Final Presentation

We embeded the file of our final presentation, so please take a look at it if you are interested. As we said, we decided to make an NGO that teaches young Japanese people about sex education and abortion for our seminar's project. The following are the comments from our professor and classmates: “I was glad to see that you went that extra mile to film on location (at Shibuya Station). The variety of your activities were impressive and I like your non-judgmental approach. You did a good job in making an NGO that deals with issues in a way that other NGOs in Japan don't.” “Your NGO looked real, and I think it was simple to understand. It's nice that everything is for free!” “I like how this organization provides us plenty of information about abortion. Your counseling will help those who suffer from pregnancy problems.” “The video was interesting. I thought distributing condoms is a good way to avoid abortion” “A very persuasive NGO. I'm interested in knowing more, since there are less education in Japan.” “The NGO is needed for young Japanese people these days. Necessary knowledge of abortion would be quite important. I hope your NGO will prosper and be accepted worldwide.” “Your making a webpage and Facebook Page made me surprised.” “There were many access to the home of the organization and especially the Facebook Page was interesting.” “Very well done.” “The video was so interesting!! I understood how you help teenagers through your presentation.” “It was very simple. The website of your NGO was nice.”

I Wanna Know Abortion Final Presentation from Mayu N.

About the editors

Mayu

Hello, this is Mayu. Before I embed the file of our final presentation, I would like to talk a little bit about myself.

I am a university student living in Tokyo, Japan. I'm a sophomore now and my major is English. 

I was born in Tokyo, but I moved to New York when I was 6 years old and lived there for three years.

My hobbies are listening to music and watching movies. One of my favorite movies are The Blind Side, I am Sam, and Rent.

I chose abortion as my topic since I wanted to know about more about abortion in Japan. When I was living in the United States, I had many friends who were adopted, but in Japan, only a few people put their babies up for adoption.

I personally consider that it is much better to put one's baby up for adoption rather than having abortion because there are many people who wants children. Although some people argue that adopted children won't have a happy life, my adopted friends told me that they were actually glad that they were put up for adoption.

Discussion about Abortion

We embeded the file of our discussion that we did in class, so please take a look at it if you are interested. The article is from AJW by The Asahi Shimbun, and it is about noninvasive prenatal testing for chromosomal abnormalities. Most of our classmates thought that this test has both good and bad aspects. Some of our classmates claimed that it is not good since there is a high possibility that more expectant mothers will abort their babies. Others said that people might discriminate people with Down syndrome if it becomes common to get abortion when expectatant mothers have fetuses with chromosomal abnormalities. Of course, it is not good if the number of abortions increases, but I believe that this test can give expectatnt mothers extra time to get prepared if they have babies with Down syndrome.

Discussion on abortrion from Mayu N.

The results of our survey "How do you feel about abortion?" (The results by July 10th)

We really appreciate everyone who has answered our survey. Thank you very much! So far, we got responses from 36 people by July 10th. (Our friends and some people from Facebook communities) We got to learn about abortion laws in other countries, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Kenya, Ukraine, and Europe. Although many foreigners knew about the abortion laws in their country, many Japanese people answered that they did not know the details. Therefore, we decided to make an NGO that teaches young Japanese people about sex education and abortion for our seminar's project.

How do you feel about abortion survey results (by July 10th) from Mayu N.

Q. 6 & Q. 7

Q.6 6. What is the current legal abortion status in the states?

The red part is illegal.

The purple part is legal in case of rape.

The blue part is legal in case of danger to women's health

The green part is legal in case of danger to woman's health, rape or incest, or likely damaged fetus.

The yellow part if legal on request.

So as you can see, if people go to Alaska, Hawaii, New York, or Washington they are legal to abortion upon request.

* This map shows the situation in the US before 1973, the year which abortion was legalized in the US through the landmark Roe vs. Wade US Supreme Court decision.

"Abortion in the United States by state." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 27 June 2014. Web. 3 July 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_in_the_United_States_by_state.>

7. Is the US government for or against abortion?

There were no exact answers to this question, however, as you can see from the picture above, there are many red status states where abortion is illegal. Therefore it can be said that the US government is more likely to be against abortion but for some states, it depends on the womens medical status.

