Disparities In Abortion

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Society is full of many problems that are occurring daily. Social problems by definition, are problems that affect a society as a whole and not just an individual. One issue that is quite problematic in our society today is abortion rates among lower socioeconomic status individuals. Their abortion rates are substantially higher than more affluent socioeconomic status abortion rates. By comparing the statistics of abortions among both poor and affluent communities it becomes a social problem and not a personal problem because underlying issues are surfaced. For example, the stratification of sexual education within the different socioeconomic classes may cause the rate of unintended pregnancies within low socioeconomic status to be increasingly …show more content…

According to Dehlendorf’s study done on disparities in abortion rates, lower socioeconomic status individuals have an abortion rate of 52 abortions per 1,000 reproductive aged women. While wealthier socioeconomic status individuals only have 9 abortions per 1,000 reproductive aged women (Dehlendorf et al.,2013). Now, taking into consideration the number of unintended pregnancies that occur within the different socioeconomic classes and racial groups is also important to understand this issue. A 2008 survey done by the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) reported that 70% of all pregnancies among African American women were unintended. 57% of all pregnancies among Hispanics were unintended, while 42% among white women were unintended. This is a significantly higher rate that has more to it than people being reckless. This is a problem of social stratification between power and wealth. Which leads to a strain in equal opportunity and equality of condition within the higher poverty rate …show more content…

A study launched and found that high school students from low socioeconomic status lacked in sexual health knowledge significantly (Atkins et al., 2012). Reasons for this could be teachers from lower socioeconomic communities are less qualified, adequate funding for sexual education are lacking, and the resources provided from the school are either non-existent or mediocre. Therefore, creating an inequality of opportunity among minorities and lower class individuals because they do not have an equal starting point or equal education as more affluent communities. Causing abortion rates to be higher and negative social stereotypes to be placed onto

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