The aim of this work is to present and examine the ruling on which the Colombian Constitutional Court declared the blanket criminalization of induced abortion to be unconstitutional: ruling C-355/061; all of this based in the understanding I have achieved of the Courts’ reasoning. In the first section I will present the norms that constituted the blanket prohibition of abortion, as well as the likely situation of its practice, both by the time the Constitutional Court took up the analysis of the former. This will provide a good understanding of the importance of the ruling and its starting point. In the second section I will put forth the general nature of the Court and its rulings, inscribed in the Colombian social, political and legal transformation brought by the 1991 constitutional change. I will also bring in the specific decisions the Court made regarding the conditioned constitutionality of induced abortion and the unconstitutionality of the legal expression that equated an abortion performed on a woman less than fourteen years of age to an abortion without consent, thus punishing it harder than a consented one. Such verdict is the starting point of an effort to trace, present and examine the ethical arguments the Court has woven to reach it, all of which will be undertaken in the third section. In the fourth section I shall elaborate on two of the common ethical elements that work as corner stones for the Court’s arguments: human dignity and the belief that fundamental rights and constitutional protected goods are not absolute; I will particularly point out how they play a role in the Court’s argumentation. As a conclusion I will offer a final general appraisal of the Court’s work.

The consequences of rape can be both psychologically and physically damaging to the victim. Unfortunately, it is all too frequently the case that attitudes against the victim in the form of acceptance of rape myths and other forms of victim-blaming serve merely to perpetuate these psychological consequences. This study looks at both the theoretical feminist and psychoanalytic perspectives that lay the groundwork for the foundations of Western culture’s inability to understand and empathize the female bodily condition in terms of rape and pregnancy, and the psychological effects that contribute to juror perceptions of rape victims and attitudes towards abortion. A study was run comparing a control trial transcript of a rape case, a transcript where the victim became pregnant, and one where she had an abortion as a result of her pregnancy, against responses to questions of rapist and victim-blame and empathy. The results were scattered, but overall there were significant differences in jurors perceptions of the rape, the victim, and the rapist that fluctuated as a result of pregnancy or abortion being admitted into evidence.

Bakgrund År 1974 framförde svensk författningssamling abortlagen som gav kvinnan rättighet att genomgå en legal abort fram till graviditetsvecka 18. Abort innebär avbrytande av havandeskap som genomförs av två metoder, medicinsk och kirurgisk abort. Sjuksköterskan har en stor roll inom abortprocessen som innefattar tidsbokning, rådgivning, administrering av läkemedel, smärtlindring och efterkontroller. Syfte Syftet var att beskriva sjuksköterskors upplevelser och attityder av att vårda kvinnor som gör en planerad abort. Metod En litteraturstudie har gjorts för att kunna göra en sammanställning om de studier som finns inom ämnesområdet. De tillämpades elva artiklar varav nio av dessa var kvalitativa och två av dessa var kvantitativa. Artiklarna som valdes till studien kvalitetsgranskades enligt Forsberg och Wengströms (2008) beskrivningar och analyserades med hjälp av deras beskrivningar på hur man analyserar vetenskapliga artiklar. The middle range theory of caring har knutits an till studien.    Resultat Utifrån artiklar som granskats i denna litteraturstudie utvecklades fem teman fram: rätt eller fel att göra abort, otillräckligt stöd till sjuksköterskor, att hantera sina upplevelser och attityder - professionellt förhållningssätt, sjuksköterskors upplevelser och attityder av att uppnå rättvis vård och upplevelser om att uppnå en personcentrerad vård för kvinnor. Diskussion Utifrån studien observeras det att det finns olika upplevelser kring abort som har anknytning till personens kulturella, religiösa och personliga åsikter om det är rätt eller fel att göra abort, som gör abort till ett kontroversiellt ämne där sjuksköterskor ofta blir tvungna att bemöta många känsloladdade och påfrestande situationer. Därför blir det viktigt med mer stöd i form av information, stödsamtal, rådgivning och undervisning till sjuksköterskor för att kunna hantera arbetssituationen och mötet med patienten på ett bättre sätt.

A couple travels through Spain in order to obtain an abortion for an unwanted pregnancy. The couple, an unnamed American man and a woman known only by the nickname Jig, has a much more complicated relationship than first seems and must navigate through complex emotions and gender roles. This story, and elaboration on Hemingway’s well known “Hills Like White Elephants”, attempts to give the characters introduced by Hemingway more depth and back story than the original short story.

