HannahOakley

ProfessorDennisWilson
EconomicsasaSocialScience
20July2015
TheEconomicsRelatedtotheDecisionofAbortion
Abortionistheintentionalearlyterminationofapregnancy.Thistermisnottobe
confusedwiththetermspontaneousabortion,whichiscommonlyreferredtoasamiscarriage:
theunintentionalearlyendingofapregnancyoftenduetobirthdefectsandtypicallyoccursearly
inthepregnancy.Throughoutthispaper,thetermspontaneousabortionwillnotbeused:
instead,Iwillrefertoeitheramiscarriageoranabortion.Therearemanyfactorsthatgointo
decisionmaking,particularlythedecisiontofollowthroughwithapregnancyortoabortan
unbornchild.Someofthesefactorsincludetherelationshipstatusofthespermownerandegg
carrier,thefinancialstatusandlongtermcareergoalsoftheparents,thereligiousbackgroundof
bothparentsandtheirclosefriendsandfamily,howfaralongthepregnancyis,thedistanceto
thenearesthospitalorabortionclinic,thecurrenthealthcarecoverageandjobbenefitsofthe
parents,thecurrentsocialstigmafororagainstanabortion,theparentsopinionsonfamiliesand
havingchildren,iftheparentshavemetanycoupleswhohaveadoptedchildren,howmany
pregnanciestheparentshavefollowedthroughwith,theageoftheparents,andthepriceof
medicalcaretohavethechildcomparedtothepriceofhavinganabortion.Whilethereareeven
morefactorsthathelpacouplemakeadecisiontohaveanabortionortofollowthroughwitha
pregnancy,thispaperwillonlyfocusonafewaspectsofthisdecisionmakingprocess:the

socialstigmaassociatedwithabortion,theemotionaleffectsofhavinganabortion,andthecost
ofanabortioncomparedtofollowingthroughwithapregnancy.
Mostsocialstigmaschangethroughouttimeandvaryproportionallywiththeir
popularity.Ifeveryoneisdoingaparticularactivity,evenifthatactivityoriginallyhada
negativesocialstigma,thatactivityssocialstigmawillchangeduetoitspopularity.Asfaras
abortionisconcerned,33percentofwomenintheUnitedStateswillhaveanabortionbytheend
oftheirreproductiveyears(DEEB).Anotherfactorthatcanaffectasocialstigmaandthe
decisionmakingprocessisgeographicallocationandeaseofaccess.Astheabortionservices
intheUnitedStatestendtoaggregateinlargecities,only13percentofcountieshaveaccessto
abortionclinics,leavingabout33percentofwomeninanygivencountywithoutanabortion
provider.(DEEB)Thiswouldindicatethatthesocialstigmaassociatedwithabortionmight
varyfromcountytocounty.Ifthereisanabortionclinicinyourcountyorarea,peoplearemore
likelytohavedevelopedastrongopinionaboutabortionandwithastrongopinioncomesa
dramaticsocialstigma:negative,positive,ormixeddependingontheopinionsofthepeoplein
thearea.Asanegativesocialstigmastartstodeveloparoundthetopicofabortion,womenwho
choosetohaveanabortionthentrytokeeptheirchoiceasecrettoavoidbeingjudgedaccording
tothestigma.Keepingtheirabortionasecretleadstootherstigmadevelopingfactors,suchas
nearly40percentofthepublicclaimtheydontknowanyonewhohashadanabortion.
(dusenbery)Personally,Iwouldbeplacedinthe40percentthatdontknowanyonewhohas
hadanabortion.WhenyouconsiderhowmanypeoplemostpeopleinAmericaknow,andthat
33percentofwomenwillhaveanabortionbytheendoftheirreproductiveyears,thisstatistic
definitelysupportsthesecrecyassociatedwithabortion(DEEB).

