Abortion and Moral Dilemmas: A Sociological Perspective

This essay delves into the multifaceted moral dilemmas surrounding abortion from a sociological perspective. It examines various factors influencing decisions about abortion, including social stigma, socioeconomic status, and the role of legal systems and religious beliefs. The essay analyzes several studies to explore the challenges faced by young women, the ethical considerations related to the fetus's rights, and the impact of socioeconomic disparities on abortion access and safety. It also discusses how cultural and religious contexts shape individual choices and societal views on abortion. The research question focuses on the moral dilemmas associated with abortion, and the essay discusses the need for social policies to protect women's rights and address the complexities of this sensitive issue. The essay also highlights the significance of secondary research and the potential of social policies like governance and education in addressing the moral dilemmas related to abortion.

Running Head: Abortion
ABORTION

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
The research question.............................................................................................................5
Literature review........................................................................................................................5
Discussion of the first study...................................................................................................5
Discussion of the second study...............................................................................................6
Discussion of the third study..................................................................................................7
Discussion of the fourth study................................................................................................8
Discussion of the fifth study...................................................................................................8
Application of possible social policy.........................................................................................9
Conclusion................................................................................................................................12
Reference list............................................................................................................................14

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Introduction
Abortion has become a social issue nowadays throughout the world and different
kinds of moral dilemmas are associated with this topic. It is important for people of this
society to evaluate the reasons behind moral dilemmas of abortion to make it more legal and
ethical. Society is made of several stereotypical ideologies that directly influence people to
think about abortions. Self-induced abortion cases are the consequences of situational
pressures. According to the social conflict theory, society can be considered as a system that
is associated with certain inequalities, which are based on ethnicity, class, gender and other
factors. Hoggart (5) has mentioned that this theory has mentioned that this inequality can
result in conflict between society and individuals. There are certain cases of unwanted
pregnancy, in which pregnant women feel the urge to abort their growing baby due to the
presence of social stigma. However, in all cases, parents face moral dilemmas before taking
the final decision about abortion. For example, people go through moral dilemmas in case of
pregnancy due to the failure of birth control, rape cases, and others. On the other hand,
Frederico et al. (329) have mentioned that moral dilemmas regarding abortion are faced by
both of the parents in many cases. However, women face social pressure more than men in
terms of making decisions regarding abortion.
Stigma is another social factor that is the cause of emergence of moral dilemmas
regarding abortion. This social factor is able to shape the expectations and experiences of a
woman, who is experiencing abortion. Social stigma has a direct negative impact on the
perception of a mother about the process of experiencing abortion. However, application of
social policies can be considered as a suitable process of protecting women from the anti-
abortion group of society.
Abortion is a controversial sociological topic as it raises questions related to morality
and legality of abortion. Some believe that intentional abortion is always wrong, while others

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states in some cases intentional abortion is acceptable. People believe that abortion is strongly
illegal because there is no way of achieving opinion from the fetus, who is the potential
victim. There are different dilemma issues like consideration of the fetus as a human being.
Moreover, it is also thought that is fetus has a separate entity than its mother? In addition, if a
woman's life is in danger, then how rights will be decided? These issues are making this
sociology topic the most controversial and interesting. Many doctors and sociologists think
that abortion is deliberate killing of a fetus, which is nothing but an innocent human being
and hence abortion is wrong. As stated by AL-Hadrawi (794), the right to life to a person
impacts another individual's right to controlling own body. Hence, abortion can be said as
wrong unless the question of saving a mother's life arises. On the other hand, it is also
difficult to decide at what stage a fetus achieves a right to life. Some people say that it can get
the right to life at an earlier stage while some differ. Some part of society claims that if a
fetus is not a person then the act of abortion is nothing wrong and deserves no punishment.
They claim that fertilizing cells that resulted from conception have no right to life. However,
some people think that even if a fetus is not a human being, it is something special and should
not be discarded casually. Aristotle suggested that 40 days is the time for a male when a fetus
can get right to life. Whereas, for females, he suggested that the right to life is 90 days. These
times are purely arbitrary and there is no reason for these times.
In this study, a research question has been frame upon the sociological topic of
abortion. On the basis of this question, different significant pieces of literature have been
collected and discussed. The collected literature is having detailed description regarding the
topic and research question. On the basis of discussion, possible social policies can be
elaborated in the next part. This study is significant because it will enhance the knowledge
about abortion and moral dilemmas related to it. Different moral dilemma regarding topic
needs greater discussion, which can be done through the help of this research article.

