Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by forcing the embryo or fetus out of the womb before the fetus can survive on its own. An abortion may occur naturally due to factors like injury, medical complications or wrong diets. It can also be caused purposely in which case it is referred to as induced abortion. Abortion is a word that mainly refers to the induced type of human pregnancy. Under age abortion is the early termination of pregnancy by minors. In the state of Illinois 5,120 abortions were performed on residents who were only 14 years or younger from the year 1995 to date. Over the same period, 54, 018 abortions were performed on Illinois residents who were 15-17 years old. It is clear that under age abortion is on the increase especially in the recent years. Under age abortion is dependent on and influenced by various sociological factors. These factors can best be understood by closely examining various sociological theories. Theories provide people with various perspectives from which they view their social world. A perspective refers to a method of looking at our world while a theory is a set of principles and propositions that are interrelated and designed to answer and explain various phenomena, events and situations that happen in our daily lives. The theory provides the perspective. Sociological theories therefore help us to understand the social world in which we exist. Sociology includes three major theoretical perspectives: the structural-functionist perspective, the conflict perspective, and the symbolic interactionist perspective (Mooney et al. , 2000). Each of the three theories tries to explain various social phenomena that happen in our society and provides possible solutions to these problems.
The structural-functionalist theory states that our society is comprised of several interconnected systems and parts that harmoniously work together to maintain a normal state of social balance equilibrium for all members of the society. Each of our social institutions like the family, government, schools, religion and the economic systems work harmoniously to deliver important functions that guarantee a state of social equilibrium in the society. The family nurtures children and provides a context for reproduction, school provide an avenue to pass on the knowledge, culture and skills of the society to the youth, the economic systems enables good to be produced, distributed and consumed by the members of the society, religious institutions provide a worship outlet and moral guidance to members of the society and the government and political institutions help in governing members of the society. The theory emphasizes on the interconnectedness that exists in society and how each of the parts is related to the other. For certain phenomenon that happens in our society, there is always a factor that is in play causing the phenomena to happen. The factor creates the right conditions, circumstances and environment for the phenomena to take place. In the case of abortion, the factors that have favored it are several. The first factor is parental guidance absence as the girl child grows. The parents are always away from the growing child due to the nature of jobs that they do. The child grows without the necessary parental presence that would have provided guidance on issues like avoiding early pregnancies. Single parenting is another factor that has contributed to under age abortions. Children who have been brought up lack parental care and attention from the missing parent. This may lead to frustrations in life that lead them to reckless behaviors that eventually lead to early pregnancies and other consequences of carelessness. Sexually explicit content in the media is another factor that has catapulted the occurrence of underage abortions in the society. Exposure of young children to the content introduces the knowledge of sex when they are too young to handle it. They try out what they have seen on television and the movies falling into the trap of early pregnancy. Since they are too young to take care of children, they secure abortions.
Social pathology theory is a theory from the structural-functionist perspective. The theory states that social problems will always result from some sort of sickness or rot in the society. Just like the human body falls sick when a boy organ is not functioning well, there is bound to be social trouble when any part of the society is not functioning as desired. For example, breakdown of family institutions, economic inadequacies, religious institutions breakdown and failure of political institutions leads to undesired social behaviors. When these components fail to function properly, problems in the society occur. These problems may include violence, crime, juvenile delinquency and poverty. Likewise, when religious institutions and the family units fail to guide the growing girls, they engage in undesirable social behaviors like early sex. This leads to pregnancies that they are not ready to handle due to their tender ages. They resolve to abort since they were not ready to raise children because of several factors that arise from their tender ages.
Social disorganization theory is another theory under the structural-functionalist perspective. The theory’s view on social problems is that norms in the society are usually disrupted by rapid social changes. When the norms get into conflict with each other and become weakened, the society gets into a state of normlessness. People in this normlessness state may rape, steal, physically abuse their children, abuse drugs and engage in various forms of deviant behaviors because the norms that govern their behaviors and attitudes in the society are conflicting and weak. This theory is equally applicable in the case of underage abortions. Failure of societal norms has created the room for vices like under age abortions to take root in the society.
