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Abortion Controversy: Conflicting Beliefs and Values
In American Society
By: Joseph B. Tamney, Stephen D. Johnson, and Ronald Burton

Submitted By: Thomala J. Hollingsworth
Sociology 100
Professor: Gwendolyn Royal-Smith
February 26, 2013 ii

Abstract This study examines the ideological and structured basis for attitudes and political action relating to abortion. A sample from “Middletown” in fall of 1989 showed that most people believed that abortion begins at conception, a belief in privacy rights, and religion. Social traditionalism also played an important role in a pro-life stand, which is only influential for conservative Protestants and not for Catholics. Catholics believe in abstinence and refraining from taking anyone’s life as it relates to abortion. The political action, the data showed that the pro-life movement was more important in 1989 than the pro-choice movement. Party identification was not used for abortion as a political litmus test. However, attending pro-life churches did increase the likelihood of using abortion for voting decisions. I am interested in this particular article because the subject of legalized abortion or the lack thereof, hits home for me. I feel that women everywhere should have the right to say what happens to their bodies, which is in the United States, even in other countries where women are not allowed to have freedom of speech and treated unequally.

Legalized Abortion I

Women are able to make decisions about their bodies and we don’t need a man’s permission nor do we need the government putting stipulations on why we should or should not have abortions. We shouldn’t be reverted back to a time when women had to resort to “back alley abortions” or use a hanger to abort an unwanted pregnancy. My question is , “Would any of the pro-life or government leaders who are against abortion, going to take care of children who may be a result of an unwanted pregnancy, can’t be taken care of because the family can’t afford to take care of another life themselves, and of course in the case of incest or rape? Also some political leaders want to do away with Planned Parenthood and not give any federal money for this cause. Planned Parenthood serves a very important role in today’s society. They provide birth control to teenagers; women and men that help prevent pregnancy, venereal disease, gynecological check-ups for women, etc.
In fact, some religions don’t believe birth control such as the Catholic religion, they believe in the rhythm method, which could only allow you to have too many children in today’s society. Yet some of the political leaders believe that the social programs that would help families that are strapped and need help. Are those political figures going to come out of their pockets to help those families? I think not.

Legalized Abortion II

In my opinion, this issue on legalized abortion fits into sociology by the feminism aspect and the gender conflict approach because in the instance of men having control or the government, per say, having control over women’s bodies is a point of view that focuses on the equality of women and men. These are all social-conflict approaches which is a framework that sees society as an arena of inequality that generates conflict and change.
In the case of the sociology of politics, the positivist sociologist doesn’t take sides with this issue, however, critical sociologist say that all research is biased or political. But one has to choose a side and support it, i.e. to legalize abortion or not, to keep federally monies coming to Planned Parenthood, etc.
In some cultures and religions, it is a good thing to have many children, this is their beliefs. Women have no say so about this. In some countries women have no rights about anything, much less their own bodies, about work, etc.
The legalization of abortion come with a lot of values and beliefs too, such as what are defined as standards, what is good and beautiful and serves as guidelines to social living.
The belief systems come from specific thoughts or ideas that people hold true. An example of this was in the case of my friend. Denise is a person who grew up in the church all of her life. She struggled with first, having premarital sex and as a result of this she became pregnant with an unwanted pregnancy. Denise made the decision to have an abortion.

Legalized Abortion III

Having struggled with this decision for weeks, the day came when we had to go to the abortion clinic in Irvington, New Jersey. We parked the car, and saw that there was a picket line that had to be crossed, so we waited. I asked her if she was ready for this because we both knew that crossing that picket line would cause the pro-life people to yell, scream, and curse at us. So we took a deep breath, and proceeded to cross the line and enter into the abortion clinic.
In doing so, we were confronted by the pro-life people and people jumped up in our face shouting at us. At one point I jumped back and asked them, “Are you going to take care of a child that isn’t yours, and will you assume the responsibility? Then they were real quiet.
That was a hard situation to deal with, especially the struggle of what is right or wrong as well as the decision to have an abortion period is a lot to deal with alone.
In the final analysis, the Theoretical approach can be used. The background class conflicts are those rooted in a person’s place in the economy and stratification system.
The cultural conflict such as the abortion conflict, is one in which values are of primary importance. A good example of such a culturally based conflict is the controversy over the issue of abortion. (Clarke 1987; Himmelstein 1986; Himmelstein & McRae 1988; Woodrum 1988)

Legalized Abortion IV

In the study a model was used and built of reasons why or why not people support legalized abortion. Particular attention was paid to the cultural or ideological basis of abortion attitudes and then the implication of the abortion issue for voting decisions.
The studies have found that the American population’s remains divided on the abortion question for the last 15 years, (Dionne 1989; Gallup and Catelli 1987; Gallup Report 1989; Hugick 1989).
The defense of legalized abortion is rooted in individualism. It limits the role of the government which has led to efforts to expand the privacy zone. Individualism has also taken a gender-based relevancy to the abortion issue. Feminist say that if a woman is self-esteemed, then the woman has the right to control her body.
Social traditionalism was measured by a two-item scale. One question was asked whether sexual abstinence or improved sex education was a better way to handle teenage pregnancy. Another questions determined to what extent did the respondent agree with the question: “Is it better for everyone if the man is the achiever and the women stay home and take care of the family”? Two ideological positions which generally support the pro-choice stand are feminism and belief in the privacy of the abortion decision.

Legalized Abortion V

Conclusion The support for legalized abortion was related to cultural variables, a commitment to privacy, a belief that life begins at conception, and social traditionalism. The importance of religion determining abortion attitudes, were also substantiated by the significance of the churches influence variables. The debate about legalized abortion is a battleground for people possessing different values. To a significant extent, it is a fight between individualism and traditionalist. Among the latter are those who are committed to the puritanical moral tradition, political conservatives who emphasize the need for tradition as the basis for social order, and those perhaps influenced by the natural law of tradition, and who seek to prevent human manipulation of innocent life. Religion as we see does play an important part in this cultural context. Moreover, religion seems to play a role in mobilizing political action on the abortion issue However religion should not be overlooked at the variables worked well in explaining the attitudes of the less educated. Possibly such people are more influenced by the events of the moment, than by long term ideological commitments.

Works Cited/References

1. Burton, Ron, Johnson, Stephen, and Tamney, Joseph; 1989 Education and Fundamentalism. Review of Religious Research 30(1)0:344-359. 2. Dionne Jr, E.J.; 1989 Poll of abortion finds the nation is sharply divided. New York Times, 26 April, Y1, Y13. 3. Gallup, Jr., George, and Jim Castelli 1987 Opinions stable on abortion. Indianapolis News, 17 January, p. 3. 4. Himmelstein, Jerome L., and McRae, Jr., James A. 1988 Social issues and socio-economic status. Public Opinion Quarterly 52(4):492-512. 5. Sociology, Thirteenth Edition by Macionis, John J. Copyright 2010, 2008, 2007 by Pearson Education, Inc. Published by Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
Chapters I, II, III, IV, V and VII