Social effects of access

Aside from the legalities for a moment, another thing that can affect access to abortion is the social norm of the area a woman may be living in. Country, city, city size, religion, morals, values, culture, family, age, education level, career, ambitions, any and all of these and more could affect a woman's decision to have or not have an abortion.

We have briefly discussed the differences a country could have on the accessibility of an abortion to a woman. The city and mainly the size of the city a woman is living in could make a big difference in her decision if she is easily or even not so easily swayed by others. For example, “ [if] a girl ‘gets herself pregnant,’ she could lose her membership in her local chapter of the National Honor Society.” (Manifesta p. 5) This could influence a woman’s decision to abort a child if keeping that membership is important to her or her family; one could argue that the possibility of losing her membership in the chapter is reducing her autonomy in the decision. Another example is the debilitating affect of gossip; this is something not widely discussed in relation to abortion so this is personal experience and opinion. If a young woman gets pregnant in high school she is subject to rumors ranging anywhere from her rampant sexuality to drug use to multiple abortions and the like. This may increase her desire of wanting a quiet, early abortion where no one could find out, but the parental consent laws potentially conflict with that. For an older woman, if she has a few kids and gets pregnant again, the rumor mill may start up again, increasing her desire to obtain an abortion. Then there are the women who get pregnant and are considered sluts, but if they consider abortion, are looked upon as murderers; how could this rhetoric not affect a woman’s decision, unless she is deaf and blind?

Religion is another aspect that definitely plays a big part in the access to abortion. There is a diverse range of religious beliefs in both Australia and the U.S. and all have different beliefs on abortion. Abortion is an ethical issue and of course, most religions would have something to say on the issue. Roman Catholics tend to be anti-choice, Protestant Christianity ranges from violently anti-choice to Pro-choice, Jewish tradition allows for abortion for the sake of the mother, Conservative Muslims condemn abortion but there is room for permitting it within reason, Buddhism is disinclined to allow abortion except to save the life of the mother, Hinduism condemns abortion in all circumstances but widely practiced, Sikhism feels that abortion is a sin but it is practiced especially with female fetuses, and Taoism does not forbid or encourage it and treats it as a necessary evil and last resort. Unfortunately, I was unable to find any information concerning aboriginal/indigenous Australian religion and their views on abortion.
http://atheism.about.com/od/abortioncontraception/p/Religions.htm

It is my opinion that morals and values usually stem from your religious beliefs, but if they differ abortion may be one of the causes of the split. Or one might not be religious and their morals and values have to come from elsewhere such as their parents, education, and society. I also feel that culture and family go hand in hand when it comes to the issue of abortion, though many times ones views may differ from that of their’s.

Age and education level, as well as the level of education received are a few very important aspects when looking at access to abortion. Obviously in the states there is limited access to women of a certain age without parental consent, and your age may also make your decision; are you old enough to raise a child? Are you ready to settle down? Are you done having your own adventures and ready to share them with someone else for the rest of your life? Education level and level of education may sound the same, but are totally different matters. Education level would be how much you’ve had, where as the level of it would be the type you’ve had. In the U.S. we have federally funded abstinence only sex education. This doesn’t work. Whereas in Australia, while the schools may be lacking, the parents and non-profit organizations are picking up the slack with reminders to bring condoms to formal dances and offering very informative websites, http://www.mariestopes.com.au/ and www.likeitis.org.au, as well as a text messaging service allowing teens to receive accurate sexual information on their cell phones. (www.sextxt.org.au)
http://www.mariestopes.com.au/youth_education

Careers and ambitions may be another issue in helping a woman make her decision. If she is at a job where she physically cannot keep working, but cannot afford to take time off for the pregnancy, so must abort, is it really her choice? Or another scenario, if she is climbing the ranks and is worried about discrimination when she has to go on leave, is abortion truly her choice?