Abortion: The Unbiased Opinion
Firstly, I would like to start off with a few abortion statistics, and then adoption statistics, just to provide a descent comparison of the two most common thought of solutions to an unwanted/unplanned pregnancy. And just so that anyone who reads this knows, I do not favor abortion over adoption. I believe that they both provide very valid points to either side.
Abortion
Abortions can be done in hospitals or licensed abortion clinics. Although, there are a few places out there where abortions are done illegally. (Possibly more that there is to get a legal abortion.) But since 1996, the total number of abortion providers has declined a combined total of 13% from 1996 to 2005. (11% or from 2,042 to 1,819 from 1996 to 2000 and from 1,819 to 1,787 from 2000 to 2005.)
Out of all the abortions performed in the U.S., 80% are performed on unmarried women who are often under the age of 25. Along with this, women under the age of 25 obtain 33% of all U.S. abortions, while teenagers obtain 17%. But teens under the age of 15 obtain less than 1% of all U.S. abortions. Yet, adolescents under 15 have the highest abortion ratio. (773 abortions to every 1,000 live births.) While women, both unmarried and married combined, make up a lesser amount of abortions.
Combined abortion ratio: 571 abortions to every 2,000 live births.
Unmarried abortion ratio: 510 abortions to every 1,000 live births.
Married abortion ratio: 61 abortions to every 1,000 live births.
And on an average, there are at least 3 commonly used reasons as to why women choose abortion. And I can guarantee that you have heard them all.
3/4 of women who decide to get an abortion often say that having a baby would interfere with work, school, or any other responsibilities of the like. Or they say that they can not afford to have a child. While 1/2 of all women who get an abortion say that they do not want/are not ready to be a single parent, or they are having problems with their husband/partner.
To me, these can and cannot be good reasons to get an abortion. And I know that some of you say that these are poor excuses, but if you try to visualize what it would be like to raise a child on very little money, between classes/work shifts, or in a stressful environment that could possibly be harmful to the child, then you could possibly understand why some women choose to have an abortion.
And although there are abortions that can happen late into the pregnancy, it very seldom happens. In fact, 88% or more of all U.S. abortions happen during the first trimester (before the 13th week.) 40% of those abortions happen within the first 4 weeks of gestation. And only 8% of all abortion providers offer any abortions after the 24th week of pregnancy. Therefore, even though there are late term abortions, not many places will do them. In actuality, there are a lot of abortion providers that will not perform an abortion after the 20th week or even before the 13th week.
Source: www.abort73.com
Adoption
Besides, abortion as a way to deal with unplanned/unwanted pregnancies, there is also adoption, which if chosen by the birth mother, can be an excellent thing for both the birth mother and a family who's wish it is to have children.
According to the National Committee for Adoption, there are roughly 1.5 million American couples that look to adopt each year. Sadly, as of 2000-01, there were only 127,000 children adopted. (It is a possibility that the number of children adopted hasn't changed very much since 2000/2001.) This leaves thousands of children in orphanages and foster homes, waiting to be adopted.
Along with children that are being adopted, most (78%) of adopted children are under the age of 18 years old with the averaged age of a child waiting to be adopted/that is adopted is 8 to 9 years old. But most children that are adopted are usually aged from being newborns to just over a year old.
And although there is a greater number of American women/couples that choose abortion over adoption, at least 31% of all Americans who have thought about adoption have actually taken the steps to make it happen. Whether it is giving up their child for adoption or adopting a child. And the average age of adoptive parents is around 43 years old. (Five years older than that of someone with biological/stepchildren and 20 to 30+ years older than that of women that choose abortion.)
Source: www.pobronson.com
Personally, I believe that both of these topics provide valid points and reasons as to why you should seriously consider both of them if you happen to find yourself in the situation of an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy. But I'll leave each person to their own opinions and points of view as to how to deal with such a situation. Like I have mentioned, I do not favor one option over the other. I had just thought that it might be nice to have an unbiased opinion on such a heavily debated subject.
