary and private bases.
Peer Review Journals
Before deciding on the place to publish my abstract or manuscript, there are some things that I will need to consider. On top of the information provided by other people concerning the aim of the journal, scope, impact factors, charges for publication, reviews procedures, and publishing, it is essential also to consider my personal preferences. The preferences are relative, and they depend on the person who wants to publish a journal article. For example, some journal may ask for a specific amount of money for publishing, while you may be looking for free edition. Furthermore, you may prefer to publish with a local journal-at your institution. This move may be helpful as you can quickly get citations as well as local publicity. Again, you may decide on whether open journals are right for you or not. Open access journals can also be of high quality and also impact. For me, I think that that public access journals are as good as closed access journals. Considering the above information, I prefer publishing my work with the following journals:
Journal of Midwifery and Women Health (JMWH): this is a peer-reviewed journal that belongs to the American College of Nurse and Midwives. It presents contemporary study and knowledge across a wide variety of clinical as well as interdisciplinary issues such as maternity care and gynecology.
BMJ: this is a worldwide peer review journal that focuses on medical issues. The journal has been in existent since 1840. The journal aims at engaging informing and stimulating medical practitioners and researchers in a manner that will enhance income for patients.
Reflection Statement
Research attracts many challenges as well as opportunities. For me, I cannot hesitate to say that I enjoyed interacting with the many people who participated in the study. Through them, I gained more insight on the things that women in general, and those who do abortion go through. The research also opened my eyes to the things that the government may need to do to improve the lives of women, especially those who are in the reproductive age. This work was a significant advantage of the study. The main challenge/ disappointment I encountered while conducting my research was the unwillingness of some people and health facilities to provide the information that we requested. However, despite the many challenges, I was able to complete the study successfully. In communicating my research results, I will publish my research in reputable journals so that people can access it. I also hope that I will be able to expand my research to other areas affecting the health of women so that I can help improve the situation both at the state and national level.
References
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