When an unexpected pregnancy arises, a teen is forced to make a complicated decision. Should she keep the baby, put the baby up for adoption or elect to have an abortion? The choice to have an abortion--not uncommon in the United States--saves a teen from having to maintain a pregnancy in high school and improves her chances of future financial success. However, abortions are not fail-safe, and abortion is a subject of much controversy.
Statistics
According to the National Abortion Federation, four out of every five Americans has sexual intercourse before turning 20. About 70 percent of those who have sex by age 13 report having been forced to have sex. The pregnancy rate for teens between ages 15 through 19 was at about 70 pregnancies per 1,000 girls in 2005, but it increased three percent between 2005 and 2006. Approximately 35 percent of teens who become pregnant elect to have an abortion.
Teen Abortion Laws
Some states enforce laws that require parents of pregnant teens to become involved in the abortion process. Some laws require medical personnel to notify the parents of a pregnant minor before continuing with an abortion. Other laws mandate that parents must give written consent before the abortion can be completed. Many of these laws allow a teen to acquire permission from a judge if she doesn't believe that her parents would respond well to the abortion decision. Some states also give physicians permission to bypass parental consent.
Abortion Procedures
Teens who are granted permission to have an abortion will undergo one of a few types of procedure. One procedure involves the oral ingestion of a drug called mifepristone, which causes the pregnancy to detach from the uterus, causes the cervix to soften and dilate and stimulates uterine contractions. Another drug is methotrexate, which may be injected or taken orally to prevent implantation in early pregnancy. The efficacy of these drugs can be enhanced by a drug called misoprostol, which induces contractions. Other abortion procedures involve the manual removal of the embryo or fetus. A common first-term procedure, suction curettage, involves gradually opening the cervix and inserting a thin tube and a suction device into the uterus to terminate the pregnancy.
Physical Complications
Surgical procedures carry more complications than oral drug prescriptions. Some complications include infection, perforation of the wall of the uterus, anesthesia complications and hemorrhage. The American Pregnancy Association says that serious complications occur in less than one in 100 first-trimester abortion procedures and about one in 50 late-term abortion procedures. No recent studies show that an individual adolescent female is more likely to experience complications than an older woman who is at a similar stage in her pregnancy. However, a 2005 study published in a 2008 "Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report" says that teens are more likely have an abortion after 15 weeks into pregnancy, which does increase the risk of complications.
Psychological Effects
A teen may go through a series of emotions after having an abortion, including regret, relief, frustration and disappointment. Such emotions may be heightened by external factors, such as parental opinions. Although many cases have been made against abortion due to potential psychological trauma of the event, the American Psychological Association says that there is no scientific proof of any deep depression associated with having gone through with an abortion.
