Abortion Incidence and Service Availability in the United States - Report Example

GROUP INFORMATION 1.0 BACKGROUND TO THE ISSUE Abortion has been known to take place in various forms all of which end in terminating the life of the fetus. These involves induced miscarriages and spontaneous abortion that is usually referred to as miscarriage. According to the WHO, it has been established that approximately 56 million instances of abortion take place annually (Jones & Jerman 2014). This translates to 56 million opportunities left unexplored and therefore it is necessary to step in and regulate the rate at which the abortion is taking place so that there is reduced rate of loss of lives (Zane et al 2015). Furthermore, abortion affects almost everyone ranging from the mother who runs the risk of losing her life in the process, the fetus who lose their lives before getting to the real world, the society who misses the services that would have been provided by the child and even the government which uses much resources in providing the health services to the mother after abortion (Stephens-Davidowitz 2016). These effects are likely to get worse if nothing is done about the issue since there is a possibility for labor shortage due to abortion where women want to remain trendy and not replacing the lost lives and the old. 2.0 OBJECTIVES OF THE ACTION PLAN I. Making of contraceptives readily available for women- this is an operational objective which provides a short term solution to the problem. II. Providing a better alternative to experience- this strategic objective that includes providing sex education to the young is a long term solution to the abortion problem in the society. III. Involving men in resolving the abortion menace is a tactical objective that provides long term solution to the abortion problem. IV. Making countries friendlier to children is a strategic objective intended to create friendlier environments for upbringing of children which is a long term solution to the abortion problem. 3.0 ACTION PLAN Objective I: Making of contraceptives readily available for women Action step: providing contraceptives at low prices at most of the social outlets for the easier access by the women and girls Sumner 2014, demonstrates that, due to the rising cases of abortion, it has been established by the American social research that most of the women have difficulty in accessing the contraceptives and those who do have access do not understand how to use them. Giving women the tools for preventing pregnancies at lowered prices will alleviate the necessity for abortion because there will be less unintended pregnancies. Providing the contraceptives in every social outlets like supermarkets, shops and even public gatherings besides providing information on how to use them provides a better alternative for the female since it enables women to learn how to use them and reduce the funds that would be used in abortion and the dangers that come with it (Jones & Jerman 2014). Outcome The expected end result includes reduced abortions since there will be reduced occurrences of unintended pregnancies, least loss of lives related to the abortion and least expenses regarding family planning services and the health services that are provided to victims of abortion (Worrell 2016). Besides, the lowered number of abortions will reduce the number of those suffering from post-abortion health problems Resources This action plan will require trained personnel in regard to family planning and use of contraceptives. These people will be stationed at most of the social gathering sites like parks in order to advice the public and provide the contraceptives at cheaper prices. Timeline The process will take place within three months to mitigate the short term threat after which it will have to be included in the national planning so that the sale of the contraceptives is continuous at the said prices to avoid future abortions as a long term process. Risks Unwillingness of the public to attend the lectures on use of contraceptives due to low opinion associated with it that if they are seen they would be judged as promiscuous (Jerves et al 2014). Evaluation Constantly reviewing the hospital records in order to establish the recorded instances of abortion. The reduced abortion records will imply that the action plan was effective. Objective II: Providing a better alternative to experience Action step: sex education for the young Worrell 2016 posits that engaging the young in sex education will provide them with an insight into the facts surrounding sex and pregnancy. The fundamental aspect of the sex education is that, the young are provided with the fact that they should not succumb to peer pressure but wait until they are ready to have sex (Jerves et al 2014). This is a preventive measure intended to appeal to the conscience of the young people in order to increase knowledge that enables the young to behave more responsibly and avoid unintended pregnancies making abortion unnecessary (Zane et al 2015). Outcome The expected end result include reduced sexual activity among the youth who due to them becoming more responsible and learning to appreciate the essence of being prepared for sex at the right age. Moreover, there will be lowered unwanted pregnancies since the youth will have gained the knowledge on how to naturally control the pregnancies which will translate to fewer abortions. Resources This action plan will require social education facilities like lecture halls and even note books for the audience to use in recording the details provided. Moreover, there will be essence to provide skilled persons and resource persons for the sake of guiding the youth and this will require funds for motivating such resource persons to provide personal experiences like abstinence. Timeline This will take several years since it will involve the sex education being included in syllabuses for both primary and high school. Risks This action plan will be faced with challenges resulting from both the teachers and parents who have the misconception that the sex education increases the sexual activity for the young. Evaluation The evaluation will be based on checking the