|
|
 |
|
Information
Resource Library
Abortion and disability |
| |
|
| |
SECTION
2 - INTERVIEWS
1. Which reasons do you think are acceptable for abortion?
Summary
The survey had shown that the majority of students think that
abortion should be legal, and many say they think the decision
on abortion should be left to the mother. However, in our
interviews, when reasons for abortion were specified some
students indicated unease with particular reasons for abortion
that a woman, or couple may have.
In particular there was a reaction against what some students
felt were 'trivial' or 'selfish' reasons to have an abortion.
One example of this was the negative reaction particularly
amongst school students against women who would consider an
abortion for purely financial reasons. Some students felt
that women can get abortion too easily, suggesting it can
be 'abused', and that women should think more carefully about
their decisions. School students in particular felt that abortion
is too easy and needs to be regulated in some way. As could
perhaps be predicted, given their young age, they often talked
about abortion as an experience that happens to other people,
and in more abstract terms than the university students. The
older students showed a greater awareness of problems and
difficult situations that individual women face, and a greater
number recognised that abortion is an important form of fertility
regulation for women.
Where what was perceived to be a 'good reason' for abortion
was indicated, for school students it was often posed in terms
of the well being of the child, rather than as a decision
that would help the mother. University students tended to
be more concerned with the effect of pregnancy on the woman's
life.
Many students, both school and university age, mentioned counselling
as an important part of abortion decision making. For some,
counselling was advocated to 'make the woman think' and to
prevent 'rash decisions'. Others thought it good for the woman's
well-being to talk her decision through, even if the 'counsellor'
was a friend rather than a professional.
SCHOOL STUDENTS
A girl, age 15 said:
"I think its wrong when there's a married couple and they
both have jobs and they decide its just the wrong time to
have a baby."
A girl, age 14 said:
" I think that people should bear in mind that there are hundreds
of women who can't have children and then there are sixteen
year old girls having abortions because they don't want to
tell their parents. I wouldn't make a law to stop them doing
it, but I would like to make them think more about other options
like adoption."
A girl, age 15 said:
" There are so many people in children's homes, you have to
ask what quality of life they have. If you're not in a position
to put the time and effort in to give the child constant care
you probably shouldn't have it."
"I think women should only have babies if they are prepared
to look after them. Why bring someone into the world who's
not going to have a good quality of life?"
"If the mother had to go to university she wouldn't be able
to give the child much attention and that wouldn't be good
for the child. I think it should be the woman's choice though."
"I think abortion is getting abused. Abortion was legalized
recently in South Africa and in the first three months there
were 13,000 legal abortions which just shows that women are
abusing it. It would be far more sensible if they put more
money into contraception before pregnancy and adoption after
it."
"I don't believe in abortion as a form of contraception"
A girl, age 16, said:
"I think it's the woman's choice about abortion. If she's
not happy you can't expect the child to be happy when it grows
up."
A girl, age 15, said:
" Women need to think about their choices more. I think it
would help if there was more counselling available."
A girl, age 15, said:
" Everything depends on your circumstances. No-one else can
really tell you what to do. No-one asks to get pregnant by
accident and often people will regret their actions. But its
not always their fault."
UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
A female student, age 19, said:
"I don't think that abortion should be used as a form of contraception,
but I think it should be there for women to have control over
their lives."
A female student, age 20, said:
"Abortion liberates women. No contraception is 100 per cent
effective, so it's inevitable that it will fail sometimes.
If I got pregnant before university I couldn't have coped."
"I feel that any interference with a woman's life whether
it be work, studies or relationships are all valid reasons
for a woman to have an abortion"
A male student, age 22, said:
"I don't think that women make their decisions lightly, but
there is a risk that if abortion is available completely on
demand and women don't even have to talk about their decisions
then it could be used as a form of contraception. No woman
should be refused an abortion, but if people are irresponsible
they should receive some advice."
"I think that abortion counselling should always be offered,
if not enforced. Most women will need to go through some form
of counselling, even if that means with a close friend not
a trained counsellor."
"It's hard for other people to judge another persons circumstances.