Syfte; Syftet med studien var att beskriva vilken attityd sjuksköterskan har till inducerad abort samt hur kvinnan upplever en inducerad abort. Metod; Studien har gjorts som en litteraturstudie med deskriptiv design. Studien har baserats på 15 vetenskapliga artiklar som har sökts fram via Cinahl, Medline/Pubmed samt genom manuell sökning. Resultat; Det går inte finna någon entydig attityd till aborter hos sjuksköterskor. Vissa har en mer positiv inställning och tycker att det är kvinnans rättighet och att sjuksköterskan ska stödja henne i detta. Samtidigt framkommer negativa attityder där sjuksköterskorna erkänner att de dömer kvinnan utifrån hennes val. En sen abort ger dock upphov till en mer negativ attityd än en tidig. Kvinnan i sin tur upplever sig ofta oförberedd inför beslut hon ställs inför i samband med aborten, som till exempel att se och röra sitt barn. Hon upplever även en brist i informationen när det gäller barnets utseende. Kvinnor som upplever sig stöttade i abortsituationen har lättare kunnat anpassa sig till situationen och negativa känslor har därmed minskats. Slutsats; Kvinnor som genomgår en abort behöver få ett professionellt bemötande då de befinner sig i en väldigt utsatt och känslomässig situation. Därför är det av yttersta vikt att sjuksköterskan reflekterar över sin attityd till abort och till kvinnor som genomgår processen. / Purpose; The purpose of this study is to describe the nurse´s attitude towards induced abortion and how the concerned woman experiences the induced abortion. Method; The study is of literature nature and takes on a descriptive approach. The study is based upon 15 scientific articles found via Cinahl, Medline/Pubmed and manual search. Results; No clear attitude towards abortions was found among the nurses. Some nurses reported a positive attitude and considered it to be a woman´s right, hence they should support their choice. On the other hand negative attitudes were also revealed where nurses acknowledged a judgmental attitude towards the woman’s choice. An abortion performed later during the pregnancy did give raise to a more negative attitude compared to an early abortion. The concerned women described a sense of unpreparedness regarding the decisions they face in conjunction with the abortion. Furthermore, the women experiences lack of information regarding the baby´s appearance. Women who feel supported during the process of the abortion have more easily adapted to the situation and therefore experienced less negative emotions. Summary; Women who are going through an abortion needs professional support as they are in the middle of a very emotional and exposed situation. Hence it is of importance that the nurse reflects over her own attitude towards abortion and the concerned woman.

Bakgrund: Abort är ett ingrepp där upplevelsen av denna påverkas av kvinnans livssituation. I Sverige gjordes 37524 stycken aborter år 2009. Abort har varit tillåtet i Sverige sedan 1975. Kvinnor som gjort abort behöver omvårdnad som även ser till den psykiskt påfrestande upplevelsen som det för vissa kvinnor kan innebära. Syfte: Syftet var att beskriva kvinnors upplevelser före, under och efter abort. Metod: Denna studie är en litteraturstudie baserad på tio stycken vetenskapliga artiklar. Artiklarna hittades via databaserna Cinahl, PubMed och PsycInfo och granskades sedan utifrån en granskningsmall utarbetad av Willman och Stoltz år 2006. Samtliga artiklar är godkända och granskade av en etisk kommitté. Resultat: Före aborten upplevde kvinnorna bland annat ambivalens, ångest och stress. Under aborten upplevde en del kvinnor sig ensamma och tyckte att sjukhusmiljön var främmande och skrämmande. Både positiva och negativa upplevelser av vårdpersonalens bemötande rapporterades. Efter aborten uppgav kvinnorna både positiva och negativa känslor. En del kände sig lättade över att graviditeten var avslutad. Många av kvinnorna ansåg att abortupplevelsen är något man lever med för alltid. Diskussion: Tre centrala fynd diskuterades. Dessa var att abortupplevelsen är individuell och ibland svår samt att abort ofta är förknippat med ångest och stress. Slutsats: Då litteraturstudiens resultat möjligtvis visar på att abortupplevelsen är individuell och upplevs både positiv och negativ så bör vårdpersonal ha kunskap om detta så att omvårdnaden kan utformas därefter. Det kan vara till en fördel om vårdpersonalen är lyhörd och ger stöd åt kvinnor då det är avgörande för hur upplevelsen bearbetas. / Background: Abortion is a procedure in which the experience of this in influenced mythe woman’s life. In Sweden there were 37 524 abortions in 2009. Since 1975, abortionwas allowed in Sweden. Women who had an abortion needs care which also looks tothe mental stress of the experience that for some women may involve. Aim: The aimwas to describe women's experiences before, during and after an abortion. Method:This study is a literature review based on ten scholarly articles. Articles were foundthrough the databases Cinahl, PubMed, and PsycInfo and was subsequently revisedbased on a review model by Willman and Stoltz in the year of 2006. All articles areapproved and reviewed by an ethics committee. Results: Before abortion womenexperienced ambivalence, anxiety and stress. During the abortion, some women feltalone and found the hospital environment strange and frightening. Both positive andnegative experiences of the nursing staff was reported. After the abortion, womenreported both positive and negative emotions. Some felt relieved that the pregnancy wasterminated. Many of the women felt that abortion experience is something you live withforever. Discussion: Three key findings were discussed. These were that the abortionexperience is individual and sometimes hard. Abortion is also often associated withanxiety and stress. Conclusion: The literature study's results show that abortionexperience is individual and can be experienced both positive and negative, health careprofessionals should have knowledge of this so that nursing care can be designedaccordingly. Health professionals must be responsive and provide support for women asit is crucial to how experience is processed.