school records for the cases of dropouts due to pregnancies and also looking at the hospital records to establish the ages of the women going for abortion and comparing the data with the previous records. Objective III: Involving men in resolving the abortion menace Action step: delegate social members that will provide guidance to the men folk in the society on the dangers of abortion and how it could be reduced For some time, the responsibility of sex educators on abortion has been focused on women. Having seen the effects of gender equality campaigns, it can be noted that both men and women are equal players in pregnancy creation. This implies that both of them should be made to understand their roles in preventing the unwanted pregnancies (Worrell 2016). This will involve educating the men on their responsibilities regarding the various aspects of sexuality such as how to access and use contraceptives, decision making and how to handle various crises that may occur. Outcome The possible end results include increased understanding and usage of contraceptives since the men in most of the countries are responsible for providing finances that can be used in purchase of contraceptives Sumner 2014). Moreover, the education for the men regarding their responsibility will reduce instances for unintended pregnancies which will imply that there will be reduced abortions. Resources This action plan will require various family planning agencies coming together to provide the funds for travelling and hiring trained personnel who will appeal to the menfolk to understand their social responsibilities in regard to control of pregnancies and the importance for controlling the rate of abortion. Timeline The action plan will need a period of five months to conduct surveys on how to address the issue to men and through conducting the counselling to the men who visit hospitals with women intending to conduct abortion. As a long term measure, such information will be packaged as advertisements to reach the men in activities they like football and other social activities which will appeal to the men to reconsider their responsibilities regarding pregnancies. Risks The highest risk the action plan faces is the unwillingness of the men to attend such gatherings where sex education is being offered since most of them have the misconception that the matters regarding pregnancies are for women and not men therefore, dealing with thins misconception will require much inputs in terms of time and funds (Sumner 2014). Evaluation Evaluation of this action plan will involve reviewing the registers to establish the number of men attending such lectures whereby the increase in the number of men attending such lectures will translate to reduced unintended pregnancies and ultimately lowered abortions. Objective IV: making countries friendlier to children making countries friendlier to children Action step: improving the quality of the environments the children are brought up in. The instances of early pregnancies are associated with the environment in which the children are brought up in. For instance, the quality of housing, understanding and acceptance allow the children to understand on how to cope with the crises and pressures that revolve around them (Sumner 2014). The type of environment determines the development of one’s self esteem and therefore, those with high self-esteem will be least expected to take risks of unwanted pregnancies. Therefore, a strategic plan should involve guiding the children on understanding the sexual development which will result in better placement and increased expectations for a better life (Jerves et al 2014). Outcome This action plan intends to have youth who have a better view of life and therefore boost their self-esteem. Since various studies have shown that the children with high self-esteem are less likely to be irresponsible, this will reduce the chances for unintended pregnancies among the youth and therefore reduce abortion rate considerably (Worrell 2016). Resources The human resource required at this level includes parents and other social workers like counsellors who will educate the children on how to raise their self-esteem. Moreover, there will be essence of getting resources like audio and video recordings that will be used as aids in teaching the children. This will require funds for the purchase of these materials. Timeline A long term measure will involve the parents being educated on how to guide the children to gain a better understanding of the human sexuality and therefore boost their self-esteem and increase their decision making techniques. Risks Lack of enough funds to purchase the aids that can be used in further demonstration for the better understanding of the children. Evaluation This plan can be evaluated by establishing the number of women taking up career courses and joining the job market. An increase in their number indicates that most of them are not dropping out due to pregnancies and therefore reducing the possibility for abortions. 4.0 REFERENCES Jerves, E, López, S, Castro, C, Ortiz, W, Palacios, M, Rober, P & Enzlin, P 2014, ‘Understanding parental views of adolescent sexuality and sex education in Ecuador: a qualitative study’, Sex Education, vol. 14 no. 1, pp.14-27. Jones, RK & Jerman, J 2014, ‘Abortion incidence and service availability in the United States, 2011’, Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, vol. 46 no. 1, pp.3-14. Stephens-Davidowitz, S 2016, ‘The Return of the D.I.Y. Abortion’, [online] Nytimes.com. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/06/opinion/sunday/the-return-of-the-diy-abortion.html?_r=0 [Accessed 22 Oct. 2016]. Sumner, LW 2014, ‘Abortion and moral theory’, Princeton University Press. Worrell, M 2016, ‘How can you prevent a future unwanted pregnancy? — Women on Web’, [online] Womenonweb.org. Available at: https://www.womenonweb.org/en/page/495/how-can-you-prevent-a-future-unwanted-pregnancy [Accessed 22 Oct. 2016]. Zane, S, Creanga, AA, Berg, CJ, Pazol, K, Suchdev, DB, Jamieson, DJ & Callaghan, WM 2015, ‘Abortion-related mortality in the United States: 1998–2010’, Obstetrics & Gynecology, vol. 126 no. 2, pp.258-265. Read More