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Secondary research helps to create in-depth knowledge about a specific subject matter. In
addition, different social policies like governance and education have also been discussed in
this paper that can help to generate ideas for solving this issue. This is another essential
significance of this study.
The research question
What are the moral dilemmas related to abortion?
Literature review
Discussion of the first study
Young women mainly face dilemmas in decision-making while terminating
pregnancy. Unwanted pregnancy is often experienced by young women who get into a
dilemma regarding abortion. In the literature of Frederico et al. (329) stated that young
women are often subjected to pressure due to socio-cultural and economic barriers. This
limits their autonomy and influences them to take decision of abortion. This article is about
exploring different factors that influence decision-making process. It is estimated that 2.2
million pregnancies occur in developing countries and among them, 25% of young females
adopt unsafe and illegal abortion. Different factors are evaluated in this journal that impacts
on decision-making process. This includes marital status of the omen and support from
partners or parents. Lack of support from parents or partners can increase dilemma of the
young women regarding the action of abortion. In addition, education level, and pressure
from society are some other influential factors that create pressure or support the decision
making process. In addition, the poor level of sex education and the health care system often
increases the level of dilemma. Lack of knowledge and poor abortion services increases
trouble for young women and increases the dilemma of abortion. Abortion is allowed if
women's health is at risk. However, fear of stigma and lack of support often forces them to
keep the fetus those impacts on their health and often causes maternal death. Hence, the

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dilemma of abortion can result in the death of mother. In this study, many young women
stated that refusal from partners and lack of proper support from family has influenced them
to take the decision of abortion. On the other hand, few young women reported that they have
got proper health services and abortion was performed by skilled healthcare providers. This
indicates that proper support from healthcare providers and interventions can help young
women and others to take proper decisions about abortion without any dilemma.
Discussion of the second study
Abortion is the issue of at least two people including the mother and the child. AL-
Hadrawi (793) has described that abortion can be considered as a process of destroying a
fetus before growing its ability to survive outside the womb. People, who believe that
abortion is not the right thing, consider fetus as a person. On the other hand, there are people
who believe that the mother only has the right to end the pregnancy as the fetus cannot be
considered as a person. Moral dilemma between two of these concepts are is very common in
today's society. AL-Hadrawi (793) has included that another dilemma is about the right of a
female on her body and the life of the fetus. There are some people who believe that killing a
fetus is morally wrong and it cannot be the right of the mother to make this decision. This
dilemma can be resolved by understanding the definition of a person. According to the Holy
Bible, God has created humans and all are responsible to protect the life of an innocent
individual. Similar facts are included in other religious books regarding the creation of a
person. From all of these descriptions, it can be concluded that a person can be described as a
complete moral system and any of the developmental stages of a fetus has moral values.
Therefore, from this point of view, the life of the fetus cannot be terminated by the mother
herself. However, the women have raised their voice at many points to get their legal rights to
control own body. It is the responsibility of society to respect the right of a woman to

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terminate her pregnancy. Understanding the definition of a person can help to deal with the
moral dilemmas associated with abortion.
Discussion of the third study
Dilemma also arises during abortion due to socioeconomic status, especially in third
world countries. In the study of Zafar et al. (e3458), it is mentioned that unsafe abortions are
a great problem that occurs due to poor economic status and low level of social support.
Unintended pregnancy is terminated through the help of untrained individuals and in a poor
environment. This type of incident takes place in an unhygienic condition, which induces
additional medical risk to the mother. Women in many societies of underdeveloped countries
often hesitate to seek medical assistance during a case of unwanted pregnancy. In the study,
296 female patients were studied and it was found that unsafe abortion is the main cause of
female morbidity. This means that morbidity due to unsafe abortion causes violation of the
basic human rights of females. The right to life of females is violated through the process of
unsafe abortion. The main objective of this study is to establish a link between poor
socioeconomic status and unsafe abortion. Generally, couples with more than four children
adopt the process of abortion because more children will deteriorate the economic condition
of the family. Moreover, social stigma such as the need for male child impacts in the
decision-making process regarding unsafe abortion. Deaths of mothers occur due to untrained
medical professionals, lack of training of healthcare providers, use of expired drugs and
transportation challenges. Information in this study is retrieved from females who got
admitted in the hospitals due to complications from abortion. Different complications like
hemorrhage, uterine perforation are most drastic as compared to any other types of
complications. These problems are increasing the dilemma regarding legality of abortion.
Women with a lack of support and poor economic background can undergo unsafe abortion
that can give rise to many complications, which can violate basic human rights of right to life.