How do you feel about abortion?

We created a short survey that will take about 7 to 10 minutes to answer. The results of this survey will be posted on this blog by the third week of July, so please answer it by July 16th.

<https://jp.surveymonkey.com/s/Q5D8RHY>

Q. 5

5. Are there more people who are against abortion or are there less?

As you can see in the following text, 48% of the Americans are AGAINST abortion.

And 45% of the Americans say they are FOR.

"Abortion ProCon.org." ProConorg Headlines. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 June 2014. <http://abortion.procon.org/>.

In May 2013, Gallup found that 48% of Americans consider themselves pro-life and 45% say they are pro-choice. [79] However, 51% of Americans believe the public is mostly "pro-choice," while 35% say the public is mostly pro-life. [80]Gallup also found that more Americans think abortion should be "legal under any circumstances" (26%) than those who think abortion should be "illegal in all circumstances" (20%). The majority of Americans (52%) say abortion should be "legal only under certain circumstances." [79] In Jan. 2013, Pew Research found that most Americans (63%) "say they would not like to see the court completely overturn the Roe v. Wade decision." 29% would like Roe v. Wade to be overturned. [94] A 2013 Pew Research survey found that 70% of people who attend religious services at least once a week say abortion is morally wrong, compared with just 32% of people who rarely or never attend services. [2]

Q. 3 & Q. 4

3. How much does the abortion fee cost?

According to our research, abortion fees differ depending on the hosipitals. In 2009, the median charge for a surgical abortion at a 10 weeks’ gestation was $470. However, since most U.S. women have abortions at facilities with lower charges, the average amount paid was $451. The median cost for a medication abortion was $490 and the average amount that women paid was $483.

"Are you IN THE KNOW?." Are you IN THE KNOW: Abortion Costs in the United States. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 June 2014. <https://www.guttmacher.org/in-the-know/abortion-costs.html>.

"Induced Abortion in the United States." Induced Abortion in the United States. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 June 2014. <http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_induced_abortion.html>.

"." . N.p., n.d. Web. 12 June 2014. <https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/FilesPDFs/map.pdf>.

4. Are there really clinics that operates abortion for free?

We could not find any clinics that operates abortion for free. However, we found some clinics in large cities like New York City that operates abortion for a cheap price.  For instance, it seems that organizations like Planned Parenthood and Parkmed Physicians can help you with the price. They can either charge you the minimum, or they can refer you to funding centers if you have low income.

"Find a Health Center :: Planned Parenthood." Find a Health Center :: Planned Parenthood. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 June 2014. <http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-center>.

"Funding." Funding. Parkmed NYC, n.d. Web. 12 June 2014. <http://www.parkmed.com/Funding/>.

Q. 1 & Q. 2

Q 1. How many women have abortion every year?

According to the NAF(National Abortion Federation), about 1.3 million pregnancies are ended by abortion.

Each year, almost half pregnancies are among American women are unintended which leads almost the half to get abortion.

And the fact is that, most abortion are done by women who come from all racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and religious backgrounds.

Q 2.  At what age do most people get abortion?

Women between the age of 15-19 account for about 19% of all abortions.

Women between the age of 20-24 account for 33% of all abortions.

Women from the age of 30 or older account for 25% of all abortions.

As you can see, women who are between the age of 20-24 has the highest abortion rate and women from 15-19 and 30 or older has a lower rate.


"National Abortion Federation (NAF)." National Abortion Federation (NAF). N.p., 1 Jan. 2010. Web. 11 June 2014. <http://www.prochoice.org/>.

This is a picture showing the rate of 1990, 2000, and 2009 pregnancy status: live birth, abortion, and fetal loss.


"Pregnancy Rates for U.S. Women Continue to Drop." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 Dec. 2013. Web. 11 June 2014. <http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db136.htm>.

NO ABORTION word cloud

This is a word cloud found for opposing the legalization of abortion.

