Factors Influencing Teenage Abortion Decisions: A Literature Review

Introduction

Abortion among teenage girls has been a subject of much debate for many years. Many people believe that all abortions should be illegal, while others believe that there are circumstances that warrant the right to choose. Currently, there is a 40% occurrence of pregnancy among teenagers, and an estimated 25% of these pregnancies end in abortions (Pregnancy & Childbearing among U.S. Teens, 2003). At the forefront of this issue is an organization called Planned Parenthood, which provides teenage girls with reproductive health services, including abortions. There are many reasons why teenagers choose to have abortions rather than carrying their pregnancies to term. The purpose of this discussion is to examine the factors that influence a teenager's decision to have an abortion. These factors include economics, Planned Parenthood programs, and parental consent laws.

1. Do certain economic factors affect abortions in teenage pregnancies?
2. Do Planned Parenthood programs reduce the number of abortions?
3. Will parental consent laws reduce the number of abortions?

Economic Factors and Teen Abortion

When examining the factors related to teenage pregnancy and abortion, socioeconomic factors cannot be ignored. An article in the Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality discusses findings from teenage pregnancy studies conducted in the United States and Canada. The article asserts that American studies of urban teenagers found that economics plays a large role in teenage pregnancy. It explains that the incidence of teenage pregnancy among the poor is cyclical in nature. For instance, if a female child is born to a teenage mother, she is more likely to also become a teenage mother — creating a cycle carried on from generation to generation. This cycle also perpetuates poverty because it is more difficult for teenage mothers to finish their schooling while supporting a child. Planned Parenthood reports that approximately 80% of teenage mothers end up on welfare, and that 75% of all teen mothers are on welfare within five years of giving birth (Pregnancy & Childbearing among U.S. Teens, 2003).

The book Helping Teenagers into Adulthood: A Guide for the Next Generation confirms these assertions, explaining that:

"As sexual experimentation has become almost a normative practice among some groups of teenagers, the number of unintended pregnancies has skyrocketed. Many of these pregnancies are terminated by abortions. Those young teenagers who go to term in their pregnancy are often characterized as babies having babies. If these girls choose to keep their babies, their lives as single mothers are usually quite different from those of their peers who have no offspring. The vast majority of teenage mothers have no idea about how much time, energy, and skill are needed to care for an infant. Over half of single mothers stop their high school education in order to care for their baby and usually do not return to finish school." (Holmes, 1995)

There is evidence to suggest a correlation between economics and the decision to have an abortion. According to an article entitled "Preventing Teen Pregnancy: Challenge or Illusion," socioeconomic status is one of the influencing factors in teenage abortions. The study, conducted with females ages 15–19, asserts that "higher socioeconomic status is associated with fewer pregnancies and a higher proportion of abortions. The inverse is true in disadvantaged areas, where more adolescents choose to give birth" (Preventing Teen Pregnancy, 2003).

Some may find this correlation between socioeconomics and abortion surprising, because it reveals that the teenagers who can least afford to have children are the same teenagers who tend to carry their pregnancies to term. There are several reasons why this phenomenon exists, including:

1. The ability to afford an abortion. An abortion can range in price from $300 to $500. Most poor teenagers have no way of acquiring that kind of money, while a teenager from a higher socioeconomic background will not have the same difficulty obtaining the funds needed.

2. Desire and ability to attend college. Teenagers from higher socioeconomic backgrounds often have both the desire and the financial means to pursue a college education, and they recognize that having a child would make doing so more difficult. Teenagers from lower socioeconomic backgrounds may not see college as a realistic option due to financial barriers or limited aspirations. An article in The American Journal of Economics and Sociology clarifies this point, noting that "many teen mothers come from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds (Hoffman, 1993)... many unmarried teens are having babies as a rational response to prevailing economic conditions — specifically the job market they face." A study analyzing teen pregnancy in England and Wales concluded that education and job opportunities hold more promise for curtailing the birth rate than removal of welfare and housing benefits (Selman, 1994). Leibowitz and colleagues (1986) hypothesized that teens have a high time preference for the present and are less likely to carry a pregnancy to term if they are in high school and earning good grades; Ribar (1994), however, asserts that teen childbearing is an endogenous determinant of high school completion (Tomal, 1999).

3. Social acceptance. In certain social circles, teenage pregnancy is strongly frowned upon. A teenage girl from a higher socioeconomic background would face social disapproval if she decided to have a child. However, in more urban settings, teenage pregnancy has become an almost "normal" occurrence, and many adults in the community were themselves teenage mothers.

4. Parental guidance. For the most part, teenagers who grow up in higher economic classes were not born to teenage parents. In general, teenage pregnancy is less acceptable or tolerated in those households.

