There are many reasons why a woman may choose to get an abortion, and experience tells us it’s usually not the baby that is the problem, it’s the circumstances surrounding them. Here at HELP Pregnancy Aid, our goal is to come alongside women with the awareness and respect of the ‘lens’ they are looking through, get to the root of the problem, and offer support where it’s needed. Here are the top reasons why women get abortions according to recent studies:
Fear of Losing Their Self-Identity
Having an unplanned pregnancy is hard to take in. According to a recent study by Vitae Research Institute, women who became pregnant unexpectedly actually saw the pregnancy as a threat to a loss of their self-identity. Thinking about having a baby or continuing on with a pregnancy is often seen to increase anxiety as it represents a threat to how they see themselves since they do not identify as mothers or even as someone who was pregnant.
Influence from Others
The opinions of others play a huge role in a woman’s pregnancy decision. Not only is she concerned about what friends or peers may think when they find out she’s pregnant, but studies have shown that young women are often most concerned about what their mother/parents might think (or the mother/parents of her partner).
Thirty-one percent of women gave a reason for wanting an abortion that was related to their partner’s influence. Women gave reasons varying between the relationship being new, the partner did not want a child or overall unsupportive, or a desire to be married first to avoid being a single mom.
Financial Reasons
Unsurprisingly, most women feel as though they are financially unprepared for a child, and 40% of women say this is the reason why they got an abortion. Within the financial umbrella, responses varied from unemployment to no insurance, to lack of government aid, to lack of stable housing.
Timing
36% of women said they felt like the timing of the pregnancy was wrong. The majority of these women said that the baby was unplanned, and thus the woman felt unprepared to add something to her plate. Additionally, some of these women said they felt too old to have a child or felt they were too busy.
Interferes With Future Opportunities
20% of women said that a baby would throw off the plans they have for the future. Many women wanted to complete school, advance in their careers, and not be limited by a child. They felt as though a child would get in the way and it would be easier to advance professionally without one.
How We Help
Women who are seeking abortions are looking for a solution to a bigger problem in their life. We want women to feel empowered to choose life and equipped to face any challenge. To help reach this goal, we are doing everything in our capacity to tackle these root issues. Here are a couple of ways we are stepping up to the plate:
- Offering free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, and medical referrals to help women get the prenatal care they need.
- Providing accurate information in both English and Spanish to bridge the knowledge gap on adoption, abortion, and parenting.
- Providing monthly baby essentials to moms who need material support for their children.
- Connecting women to community resources such as housing options, food pantries, legal and social services, and healthcare.
- Teaching parenting classes on a variety of topics including breastfeeding, budgeting, dental care, postpartum care, and cooking healthy meals.
- Giving direct access to a pediatrician to ask questions related to their child.
- Reading books to children promotes early literacy and helps them develop mentally.
We could not do all of this without the generous support of our donors. From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU for the ways you allow our mission to advance with your donations and support.
Sources:
https://bmcwomenshealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1472-6874-13-29/tables/2
https://vitaeresearchinstitute.org/pregnancy-center-guidebook