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Discussion of the fourth study
Legal system has supported the rights and the choices of women regarding abortion.
However, Marecek, Macleod, and Hoggart (4) have mentioned social contexts of abortion
that are considered by people while making decision about terminating their pregnancy. In
this study, it has been narrated that certain religions are there those have raised many moral
objectives for the decision of abortion. Due to this reason, women face difficulties to undergo
abortion in case of unwanted pregnancies. It can be seen that religion is becoming a barrier to
access abortion for women more than moral and personal dilemmas. On the other hand,
culture is another social aspect that influences emergence of moral dilemmas in the case of
abortion. Women face objection from their spouse and other family members in cases of
seeking an abortion. This aspect creates a moral dilemma and it has a great impact on the
decision making of mothers. On the other hand, the media and the public disposer have a
great impact on the moral dilemma about abortion (Marecek, Macleod and Hoggart 4).
Women are conscious about their social status and they try to protect the social reputation of
their family. As many of the members of the society consider abortion as an incorrect
activity, they blame women for terminating her pregnancy. It affects their family members as
well. However, the mother must have the right to determine the fate of her pregnancy after
reviewing the condition of the fetus. It is important for society to comply with the legal
system to allow a mother to make the decision about abortion without raising moral
objections. Moral dilemmas of abortion can be solved by a woman with the support of the
society, her spouse and other family members. Understanding the process of abortion and its
need can help society to respect the right of women to terminate their pregnancy.
Discussion of the fifth study
In the study conducted by Purcell (590), it is mentioned that about one-third of
women experience abortion at least once during their lifetime. Here, it is also mentioned that

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abortion is a controversial medical procedure and the sociology of women abortion
experiences is explored. The process of abortion is misrepresented by media often and
negative outcomes are more advertised. This creates more problems for women during the
decision-making process. Developed countries like the USA and the United Kingdom have
anti-abortion groups who provide assistance to women who seek an abortion. The dilemma of
abortion increases in highly stigmatized society, where voices of women are near about
absent. Moreover, dilemma regarding this practice varies worldwide due to socio-cultural
factors. In developed nations, abortion is free and legal, while in some other underdeveloped
of developing nations, the process of abortion is illegal or highly restricted. Restrictive laws
regarding abortion can create a barrier in the process and increase dilemma during the
decision-making process. This can endanger the life of a woman. On the other hand, cultural
norms like restriction in sexual activity and childbearing outside marriage also increase the
dilemma. Fear of accessing abortion and proper medical assistance also increases due to these
cultural norms in society. Restrictive policies and laws in society create tangible barriers that
impact on the freedom of women. The dilemma regarding abortion also occurs due to some
individual reasons like wish to establish a career, creating spacing between pregnancies and
getting more education. In this study, a detailed discussion about women's decision making
and reasons for seeking abortion are mentioned. Control of the entire family is the main
factor during abortion as a child is considered as a belonging of the entire family rather than
the would-be parents. Lack of autonomy and support increases the dilemma during an
abortion and this impact on life and health of women.
Application of possible social policy
The application of appropriate social policies can help to deal with the moral
dilemmas of abortion in today's society. The legal system of countries can be considered
while developing social policies for abortion. As stated by Medoff(19), the United States has