People should have some form of counselling so that they know
what they are doing and they don't just make a rash decision."
A female student, age 20 said:
"Motherhood, pregnancy and childbirth are such a big thing
that you have to want to do it. You have to feel able to do
it as well."
A female student, age 21, said:
"Society expects women to have children and women expect it
of themselves as well. Having an abortion goes against society's
expectations. Women who don't want to have children are seen
as very masculine."
"If a woman really doesn't want a child it's not fair on either
her or the baby to make her have it."
2. WHAT DO THINK ABOUT ABORTION FOR ABNORMALITY?
Summary
Many students raised concerns with fetal abnormality as a
ground for abortion they felt comfortable justifying, whilst
at the same time recognising the difficulties parents can
experience in bringing up a child with disabilities. The welfare
of the potential child was the primary concern when students
talked about abortion for fetal abnormality: many students'
criteria for acceptable grounds for termination depended on
the quality of life for the potential child.
This meant that severe abnormalities which would result in
pain or death for the child were seen as acceptable, although
abortion in the case of what were called 'trivial' abnormalities
was seen as a greater problem. This meant that what were seen
as more cosmetic abnormalities were talked about as unacceptable
grounds for termination. Abnormalities talked of in this way
included, perhaps surprisingly, missing limbs and congenital
blindness. Down's syndrome was not generally seen as an abnormality
that justified abortion. Many students felt that Down's syndrome
children could lead very happy lives.
Some students suggested that fewer women would opt for abortion
for abnormality if they had more information. The perception
here is that potential parents have a set idea of the child
they want - what was characterised as wanting a 'normal' child
- and that if they were more aware about what a particular
abnormality entails, and were less 'prejudiced' about disability,
they might think differently. This view was expressed amongst
students who in general supported legal abortion. Their objection
was not to women who want an abortion because they do not
want to be pregnant, but where women make judgements about
the kind of child they want: doing so was thought of as morally
wrong.
When students identified particular reasons for caution about
accepting abortion for abnormality without qualification,
the idea that 'things could go to far' was the most frequent
concern. The most clear expression of this concern was the
idea there was a 'slippery slope', where acceptance of abortion
for fetal abnormality could lead to policies based on eugenic
selection before birth of 'desirable' and 'undesirable' people.
SCHOOL STUDENTS
A girl, age 15 said:
"I think its difficult because you are deciding whether people
should live or die, its like euthanasia."
"I think that women should only have an abortion if there
is a serious risk to them or the child, not just if its something
like Down's syndrome."
"I think its wrong if someone has an abortion just because
they don't want a child with a disability when they are in
a position to look after it. If they have an abortion just
because they want a normal child I think that's wrong. It
could easily go too far. It probably won't, but it could be
like Hitler getting rid of all the Jews, and then we would
be in a position when everyone wanted a normal baby."
"That's what worries me about abortion for fetal abnormality.
You don't know how far it will go. Should you be allowed to
have an abortion if it hasn't got a hand say?"
A girl, age 15 said:
"I don't think that a missing limb would be acceptable grounds
for termination. It wouldn't harm the child's life that much"
A boy, age 16, said:
"I think it's difficult for people to be able to see into
the future in 10 or 20 years time how things will work out.
People often panic when faced with an unexpected situation,
like having an abnormal baby and think how can I get out of
this."
"There is a prejudice against some diseases and people don't
realize that many conditions are not that awful and that kids
could have a good life. I think the initial shock of discovering
the baby is handicapped makes people think 'Oh my God I just
want a normal healthy child' whereas perhaps if they were
given more information about it they would think differently."
A girl, age 15 said:
"I think you should consider parents who have already had
one disabled child and dedicated their lives to them. If the
woman got pregnant again and found out the next child would
also have an abnormality and then she wanted a termination
its more understandable. You'd think well at least she's done
the good thing once and she may not be able to dedicate the
same amount of time to the next child."
UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
A female student, age 20 said:
" I would abort if there was a very serious handicap or mental
abnormality. But if it was a lesser abnormality I'd probably
go ahead with the pregnancy. If the fetus was missing an arm
for example it would be a problem but It wouldn't seriously
damage their life. "
"Right now I have no problem with having an abortion for any
disability that we can detect before birth. However, I am
concerned that as technology develops and we can detect smaller
abnormalities such as congenital blindness that things may
go too far."
A female student, age 19 said:
"As long as a woman had thought through her decision carefully
I think I would be happy with whatever she decided. Personally
however I would feel uncomfortable about a woman having an
abortion late in term for something like a missing limb. I
think that is going too far. To me that is wrong, just as
having an abortion because a baby has brown hair not blonde
hair is wrong."
3. DO YOU THINK ABORTION FOR DOWN'S SYNDROME IS ACCEPTABLE?
Summary
The consensus among both school and university students was
that Down's syndrome children could lead happy lives. Few
suggested that the woman should be prevented in law from having
an abortion where Down's syndrome was detected in the fetus.
It did seem to be the case however that abortion for Down's
was not perceived as an option they were comfortable with.
Many expressed this discomfort by suggesting that 'personally'
they would not mind having a Down's child.
The distinction was often drawn between a situation where
the child would be in pain during its life, and a child with
Down's. In the former case, abortion was seen as the right
course of action. In the later, few suggested that would see
abortion as the course of action they would choose. This indicated,
as we noted previously, that the quality of life for the child
was perceived to be the key consideration. This was most overt
in the definition by one school student of parenthood as a
'selfless act'. In this respect, since Down's was not thought
to be a 'serious' abnormality, which would not greatly damage
the child's quality of life, then abortion in this case was
rarely advocated.
Few felt that if it was possible to eradicate the birth of
children with Down's in the future it would be a good thing.
In particular, university students expressed concern with
society making negative judgements about those with Down's.
Therefore women who opted for abortion where the fetus had
Down's were seen by some students to be making a judgement
about the child which was difficult to justify. Some suggested
that deciding to opt for abortion in this case was no more
legitimate than for a parent to make a judgement about what
hair or eye colour they would prefer their child to have.
In this sense, Down's syndrome was perceived as a characteristic,
rather than a disability or medical problem. The notion that
it is better not to have Down's that to have the syndrome
was described by one student as a 'social construction', suggesting
that in their view society has without justification portrayed
the disorder as a problem for those who have it, which may
not in fact be the case.
SCHOOL STUDENTS
A girl, age 15 said:
"I think it's up to the mother to decide what is a serious
abnormality. I would only have a termination personally if
it was really serious though. Lots of people with disabilities
have proved that they can have perfectly happy lives, although
I know not everyone could cope."
" I think that Down's syndrome kids are just the sweetest
kids. They are really lovely people."
A girl, age 16 said:
"There are lots of happy children with Down's Syndrome, and
every year there are new cures and ways to make children's
lives better."
"Many kids with Down's syndrome are great and they can have
a perfectly good life. It's not like the child is in pain
all the time. If the child was in pain I think the woman should
have an abortion though."
"I know a couple of Down's Syndrome kids who have a great
life, and they are lovely intelligent people. They do know
what's going on around them. Things are harder for them, but
they progress through that."
A girl, age 15 said:
"My mother had to have an abortion at 7 months, but it was
really awful and the condition was very extreme. We all talked
about it beforehand as she was older when she was pregnant
an was warned about the risks and we knew that if it had been
Down's she would have kept the baby."
"I don't think that abnormality would worry me on a personal
level. I've got a second cousin who has an abnormality and
he's really great, he's got Down's Syndrome, his parents dedicated
their lives to him. I don't know whether I could do it, but
I'd definitely consider it."
"In all cases I think the key consideration is the kid's quality
of life. Being a parent is a selfless act."
University students
A female student, age 20 said:
"I know that having a Down's syndrome child would take far
more care and attention, but they can lead quite happy lives.
Personally my decision would be based on whether I could cope."
" I think it's a problem if people say I don't want to have
a Down's syndrome child, purely on the basis of its disability.
It would be like saying I want to have a blonde child or I
want my child to be six feet tall."
