Argumentative Philoshopical Essay

There have been various articles expounding on the researches done to find out whether unintended pregnancies have any effects on the mental health of the victims years later or not. An unintended pregnancy is either unwanted or mistimed where unwanted pregnancy occurs when the woman does not have the intention of being pregnant at any time while mistimed pregnancy means that they may want to be pregnant at a later stage and not at that time (Johnson-Mallard et al., 2017, p. 1). I believe that the women who have unwanted pregnancies have a higher chance of having complications with their mental health even many years later. However, before the Supreme Court ruled Roe v. Wade in 1973, abortion was illegal (“Unintended pregnancy and the well-being of children and families,” 1995, p.50). After 1973, it can be argued that abortion helped counter any mental health conditions which would have been caused by unintended pregnancies.

Unplanned pregnancies require abrupt adjustments of the normal way of life of the victim. Some may take this lightly while others may find it difficult to adapt for a quite a long time. These pregnancies may disrupt their career or even schooling years. This time lost due to the pregnancy cannot be recovered and this might leave some women in a condition of long-term stress and anxiety, eventually affecting their mental health. Also, if this pregnancy was caused due to sexual abuse, it would have a lasting impact on the mental health of the victim even in years to come.

Some people may say that instead of keeping the unwanted pregnancy, they can easily get rid of it by aborting because it is no longer illegal. This makes a lot of sense in that one can keep their job or continue with their studies in the scheduled period. It could also help one avoid unplanned responsibilities too. Researches done in the U.S. found out that the mortality rate of childbirth was 10 times more than that of induced abortion and this can be used as a justification to carry out abortion (“Unintended pregnancy and the well-being of children and families,” 1995, p.50).

Abortion is not always the answer to avoid consequences of unwanted pregnancy. There are some other health risks associated with abortion for instance, it can lead to death if performed poorly or leave the victim with a feeling of distress which can affect their mental health. The most appropriate ways to deal with unwanted pregnancies are by avoiding it by all means and in case someone finds themselves in that situation, they should consult a doctor for safe abortion and maybe thereafter visit a psychiatrist to help them overcome the stresses brought about unwanted pregnancies. Even if the abortion is successful, it is not a guarantee that the unwanted pregnancy won’t have implications on the mental health of the victim in later life.

Unwanted pregnancies can affect the mental health of the victim in later life. This is because some people may find it difficult to cope with the hardships that come due to the consequences of the unwanted pregnancy. However, it can be argued that abortion may be a way to avoid these later life mental illnesses, but it should be approached with caution. Abortion has its own side effects and it might even leave the victim at a worse state than before. Mental illnesses due to unwanted pregnancies can be treated by psychotherapy and medication.

Moving on to the topic about the adolescents abortion and its effect: Several researches have been carried out to compare the psychological functioning of adolescents who have had abortion to those who didn’t and found out that after a short while, those adolescents who had carried out abortion functioned well psychologically as those who didn’t do abortion (Zabin et al., as cited in Warren, Harvey, & Henderson, p. 230). Another study was done on a group of respondents and the outcome showed that depression and low self-esteem could not be linked to abortion in adolescents (Warren et al., 2010, p. 233).

Can it then be concluded that depression and self-esteem are not as a result of abortion in adolescents? To some extent it might be right to conclude that with regards to the available evidence to support this argument. I also concur with these findings from the national study and other sources that depression and low self-esteem do not follow abortion among adolescents.

Yet it is possible that there have been some few cases that have disagreed with the above conclusions from the surveys and these may or may not be documented for now. The only way to argue with this is to look at the adverse consequences which occur after the abortion because teens deal with abortions differently. These post-abortion effects should not be overlooked as they might lead to depression and low self-esteem.

The various studies done show that adolescents after a few months after abortion had adjusted back to the normal ways of life. This of course is made possible by terminating the pregnancy early to avoid complications and thereafter getting the best treatment to avoid mental illnesses (Bergen, 2017, para. 5). The adolescents should be taught about pregnancy and how it will affect their lives if they keep it. They should not be coerced to carry out the abortion, but they should do it willingly.

Looking at these issues from another perspective, it has been noted that adolescents, as compared to adults, obtain their abortions later at a gestational stage and this could increase psychological and medical risks of the abortion procedure (Biro, Wildey, Hillard, & Rauh, 1986, para. 1). These adolescents have a higher chance of developing anxiety, especially if they have pre-existing mental illnesses, low coping skills, and are in a community that has strong religious beliefs (Biro et al., 1986, para. 1). These consequences of abortion to some adolescents should not be overlooked.

These problems associated with adolescence pregnancy can be dealt with in various ways like, seeking prenatal care as early as possible, parents should provide physical and emotional support to their children, the adolescent should also be tested for STIs, and they should stay healthy. These practices should help the adolescent to avoid any form of depression or low self-esteem followed by abortion.

Due to the evidence from the national surveys done, it can be concluded that depression and low-self-esteem do not follow abortion in adolescents. However, because these surveys do not cover the entire population of the pregnant adolescents, it is hard to ignore that some cases of depression and low self-esteem might occur among some adolescents due to abortion. The good news is that there are ways in which these consequences associated with abortion can be dealt with to avoid depression and low self-esteem among them.

References

Institute of Medicine, Committee on Unintended Pregnancy. (1995). The best intentions: Unintended pregnancy and the well-being of children and families.