M.A. / The aim of this study was to ascertain which variables affect and influence women when making choices in unplanned pregnancy. In addition, to determine if there were any significant differences between the pregnancy and termination of pregnancy (TOP) group, indicating a specific profile for the respective group. Comparatively little research has been conducted on unplanned pregnancy and abortion within South Africa, as compared with international studies. Future longterm studies are recommended. The research conducted was of a quantitative quasi-experimental research design, wherein the researcher compared the following variables between the two groups: Biographic/demographic data, Personality Styles, perceived Family Environments and Coping Resources. Subjects were not randomly assigned, but selected by the nursing staff and researcher. Statistical analysis reflected that the two groups differed significantly on four variables. The majority of women in the TOP group were found to be the sole earners within their families. Conversely, women in the pregnancy group had more financial resources and lower levels of employment. A lack of sufficient finances was shown to be the strongest determining factor for those electing abortions. A compounding factor, were the nature of the relationships from where conception arose, 71% of the women who elected abortion described difficulties with the partnerin- conception. These included poor relationships due to excessive drinking, extramarital affairs, disinterest in the pregnancy, subsequent abandonment and divorce. Although the two groups had similar profiles in terms of the religious variable, many of the women who elected to remain pregnant, cited religion and/or their beliefs as the primary reason for continuing their pregnancies. In contrast, the TOP group reported a higher level of conflict within their family of origin, compared to the pregnancy group. IV No underlying pathology was found to exist in the group electing terminations, with both groups presenting similar personality styles. The two groups were also found to use comparable coping skills and resources. This research indicates, that most of the women experiencing an unplanned pregnancy based their decisions to abort on external variables; such as their relationships, financial position and religious beliefs. Studies indicate that these women are more likely to experience deleterious consequences, than those who make this decision based on their own personal needs. Many of these women made their decisions based on limitations not preference. This study may be considered to show important findings, as it reflects the need for effective pre- and post-abortion intervention/counselling services, which should be easily accessible to the public. The psychological well-being of the individual is critical for the overall well-being of the community, and ultimately therefore, society.

This thesis offers an overview of the new rhetorical strategies of persuasion being implemented by the contemporary English Canadian anti-abortion movement. This thesis analyzes the main arguments, philosophical principles, narratives and other important rhetorical strategies used by the contemporary anti-abortion movement in English-speaking Canada. It seeks, in other words, to explain how the anti-abortion movement talks to Canadians and how it attempts to persuade them of anti-abortion views.

Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Thesis (DPhil (Social Work))--University of Pretoria, 2001. / Social Work and Criminology / DPhil / unrestricted

Choose Me is a literary novel about abortion. In the dark basement of an Islington flat, a woman lies chained to a double bed. She is Grace Walker – forty-three, single and childless. Her captor is Anna Carmichael, a nineteen-year old girl with a gun. Anna, the disturbed only child of a wealthy couple, has always been haunted by memories of a past life and believes she is reincarnated. She is certain that Grace is the mother who aborted her twenty years ago and has tracked her down in order to execute her revenge. The novel switches between the viewpoints of mother and daughter as they struggle with their feelings towards each other and confront the day of the abortion and its aftermath. The critical component of the thesis, ‘Letting the Foetus In’, explores the process of writing this novel. It highlights the issues encountered whilst drafting an earlier science fiction version by comparing this version with novels such as Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, and Doris Lessing’s Memoirs of a Survivor. It then goes on to discuss the transition from using a science fiction premise to one closer to magical realism, looking at issues of voice and character creation. Examples of ‘abortion-literature’, such as Margaret Atwood’s Surfacing and Louise L. Lambrich’s Hannah’s Diary are also analysed. In the final chapter, Toni Morrison’s Beloved is examined to see what narrative and stylistic devices the author employs to realise her premise.

published_or_final_version / Community Medicine / Master / Master of Public Health

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In Italy, the “traditional” form of family revaluated by fascist dogma is one of the pillars of the society. Women have a central role to maintain, protect and support this form of family. Many Italian women, the State, the media and the Church, all act to safeguard this reality, seeking to remove all obstacles that can challenge the family. Abortion is considered as one of these obstacles and it has been a much debated topic in Italy over the years. Abortion was made legal in Italy in 1978 with a widely discussed law. The Italian Abortion Act, despite being the object of debates, critics and two referenda supported by all Parliamentary factions, has never been modified. In 2002, with the introduction of RU 486 at the Sant’Anna of Turin all debates about abortion started up again accompanied by a strong opposition to the implementation of the drug. The purpose of this study is to better understand the social definition of the female condition in Italy analysing the obstacles to the implementation of chemical abortion in Italy. In order to evaluate the role of both the Italian Government and society in obstructing the introduction of RU 486 in Italy, historical and secondary sociological data were collected and a series of interviews and a participant observation in a selection of Italian hospitals were conducted. A comparative study between Italy and the UK was also conducted. The results of this study seem to prove how the majority of Italian women, in opposition to feminist theory, prioritize family, femininity and maternity, considering career as necessary mainly from an economic point of view. Abortion is now considered by the young generation as something avoidable and no longer associated with women’s right to choose or as an expression of “self-determination”. This strong “traditionalistic” attitude seems to be caused by the inability of the Italian State to implement its laws and by the direct and indirect influence of the Catholic Church.

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