A male student, age 20 said:
"Down's syndrome is extremely difficult. Its not a question
of being able to say this child will be in pain its whole
life. Many children who have Down's are very happy. I think
the social construction of the disease has played a big part.
I would have a problem if people wanted to eradicate Down's
syndrome because you are judging people's lives and many Down's
kids are probably far more happy than I am."
A female student, age 21 said:
"Down's children can have a very good life and they can be
very happy children, people need to think about what they're
doing."
4. Do you think that abortion for fetal abnormality should
be limited in any way?
Summary
It was in answer to this question that the objections students
had with the right to choose was most apparent. No student
argued that the choice to abort for abnormality was a right
that women should be free to exercise without question. Rather,
they described various problems and difficulties that they
thought would arise if this right was not limited. In so far
as students made suggestions about how to generate such limits,
education and changing society's attitudes about disability
were seen to be positive measures, rather than enforcing a
limit on choice through the law.
We suggest that these reservations about the right to choose
reflect in the most part, students' views about society in
general, rather than their opinions about abortion per se.
The particular reservations students raised with the idea
of accepting the legitimacy of abortion for abnormality were
varied, but certain themes were recurrent.
The first observation we want to highlight is that the students
were strongly anti-elitist. They believe that society should
aim to be diverse: the more different kinds of people there
are, the better. They suggested that it is wrong to perceive
certain types of people as more desirable or better than others.
Rather people should be encouraged to accept those who are
different to them in a non-judgmental way.
Many students therefore wanted to encourage the idea that
disabled people are not inferior to those without disability,
but are equal to the able-bodied. This idea was sometimes
expressed by calling disability a social construct, meaning
that society has constructed the idea of the 'norm' of the
white, able-bodied male, and measures other groups of people
against this norm. In this sense disability could be talked
about by the students we interviewed as a form of difference,
akin to racial or gender differences, rather than as a medical
problem of form of disease. Within this framework, abortion
for abnormality was seen as problematic, because it would
suggest that a judgment was being made about disabled people.
It would encourage the idea that those with disabilities are
lesser people than those without disabilities.
Some students took this idea further, and suggested not simply
that disabled people were different to the able bodied, but
that they could have more desirable attributes than those
without disability. The sentiment expressed in relation to
Down's syndrome noted previously was repeated, where some
students thought that disabled people could be more loving
and caring than the able bodied. These attributes were compared
favourably with the desire to be involved in the 'rat race'
and to compete for material wealth.
This sentiment is related to the second theme, which is a
dislike of 'consumerism'. By this students meant the expectation
that people can make choices and have whatever they want.
The idea that people should expect to be able to choose everything
in life, rather than take what they can get was seen as undesirable
and damaging for society. In contrast, selflessness was seen
as a better ethos.
A third theme was the identification of a society that legitimises
the ability to make choices about the quality of a pregnancy
as problematic on the grounds of 'where this would lead'.
This concern relates to the points discussed earlier about
the idea of the 'slippery slope' and fears about the social
implications of the acceptance of abortion for abnormality.
There was a concern with 'drawing the line' about which abnormalities
could be accepted grounds for abortion. If this line was not
drawn, it was thought that genetic selection with regard to
a whole range of attributes, including sex, eye and hair colour
and sexual orientation, might take place. This was discussed
as a bad thing because it would allow for people's prejudices
to be played out and would encourage the growth of different
forms of discrimination.
Finally, fears about the implications of abortion for abnormality
were also evident when students discussed genetic manipulation.
Often students said they felt that scientific developments,
particularly in genetics are 'going too far'. Many students
said that being able to manipulate genetic conditions, even
to eradicate disease, could cause problems as it was 'unnatural'.
Preference was expressed for letting nature take its course,
rather than attempting to change nature. The clearest expression
of this came from one student who talked of the creation through
genetics of 'half animals, half humans.'
SCHOOL STUDENTS
A boy age 15 said:
"I think that altering genetic make up is wrong. It gets rid
of originality, because then it's the parents idea of what
makes perfection rather than natures."
A girl, age 15 said:
"I don't know why people think we should have the right to
choose, it's the consumer idea that you can get exactly what
want. Why should people be allowed to do that?"
