Abortion, Age, Gender, and Education - Research Paper Example

Abortion, Age, and Education Abortion, Age, Gender, and Education Introduction Beyond the ethical issues that revolve around abortion, multiple other factors attend to the perspectives and positions adopted by theorists, sociologists and scholars attempt to explore the manner in which the subject affects and is in turn affected by matters of culture and morality (White, 2008). Age, education, and race are some of the variables that affect the ethical angle of abortion. It is possible to project perspectives on the dangers, prevalence, and challenges of abortion within the perspective of age. Particularly, it would be appropriate to determine the age of the persons affected by abortion in terms of the degree of vulnerability and the underlying factors behind the high levels of risk and prevalence. Regarding the matter of education, multiple studies have attempted to explore the manner in which abortion affects, and is affected by the discourse of education. Education remains an important force in the society due to its power to engineer social change and empower vulnerable groups to adopt processes that would bring about social change and structural change within the vulnerable groups in the society (Dorrien, 2008). On this score, it becomes important to consider the fact that most of the people engaged in abortion do not possess the advantages of education that would have shielded them from the possible physical and psychological perils, which often accompany the incident of abortion. Income determines livelihoods, identity, class, and other important aspects of life. The relationship between income and abortion could be perceived from the perspective of the many discourses that combine within the dominant factors that relate on matters of abortion. As such, it would be important to regard the subject of abortion as sum of influences that relate to education, income, and age. Literature Review A study conducted by Ranjita (1998) sought to determine the possible effect of age, race, and gender on individual and societal attitudes on abortion. The study was based in the United States and adopted a longitudinal approach that sought to determine the nature in attitude change across time between the period of 1977 and 1993. Changes in attitude were tested across the categories of race, gender, and age. Multiple regression and mean scale score, and longitudinal analysis were used by the study to test the changes in attitudes across the categories of the respondents. The results from the study showed that the attitudes on abortion varied significantly across the identified categories. The results of the studies showed an increasing preference of pro-life choices among younger people. The same results indicated some marked division between young men and young women with the women adopting positions that are more aligned with pro-life whereas the young men indicated some significant preference on pro-choice policies. Regarding the matter of race, the study showed that there were no significant differences on matters of abortion across the racial lines. However, it was established that races that expressed high levels of religiosity were more likely to adopt-prolife approaches on the matter of abortion as opposed to races that were more liberal and less pronounced on matters of religion. On the matter of education, Ranjita (1998) found out that individuals and groups with relatively higher levels of education were more aligned to pro-choice policies and approaches as opposed to individuals and groups with relatively lower levels of education. The learned groups expressed more liberalism in their approaches on the matter of abortion while those with lower levels of education demonstrated a tendency of rigidity and conservatism towards the subject of abortion. This might be explained in terms of the capacity of the learned to adopt policies that reflected their liberal approaches to moral and ethical matters. Jan (2010) explored the relationship between teenage pregnancy and the incidence of abortion. The dominant argument in the study revolved around the matter of abortion as it appertained on the rising cases of teenage pregnancy. The incidence and prevalence of teenage pregnancy was associated with high levels of abortion. The study focused on the United Kingdom with particular focus on the driving factors behind the rising cases of abortion among teenagers. Findings established that one half of underage pregnancies eventually end up as cases of abortion. The findings of this study are a vindication of growing perceptions that show that increased sexual activity among young people exposed them to unplanned pregnancies, which eventually end up as risky abortions. Personal and social circumstances, risky behavior, and environmental factors have been cited variously as some of the driving forces that affect the rate of pregnancies and abortions among teenagers (Rae, 2009). It is important to consider the fact that some of the issues that connect with abortion relate to issues of societal structures and increasing tendencies of liberalism, which occur within the discourses of interactions (Rae, 2009). However, the findings of this study do not offer significant insights into the patterns of trend that clarify the relationship between age and abortion. This apparent omission requires further studies to determine the unexplored linkages between abortion and the age of the people involved. Beisel and Kay (2004) sought to develop an inquiry in the interaction between abortion and race as understood within the time and place contexts of the Nineteenth-Century America. The study was premised on the notion that the abortion and race often interacted within the social space. The study sought to explore the interaction between the two from a structural angle of the matter. The dominant argument in the study revolved around the interaction of race and abortion at the point of racial representation. This position was deduced from syllogistic sequence of argument, which recognized race and gender as some forms of social structures. This study explores this interaction and connections in terms of the dominant debates and policies that featured in the 19th century America. There is a deep sense in which the nineteenth century abortion politics were considered as representing the discourse of race. However, this study sought to illustrate that the debate was largely informed by racial factors regarding the reproduction capacity of the Anglo-Saxon women. Although these studies provide resourceful insights into various matters that relate to the issues of abortion, race, and education, much more ground needs to be covered in