The National Healthy Start Association also suggests that the combination of ethnic background and income has an impact on teenage pregnancy and abortion rates. The article published by the association asserts that teenage pregnancy rates among Black teens decreased in 2003 while abortion rates for Black teens increased. The study asserts that Black teens are more likely to obtain abortions than other minority groups. It also suggests that increases in the number of Black teens obtaining abortions can be attributed to two factors: the withdrawal of the Norplant birth control device and changes in the welfare system. The article describes these factors in detail, explaining that:

"Stanley K. Henshaw, a senior fellow at the Institute, offered several possible reasons for an increase in the abortion-to-pregnancy ratio among Black teenagers. One is the withdrawal of Norplant, a long-lasting implanted hormonal contraceptive, after lawsuits over difficulty in removing it. In the early 1990s, Norplant was particularly popular with Black teenage women who already had one child, a group also more likely to end a pregnancy through abortion. Other reasons, he said, could be changes in the economy and in welfare policy that raised the cost of having a child." (Teen Pregnancy and Abortion Rates Decline, 2004)

A journal article entitled "Provider Availability, Race and Abortion Demand" also explains why race and economics have an impact upon abortion rates. This study, which included white, Black, and Hispanic teens, asserts that the location of the abortion clinic can also make it difficult to obtain an abortion — specifically, the farther a teen has to travel to reach a provider, the less likely she is to obtain one. The study compared the responsiveness to abortion demand across different ethnic groups and found that:

"Women of all three races who reside in counties with longer travel distances to an abortion provider are less likely to have an abortion, other factors constant. The estimates suggest limited differences in the elasticities across race — for whites, -0.353; for Hispanics, -0.635; and for Blacks, -0.360. Although demand appears to be inelastic with respect to travel cost for all races, Hispanics appear more sensitive to travel cost than whites or Blacks. Specifically, travel may be costlier for Hispanics in terms of psychic or dollar costs, and any change in distance will have a larger effect on Hispanic women relative to women of other races." (Brown et al., 2001)

In addition to travel distance, the study suggests that teens with better employment opportunities are more likely to have abortions. It appears that individuals who have decent jobs are willing to forgo motherhood and pursue a career — a pattern that holds true across ethnic lines (Brown et al., 2001).

The article also discussed income and poverty as factors related to abortion. The impact of income changes can vary among different ethnic groups. The study found a positive correlation between increases in income and increases in abortion rates among Black and white teens; however, the abortion rate did not increase among Hispanic women even as their incomes increased.

The concept of planning for the future and having some control over that future is a major force behind the decision to have an abortion. An article in Adolescence describes this as a Life Options model, contending that "according to this model, disadvantaged youths do not perceive themselves as having positive life options and therefore do not plan for their future and do not avoid barriers to that future such as early out-of-wedlock childbearing (Dryfoos, 1984). If disadvantaged youths do not perceive that doors are open to them, it is perhaps difficult for them to see teen pregnancy as closing any doors" (Martin et al., 2001).

Socioeconomic status clearly plays a role in influencing a teen's decision to have an abortion. Simply stated, teenage girls who have the financial means to obtain an abortion are more likely to choose it as an option. Additionally, teenagers who believe they can pursue a college education are more likely to seek an abortion. Those who are disadvantaged often have limited hope about their future and struggle academically. Studies also suggest that differences in abortion rates exist among teens of different racial backgrounds.

Planned Parenthood Programs and Abortion Rates

The research on the economic dimensions of teen abortion is relatively consistent and concrete. Although individual studies vary in scope, most reach the same conclusion: there is a negative correlation between low income and abortion rates among teens, and a positive correlation between higher income and abortion rates.

Planned Parenthood plays a major role in both preventing and performing teenage abortions in the United States. The organization prides itself on providing a safe environment for teens to discuss sex and explore their options in the event of pregnancy. According to an article published on the organization's website, the prevention programs it provides have aided in reducing abortion rates, with the decrease in abortion rates throughout the 1990s attributed in part to Planned Parenthood and its affiliates (New Abortion Statistics Confirm Effectiveness of Prevention Programs, 1998).

The organization claims that its educational and practical resources have helped young people make better decisions about sex and avoid unintended pregnancy. Planned Parenthood points to a twenty-two percent increase in the number of teens using contraception the first time they engage in intercourse, attributing this increase to campaigns that advocate safer sex (Pregnancy & Childbearing Among U.S. Teens, 2004). The organization also believes that the decrease in abortion rates can be partly attributed to abstinence advocacy campaigns (Pregnancy & Childbearing Among U.S. Teens, 2004).

The review of this literature reveals the nature of the programs that Planned Parenthood provides. The research suggests that the organization's programs are effective in their approach and have aided in reducing the number of teenage pregnancies and abortions. It is also clear that the organization is dedicated to ensuring that teens are properly educated about sex, contraception, STDs, pregnancy, and abortion.

However, this portion of the literature lacks an independent evaluation of the effectiveness of Planned Parenthood's programs. These articles were published by the organization itself, and it is not clear whether the decrease in abortion rates can be solely attributed to Planned Parenthood's efforts — other factors may have contributed to the decline.