The conflict perspective views the society as being composed of different interests and groups that are constantly in competition for resources and power. The perspective tries to explain various societal social aspects by analyzing which groups in the society have more power than others and benefit directly from the adopted arrangements in the society. As suggested by Karl Marx, the society goes through various stages of developments for example economic developments. As the society makes its evolution from an agricultural to an industrial society, the need to make profits replaces the need for survival among the societal members. The industrialized society gives birth to two types of people who are the employers and the employees. The division of the society into these two classes of people is beneficial to the owners of production means (the employers). The workers cannot access the resources and the goodies in the society like their masters. The rich people then use institutions in the society to foster their interests. They for example use the religious institutions to soothe the poor. Marx suggested the religion serves as opiate for the masses. The rich use it to soothe the suffering and hard life associated with the working class. The poor are made to look forward to the afterlife and their relationship with God rather than concentrate on the worldly material things that they cannot afford.
Non Marxist theories for example the Ralf Dahrendorf theory are normally concerned with conflicts that arise when groups in the society have divergent views about issues. For example, antiabortionists in the society value the life of unborn fetuses and embryos while prochoice activists believe that women should be allowed to control their reproductive and bodily decisions. The different views by the different groups lead to different interpretations of what really constitutes a social problem in the society. For example, in the case of the antiabortionists, the availability of abortion in our society is the problem while to prochoice advocates; the restrictions that have been put in place against abortion constitute the social problem. Sometimes, a social problem like abortion is never the conflict. The way that the issue is addressed may at times constitute the conflict. Even the best advocates on the land agree that killing doctors who conduct abortions and destroying clinics in which abortions are performed are unnecessary actions. Such conflicts that are categorized as value conflicts re bound to occur between various categories of people. These may include homosexuals versus heterosexuals, old versus young, republicans versus democrats, blacks versus whites or the environmentalists versus the industrialists. Therefore, the way our society addresses the issue of abortion is the real source of conflict. Members of the society should consider such factors as why do underage girls abort and what factors in the society cause them to abort. If the social problem of abortion is solved with understanding from both sides of the society, perhaps it will be realized that it is not a social problem at all but an issue that has been solved using inappropriate avenues.
Another theory that may be used to help us understand the issue of abortion is the symbolic interaction theory. The theory basically tries to create an understanding between the society and humans. The key notion about interactionism is that humans only communicate to each other by means of exchange of meaningful symbols that have a meaning between them. The theory portrays humans as acting not being acted upon. Human things will always act towards things or issues based on the significance and meaning of the issues to them. The meanings of these things arise from social processes that are ongoing in everyday life. Fitting together the individual lines of action from each person is what gives social action. According to this theory, the objective world does not have a meaning to humans. Only objects that have been subjectively defined hold a meaning. Meanings are not fixed entities that are learned by people. Instead, creative capabilities of humans can be used to alter meanings. The meanings are subject to various diverse influences by people in the society. Likewise, a social issue like abortion is subject to varied interpretations by individuals. Some people are bound to view it as illegal and immoral. These are the people who are religious. Others view it as an acceptable practice in the society based on factors that are important to them and their understandings. Therefore the issue is subject to human interpretations. Some people will interpret it as a vice while others view it as an acceptable practice in society. Our convictions will be based on the side of the argument that we are inclined to.
Abortion has always been an issue of debate that is as old as humanity itself. Theories and various arguments have been put forward to try and explain the issue. However, the decision whether to abort or not is a personal decision from the victim. Before an underage makes the decision whether to abort, she should discuss the issue with family members, healthcare professionals and if possible the partner. All factors like adoption for the baby versus keeping the baby should be considered. An underage should not be pressured to undergo the procedure. However, sufficient guidance should be provided before the final decision is made. According to the law regarding the issue, in some states a girl who is under 16 years of age is allowed to secure an abortion as long as two doctors have agreed that it is in the best interests of the minor and that she fully understands what it means. At the end of the day, the decision will always lie in the hands of the pregnant underage and her chosen guardians and confidants. As much as it may be argued that abortion is desirable, more than 50% of the entire human race accepts that the practice should not be allowed unless there is a genuine reason like the mother being in danger. However, some ladies especially the underage will abort just because they are simply not ready to bring up a kid. Instead of aborting, ladies should be discouraged from indulging in early sex activities that lead to the pregnancies.
Works cited:
Dillon, Michele. Introduction to Sociological Theory: Theorists, Concepts, and Their Applicability to the Twenty-First Century. Chichester, U.K: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010. Print.
Levitt, Steven D, and Stephen J. Dubner. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. New York: HarperCollins e-books, 2009. Print.
Hayes, Cheryl D. Risking the Future: Adolescent Sexuality, Pregnancy, and Childbearing. Washington, D.C: National Academy Press, 1987. Print.
Scientific Developments Relating to the Abortion Act 1967. London: TSO, 2007. Print.