order to determine relations between the three discourses. Some of the areas that need to be explored include the changing face of the society with regard to the issues of abortion, race, and education. The significant limitations in this study justify the reason of conducting more studies to determine the insights that remain unexplored on the matter of abortion within the perspective of gender, race, and education. Hypotheses There is a direct association between the incident and prevalence of abortion and the age of the women involved. There exists a significant association between race and the opinions and attitudes adopted regarding the subject of abortion. There is a significant association between opinions, approaches, and attitudes on abortion and the level of education. Data Analysis The study enlisted frequency distribution tables, cross tabulations, and Chi-Square analyses to analyze the respondents’ opinions on the various variables. Results on the education status of the respondents showed that a majority of them comprised of high school graduates. This category comprised of 49 percent of the respondents. Junior college graduates comprised of 7.1 percent of the respondents, representing the least represented members of the group. The results indicated that the category of graduates comprised of 10.7 percent of the group. The results also showed that the category of respondents with a bachelor’s level of education represented 18.3 percent of the group. Analyses were classified into themes for ease of comprehension. These results show that a majority of the respondents were sufficiently literate. As such, they held ample information about the various matters and perspectives that tie within the reality of abortion. The study assumed that the responses and reactions of the respondents on the matter of abortion represented a deep awareness of the various complex issues that attend to the subject. It would be important to consider the fact that most of the perspectives that attend to the subject of abortion are highly dependent on the level of awareness about the subject matter. Education is an important determinant on the perspectives adopted by people on the matter of abortion. This study established that the level of has some significant association with perspectives adopted on the question of abortion. The study found out that respondents from with university education adopted liberal approaches of conditional abortion while those with lower levels of education remain conservative against their opposition to abortion. Regarding the variable of age a majority of the respondents were within the youthful bracket. The oldest respondent was 91 years of age while the youngest was 20. Respondents averaging 27 years old comprised the highest percentage of the sample. On this note, it might be argued that the sampled group represented a realistic number of the group. It is also possible to note that a majority of the respondents fell within the group that comprised of various respondents across the various categories. An assessment of the variable of age was based on past and recently studies, which show that the reactions of respondents on the matter of abortion are significantly related to generational tendencies. The reactions showed that most of the young people adopted liberal approaches on the matter of abortion. The elderly groups tended to be more conservative on the same. The generational gap between the youthful respondents and the elderly respondents is a strong indication of the growing secularism and freedom of thought in the contemporary generation. The elderly were guided mainly by religious reasons and their rigid adherence to the moral code. It is for this reason that they tended to adopt prolife approaches to the matter of abortion as opposed to the youth who preferred pro-choice approaches on the same matter. These results were consistent with a range of studies that have shown an increasing preference for liberalized morality among the modern youth. The pattern of youthful reactions mirror the dominant view that the modern society is increasingly converting into secular ideals in ways that are representative of the freedom of choice on matters of sexuality and other aspects that require some ethical and moralistic interpretations. Cross-tabulations were carried out between the variable of age and the respondents’ opinion regarding the matter of abortion. Responses showed that younger respondents were more liberal and flexible on the question of abortion. The respondents were guided by various complex factors that involved the freedom of the respondents and the ability to articulate their views on the various matters that relate to the health of the mother and the socio-income status of the people involved. The views were consistent with some of the arguments that have been projected in various studies regarding the moral dimension of abortion. On the other hand, the elderly were more concerned with matters of morality, which according to them disallowed abortion under most circumstances. One of the most important findings is that age and education tended to combine to yield liberal approaches on the matter of education. The findings showed that a majority of the elderly respondents with higher levels of education were more liberal on the question of abortion. The variables of age abortion and education relate in complex ways that affect, and are in turn affected by multiple influences that engage with matters of environment, social realities, personality issues and other multiple issues that relate to the matter of abortion. For instance, some of the issues that tie into the question of abortion vary in accordance with cultural norms and traditions. Pragmatic assessments on the matter of abortion often adopt ways that seek to achieve the most workable solutions and approaches to the controversial question. The more liberal respondents were driven by ethical arguments concerning matters of sanctity to life and religious reasons, which they argued outlawed the question of abortion. References Biesel, N. & Kay, T. (2004). Abortion, Race, and Gender in Nineteenth-Century America. American Sociological Review, 69, (4). 498- 518. Dorrien, G. (2008). Social Ethics in the Making: Interpreting an American Tradition. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Jan, N. (2010). Teenage pregnancy and abortion. Practice Nurse. 39 (5). 43-44. Rae, S. (2009). Moral Choices: An Introduction to Ethics. New York: Zondervan. Ranjita, M. (1998). Effect of age, gender and race on abortion attitude. The International Journal of Abortion and Social Policy. 18 (9). 94- 118. White, J. E. (2008). Contemporary Moral Problems. London: Cengage Learning. Read More