"I don't think that parents should have the right to choose
the sex of their baby or choose what its like. It's one of
the last things that we don't have control over, and if we
change that it will go against nature."
"I think people should be discouraged from wanting an ideal.
I don't think that you should be able to abort a baby that's
not damaged mentally, but is just disfigured physically."
"Cosmetic reasons for abortion probably shouldn't be allowed.
They don't affect your health. Things are natural and you
shouldn't intervene."
"I think its really scary that people want to change that
children will look when they are born. It'd be horrible if
everyone was the same".
A girl, age 15 said:
"I think a world of perfect people would be really awful,
almost Extra Terrestrial."
"If a disabled child doesn't know any other way of existence
they are unlikely to think oh my mum should have had an abortion.
The child could be perfectly happy because they don't know
any different. People always assume that the child will be
really unhappy, just because they are not the same as us."
"The way that science is developing, and things are moving
so quickly, cures could be developed within a child's lifetime.
People should be made to consider that."
"The problem is that people will always go too far. If they
choose one thing then they'll go on and want to choose eye
colour and hair colour and everything. You don't know where
it would end, they may create half animals, half humans."
UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
A female student, age 20 said:
"I think that limiting what women could abort for would be
impossible. It would be dodgy to ask the government to decide,
but there is a moral duty to educate people."
"The danger becomes that choice can end up being unlimited.
If people start picking and choosing and shaping the children
that they produce it may create an imbalance in the population.
Beyond very serious abnormalities it seems illegitimate to
be able to choose certain traits. It would mean that people
could act out their prejudices about what makes a good person
such as white children or straight children. You can't say
that being tall or intelligent will necessarily mean that
you have a better life. It seems wrong that people could make
such judgements about people."
A female student, age 21 said:
"Having an abortion for a trivial reason is extremely tricky.
It stops being a question of rights and moves into the cosmetic
realm. I would tend towards saying that trivial abnormalities
could be seen more in the light of sex selection."
"I'm not happy with the idea of a law that could stop women.
It would be impossible to enforce. Who would you punish? The
doctor, the woman? It's a difficult area and not one I am
convinced we should go down."
A male student, age 22 said:
"If it's a question of that the child would be in severe pain,
I can understand abortion. If its something like a missing
limb though then it has to be looked at in a larger context.
The idea that someone could say that a baby would have no
arm so therefore its sub human and I don't want it is terrible.
If that is condoned then it suggests that people with these
conditions shouldn't be alive."
A female student, age 20 said:
"In certain countries they kill girls not boys which everyone
would see as wrong. I think we need to be careful."
"Disability is a socially constructed concept. Our concept
of what is normal is a white able bodied person and that is
ridiculous to uphold.
A female student, age 21 said:
"It has to be judged on the quality of life the child will
have. If there was an abnormality which meant that people
could live quite happily with the disease we shouldn't necessarily
try to eradicate that from society. "
"It's such a difficult issue. We know that people who are
blind for example often have many talents. That could be seen
as a difference rather than a disability. I think you can
only draw lines about what is acceptable in your own mind.
It would be very difficult for a line to be imposed."
"In one sense you can say that disability is socially constructed
as being in a wheel chair is only a problem because there
are stairs and curbs."
A female student, age 20 said:
"There can be a conflict between disabled people and the right
to choose. Disabled people would like to see themselves as
normal people who can overcome their disabilities. Saying
that it's ok to have an abortion for disability becomes an
unfair act."
"The population should be as diverse as possible because you
can learn a lot from disabled people. Disabled people make
the most of what they have. They are probably more loving
and understanding than people who are caught up in a rat race.
They don't take things for granted."
"I would be against choosing the sex, or eye colour for example.
A child is a natural process. Appearance doesn't make any
difference to the quality of life of the child, it's very
superficial. It would definitely be wrong if people could
make those choices, it's taking it a step too far. We end
up knowing too much. Anyone who wasn't perfect would be discriminated
against and be a social outcast."
Back to contents page |
| |
|
|
|
|
