Introduction
The recent overturning of the Roe v. Wade decision has caused an end to the right to abortion in the U.S. It gives rise to discussions of whether individual pregnancy termination decisions are made for serious reasons or just as a consequence of careless attitudes to contraception. This cause-effect essay aims to contribute to the ongoing discussion by exploring the reasons why women seek abortions. Three common motivations behind abortion decisions are financial struggles, birth control failures, and serious congenital disorders, and they have effects on natality trends and patient teaching.
Financial Situation and Postponing Childbirth
The first cause of abortions is pregnant women’s perceived unpreparedness for raising a child, and the effect of this is low-income women’s desire to postpone childbirth. As per survey research in the U.S., 40% of women cite being financially unprepared for parenthood as the key reason for pregnancy termination (Stacey). Indeed, children grow and develop rather quickly, which has implications for purchasing new clothes and toys frequently, as well as paying for education and healthcare services. Regarding the effects, abortions conducted for that reason enable women to dedicate enough attention to career development and have children after achieving income levels that are more conducive to meeting the growing child’s needs. Therefore, the demand for pregnancy termination procedures is inextricably connected with the perceived discrepancy between one’s income level and the costs of raising one’s offspring.
Contraceptive Failure and Contraception Education
Secondly, there are no perfect and non-radical pregnancy prevention methods, so abortion decisions are often caused by contraceptive failures, the effect of which is the need for education to prevent further abortions. Such failures can be cited as a primary reason for getting the procedure in up to 69% of cases and may be inversely related to patient populations’ contraception-related literacy (Kaundal et al. 2372). This reason is specifically common in first-trimester non-surgical abortions (Kaundal et al. 2374). Abortions in unintended pregnancies are extremely widespread, and getting multiple abortions caused by contraceptive mistakes can be devastating for reproductive health (Kaundal et al. 2374). Therefore, the need to prevent them by facilitating women’s access to updated information and assistance in choosing contraceptive strategies represents this trend’s crucial effect. Pregnancy prevention failures can have various sources, including both products’ defects and patients’ misconceptions about contraceptive methods and their correct implementation. Overall, popular contraceptive methods’ flaws cause pregnancy termination decisions very often.
Fetal Anomalies and Related Education
Thirdly, not all fetuses develop normally, and pregnant women’s inability to raise children with lifetime conditions can also cause abortions. The effect of this is represented by the need for risk assessment and reduction education. Incurable diseases and anomalies are detected in a limited percent of pregnancies, but the financial and psychological burden of raising special needs children is significant enough to cause abortion decisions (Callaby et al. 4). Genetic disorders, such as trisomies, as well as structural anomalies, ranging from cleft palate to heart defects, result in abortions, with the surgical abortion rate being specifically high for trisomy 21 (Callaby et al. 4). As for its effects, the fact that abortions are requested for medical reasons related to fetal development causes the need for pregnancy education to reduce the rate of malformation cases. For non-preventable conditions, including trisomy 21, pre-pregnancy consultations with genetic counselors should be popularized to facilitate the timely detection of risks (Callaby et al. 4). Finally, nutritional and obesity education for pregnant women should be ubiquitous to deal with preventable malformations.
Conclusion
To sum up, women seek abortion care for various economic, social, and medical causes. Insufficient income levels often cause abortion decisions, with women’s tendency to postpone childbirth as an effect. Many abortions stem from contraceptive failures, which results in the necessity to offer and improve birth control method education. Finally, fetal malformations cause surgical pregnancy termination decisions, leading to new objectives in risk detection and prevention counseling.
Works Cited
Callaby, Helen, et al. “Surgical Termination of Pregnancy for Fetal Anomaly: What Role Can an Independent Abortion Service Provider Play?” Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, vol. 39, no. 6, 2019, pp. 1-6.
Kaundal, Asmita, et al. “Current Practices in Family Planning: A Population-Based Study.” International Journal of Reproduction, Contraception, Obstetrics and Gynecology, vol. 8, no. 6, 2019, pp. 2372-2377.
Stacey, Dawn. “Why Do People Have Abortions?” VeryWell Health, 2021.