Pain is common among women undergoing first trimester surgical abortions. At the postoperative unit, department of gynaecology, University Hospital, Uppsala, the goal is that 80 % of the women should rate pain as £ 3 on a numeric rating scale (NRS), when leaving the unit. The aim of the study was to investigate how rating was performed at the unit and to investigate patient’s perceptions of pain after having undergone first trimester surgical abortion. 20 patients (74%) participated in the study. Ninety percent of the patients rated their pain as NRS £ 3 when leaving the unit. Seven patients (35 %) rated their pain as NRS > 3 directly after operation, and 2 (10 %) patients NRS > 3 when leaving the unit. There were no correlations between patient’s age and ratings of pain. There was no difference in rating of pain between patients with prior vaginal delivery and patients who had no prior vaginal delivery. There were no correlations between ratings of pain and gestational age. Conclusion: It is important that patients undergoing first trimester surgical abortions receive adequate pain treatment. The unit’s goal for postoperative pain treatment is achived, 90 % of the patients rated their pain as NRS £ 3 when leaving the unit.

This study aimed to explore perceptions and experiences concerning sexuality, contraceptives, unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortion among young people in Kisumu, Kenya. The design of the study was inductive with a qualitative approach using personal in-depth interviews. Eight participants (four female and four male) were asked to describe their perceptions and experience concerning sexuality, contraceptives, unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortion. The result showed that culture and norms, misconceptions and gender based power in sexuality are factors that impact Sexual Reproductive Health among young people in Kisumu today. Unwanted pregnancy was described as a shame, a burden and a destroyed life which lead to many unsafely induced abortions. The findings indicate that youth interventions are important, such as engaging young men in unwanted pregnancy and thus unsafe abortions and to empower young women.

<p>This dissertation considers incentives arising from equilibrium influences that affect the sequence of decisions that lead to family formation. The first chapter examines how state regulations directly aimed at abortion providers affect the market for abortion in the United States. Estimates from a dynamic model of competition among abortion providers show that regulations' main impact is on the fixed costs of entry for providers. Simulations indicate that the removal of regulations would promote entry and competition among abortion providers, and because abortions are found to be price sensitive, this would lead to increases in the number of abortions observed. The second chapter tests if an important negative externality of abortion access exists, namely whether abortion access makes prospective fathers more likely to leave pregnant women. Designing a number of empirical tests, I confirm that in some areas where abortion is more accessible women who give birth are more likely to be single mothers, rather than sharing parental responsibility with the biological father. The final chapter, which is joint work with Peter Arcidiacono and Marjorie McElroy, examines how gender ratios influence bargaining power in romantic relationships between men and women. Gender ratios, by influencing the prospects of matching, allow us to estimate preferences for various match characteristics and activities. We find men prefer sexual relationships more than women at high school ages, and that men and women trade off their preferred partner for an increased chance of matching.</p> / Dissertation

Abortion is a dilemma that women may encounter. The perceptions towards abortion are likely to be shaped by women¡¦s marital statues. Since the 1960s, feminists claim that women should own the right to their bodies, with a particular emphsis on pregnant women and their decisions to have abortion. By saying this, however, there are still pressing structural constraints that regulate women¡¦s bodies and their entitlement for such right. This research is therefore to investigate Taiwanese women¡¦s experiences with abortion, revealing social constraints and cultural cohesions, which determine women¡¦s experiences with abortion. In the context of Taiwan, unmarried women with pregnancy are still considered as ¡§deviants¡¨. Little research has been conducted in order to explore women¡¦s experiences with abortion. In order to contribute such research gap, this study wants to look at (1) how marital status might influence women¡¦s attitudes towards abortion, (2) how women¡¦s marital statuses may contribute to their decisions for abortions (3) how abortions might affect women¡¦s lived experiences? By examining these three questions, this research tried to explore women¡¦s autonomy through their own rights to bodies and abortions. It is suggested that regardless their marital statuses, women rarely own their bodies and the right for abortion. Fertility freedom is a basic human right grounded to women. Yet, in order to obtain such right, women have to constantly battle against husbands and their families, medical authorities, and even the state. Unmarried women with pregnancy, rather than their male partners, are still stigmatized and morally condemned . In addition, research in abortion rarely addresses how men perceive such experience. This is nevertheless important. In particular, by comparing men¡¦s and women¡¦s accounts for abortion, we can understand how gendered inequalities and gendered stratifications are operationalized through patriarchal values. Rather than women themselves, their male partners often make the final decision on abortion. In saying this, yet, this research also explores how ¡¥being a responsible man¡¦ becomes a mainstream gendered language for these men to appropriate in order to construct their masculinity.