Abouttwoyearsago,Iwasinaninterestingposition.Iwas16yearsoldandtwoweeks
pregnant.Thefatherwasanexboyfriendwhoimmediatelytoldmetogetanabortion.Ive
alwaysconsideredabortiontobeabadidea,Iveconsideredlifetobeginwhenachildis
conceivedanddidntliketheideaofkillingmyunbornchild.But,Iwassixteen,ontrackto
graduateayearearlyfromhighschoolthesamemonthIwouldhavethisbaby,Ihadbigplans
formyundergraduatedegreeandevenplansforamastersdegree.Thefatherwasatthepeakof
hishockeycareer,aseniorinhighschool,andhadofferstoplaysemiprofessionalhockeyafter
school.Neitherofuswereinthepositiontobeparents.Iresearchedintoabortionsandlearned
aboutthecostsassociatedwithabortionaswellasadoptionandparenting.Theideaofhavingan
abortionwastraumatictomeandIrefusedtohaveanabortion.Istartedtolookatonlinehigh
schooloptionstofinishschoolandtheoptionofadoption,whileadoptionwasagoodoptionfor
meatthetime,IwantedtokeepmybabyIhadbecomeattachedto.Ifiguredouthowtomakea
babywork,evenwithmycircumstances.Iwasa16yearoldmakingtheconsciousdecisionto
keepthelifeinsidemethatwasnobiggerthanagrainofrice.AfewdaysafterIhadmyplan
workedouttobeasinglemom,Imiscarried.Thebabywasnolongeraconcernforthefather,
buttheemotionaleffectsoflosingmybabyarestillaproblemformetwoyearslater.These
effectsaremuchliketheeffectsafterhavinganabortion,exceptIamabletotalkfreelyabouta
miscarriage.Thereisnonegativesocialstigmaassociatedwithamiscarriage,Iwasgethelp
openlywithoutjudgement.Astudydonein2002ofmorethan173,000womenpublishedbythe
SouthernMedicalJournalfoundthatwomenwhohadanabortionwere154%morelikelyto
commitsuicidethanwomenwhodidnotabort(Should).Theemotionaleffectsofchoosingto
haveanabortiondonotonlyaffectthemotherofthechild,theyalsoaffectthefather.Astudy

publishedinTheJournalofSocialandClinicalPsychologyfoundthatofthemenwhose
partnershadabortions,51.6%regrettedthedecision,45.2%feltsadness,and25.8%reported
depression(Should).
Alongwiththeemotionaleffectsofhavinganabortion,thecostofanabortioncompared
tothecostofotheroptionsisanotherfactortodecidingtohaveanabortionorfollowthrough
withapregnancy.Theleastexpensiveoptionisonethatisoftentimesoverlooked:
contraceptives.Abirthcontrolpillorpatchcostsbetween$050amonth,dependingon
insurancecoverage(Palmer).Somehealthclinicsdistributecondomsforfree.Otherwise,on
average,theycostbetween20centsand$2.50each.PlannedParenthoodestimatesthatthecost
forthediaphragmitself,whichlastsuptotwoyears,fallsbetween$15to$75.(Palmer)The
nextoptionisadoption,manyadoptionagencieswillpayforallmedicalcostsassociatedwith
thepregnancy.Theoptionofabortionhasavariablecost,dependingonhowfaralongthe
motherisinthepregnancy.In2001and2002,theaverageselfpayingwomanwascharged
$372forasurgicalabortionat10weeks.(Grimes)Thenextoptioniskeepingthebaby,
followingthroughwiththepregnancy.Whilethishaslifelongcostsassociatedwithit,the
numbersvarysomuchthattheycantbegeneralized,especiallywhenyouconsiderthatmost
womenconsideringanabortionalreadyhavechildren.Asof1999,overhalfofallwomen
havingabortionsweremothersofoneormorechildren.(Grimes)Thecostofprenatalcareis
typicallycoveredbymostinsurancecompaniesbutcancostaround$2,000foruninsuredpeople.
Thechargeforanuncomplicatedcesareansectionwasabout$15,800in2008.An
uncomplicatedvaginalbirthcostabout$9,600,governmentdatashow.(How)

Mostdecisionsthatpeople,thegovernment,orabusinessmakehavecosts,benefits,
longtermeffects,andshorttermeffects.Thedecisiontohaveanabortionortofollowthrough
withapregnancyisadecisionmadebymanyindividualseveryyear.Thisdecisionhasmany
factorstobeconsideredincludingthesocialstigmaassociatedwithabortion,theshorttermand
longtermemotionaleffectsofhavinganabortion,andthecostofanabortionwhencomparedto
otheroptionsavailable.Whiletheprolife(againstabortion)andtheprochoice(forthe
womansrighttochooseabortion)debateisunlikelytoeverend,theeffectsofanabortionare
importanttoconsider.

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