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developed appropriate legislation that can be considered for developing social policies.
Firstly, the social policy of parental involvement in the case of teen pregnancy can be
applied. Teen pregnancy can be life-threatening for females and they can face many moral
dilemmas while thinking about undergoing an abortion. Teenagers may not have that
maturity level to understand whether it is fair to abort the child or not. In those cases, parents
must be involved in the process of decision-making. Parents need to consult with the
healthcare professionals for reviewing the condition of the fetus and the effect of pregnancy
on the body of their daughter. They need to help their daughter to make the decision of
undergoing an abortion without bothering social stigmas.
Secondly, the social policy of mandatory counseling can be developed and
applied for helping women to deal with the moral dilemmas of abortion. Most of the
women do not consider mandatory counseling as an effective way of dealing with moral
dilemmas associated with the termination of pregnancy. Due to social stigma and other social
barriers, they fear to discuss this topic with others. In those cases, counselors cannot help
them to make the right decision about abortion. Women must be influenced to discuss this
matter with counselors to get help for making the appropriate decision about their pregnancy.
The application of this social policy can help women to use their legal right to terminate their
pregnancy if they are not prepared to become the parent.
Thirdly, religious and cultural dimensions towards abortion need to be modified
to allow women to make decisions individually regarding the termination of their
pregnancy. Family members play important roles in encouraging females to follow religious
and cultural beliefs of considering the fetus as a person. According to many of the religious
book, human beings are responsible to protect the lives that have been created by God.
However, the perspective of the culture and religion has not stated the rights and wellbeing of
a woman. Due to this reason, these perspectives need to be changed for protecting the rights

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of a woman over her own body and the life of her child (Medoff 20). On the other hand,
women need to be brave enough to support the application of this social policy to deal with
the moral dilemmas of abortion.
Fourthly, different social movements like the pro-choice movement need to be
started. As stated by Guenther (25), the pro-choice movement supports legal abortion, which
is safe and affordable for all people irrespective of socio-economic status. This can help
women to gain confidence and approach to licensed healthcare providers to seek support
regarding abortion. Continuous support with affordable facilities can help women to remove
the dilemma in decision making and the impact on their health can be reduced due to unsafe
abortion. The goal of this kind of social movement is to increase access to abortions, which
are legal and safe. As mentioned by Purcell (590), reproductive freedom and rights of women
can be established through the help of social movements. These kinds of social movements
must be funded by the government and the active part must be taken by them. Government
support will also decrease the cost of medical assistance. This can help women to come
forward and seek medical assistance from trained healthcare providers.
Fifthly, training and education regarding abortion need to be given to healthcare
providers at ground level. Lack of training facilities is restricting the knowledge of
professionals regarding advanced methods and tools of abortion. These methods and tools
have a low impact on the health of women and make this process a safe way. Previously, it
was discussed that lack of education of healthcare providers imposes health risk to women
during an unsafe abortion. Different complications like hemorrhage occur that also take away
the lives of women. Organization of training to women can help them to increase their skills
regarding this matter and the dilemma in decision making can decrease as women can freely
seek assistance. In addition to this, the government must provide advanced tools and

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machinery related to this matter. The provision of tools to the health centers and hospitals in
both urban and remote areas can help to reduce the health risk of women (Medoff 25).
Sixthly, improving education policy is necessary for increasing knowledge about
safe sex and reducing social stigma about abortion. The government needs to put effort to
impart education regarding sex, childbirth, and abortion. This can help young women to
develop their knowledge about these processes and effective decisions can be taken by them.
On the other hand, the harmful impacts of unsafe abortion need to be taught to them. This can
help them to know the importance of safe sex and doing abortion from registered medical
centers. It was discussed that young women face lots of trouble due to unwanted pregnancy
and abortion (Frederico et al. 329). Hence, school education is necessary to mitigate this
problem and improve society. Through the help of this social policy, different social stigma
can also be eliminated in the future. Moreover, education can also be imparted to the society
regarding the need for abortion in a safer and legal way. This can help women to get support
from family and dilemmas regarding decision making can be decreased. These social policies
must be monitored well by governing bodies like the human rights association and the
medical department of government.
Conclusion
From the entire discussion of this study, it can be concluded that there are many
reasons behind the emergence of moral dilemmas in case of making a decision about
abortion. Social factors such as social stigma, religious viewpoints, culture and the moral
objection of family members are preventing women to use their legal right of terminating
their pregnancy. They are getting affected by these factors and it is the main reason behind
the emergence of moral dilemmas in the case of abortion. Unwanted pregnancy prevents
women from exploring their talents and building careers. Most of them are not getting
enough social support to undergo an abortion. This culture must be changed and the