 

 

For the opposing side, there are words that saids "love" "Jesus" "pro life" "God" and "Catholic" which I think that these words come out from Christian or Catholic perspectives.

"@ProLifeAtheists and the Damascene Conversion ." Geoff's Shorts. 2 Dec. 2012. Web. 5 June 2014. <http://geoffsshorts.blogspot.jp/2012/12/prolifeatheists-and-damascene-conversion.html >.

YES ABORTION word cloud

This is a word cloud I found for legalizing abortion.

As you can see, there are words saying "care", "happy", "moms feeling", "well being" for legalizing abortion.

And at last, there is a gigantic word that saids "ABORTION" "OKAY".

"April is Abortion Wellbeing Month." Gender Focus. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 June 2014. <http://www.gender-focus.com/2013/04/20/april-is-abortion-wellbeing-month/>.

Questions about abortion in the USA

From our next post, we will answer the following 30 questions.

1. How many women have abortion every year?

2. At what age do most people get abortion?

3. How much does the abortion fee cost?

4. Are there really clinics that operates abortion for free?

5. Are there more people who are against abortion or are there less?

6. What are the current legal abortion status in the states?

7. Is the US government for or against abortion?

8.　Are there any restrictions to abortion?

9. What are the risks of having abortion?

10. What is the most common reason for women to get abortion?

11. Were there any incidents or news related to Catholic hospitals conducting abortions?

12. Is abortion really killing lives?

13. How are abortion done at hospitals?

14. What sort of stigma is involved when Christians have abortions? What form does the stigma take?

15. What are some cases where Christian (Catholic) doctors or medical staff were punished for carryig out abortions? What were the circumstances?

16.Which state has the most clinics that conduct abortion?

17.Does the United States have more clinics that conduct abortion compared to other countries?

18.Is it common for women in the United States to have abortion more than women of other countries?

19.How many clinics that conduct abortion are there in the United States?

20.How many clinics that conduct abortion are there in each state?

21.Should abortion be banned?

22.Which state has the least number of clinics that conduct abortion?

23.What percentage of women in the United States have had abortion?

24.What percentage of Christian women have had abortion in the United States?

25.How many clinics that conduct abortion are closed every year?

26.Is it true that abortion exposes women to various health risks and the danger of losing fertility?

27.Is it true that abortion frequently causes intense psychological pain and stress?

28.Is it true that abortion is a safe medical procedure?

29.Is it true that the average women who has abortion in the United States has abortion three times after she first has it?

30.How many women who had abortion has a experience of giving birth?

Abortion from various perspectives -- A Catholic woman's point of view

[The following stories are fiction, but it they are based on a collage of factual information.]

     My name is Katherine, and I am a Catholic who goes to church every Sunday morning and I live in New York. Since I am a Catholic, I believe that abortion means killing "a life." Furthermore,  I consider abortion as killing Jesus' children, so women should not have abortion. They would  feel guilty for ending "a life." and they would feel a sense of regret or guilt for having an abortion, especially once they have children of their own. In addition, abortion exposes women to various health risks and the danger of losing fertility. Abortion also frequently causes intense psychological pain and stress. Moreover, there are many people who want to adopt a child, so I am convinced that women who are thinking of getting abortion should also consider putting the baby up for adoption. I strongly believe that women should not have abortion by any means unless the women has a high risk of dying if she gives birth to the child.

Abortion from various perspectives -- A 17 years-old girl who got raped

I am a girl who currently attends to a high school in California. I am 17 years-old and I live with my family.
Two months ago, at around 2:30 A.M., while I was heading home after hanging out with my friends, I was caught by two strange men and was raped by them.
I could not refuse them because they had guns and they threatened me with that.
Yesterday, when I went to the doctor, I found out that I was pregnant.
My dream was to have kids in the future, and I love kids. However, I need to abortion the baby because
1. I am still too young to raise a child
2. I have my future and I still need to complete my education.
3. My family is not wealthy enough to raise a child.
4. The doctor told me that I have a disease and that my body is too weak to give birth right now.
5. The doctor told me that I may die along with the child or instead of the child so it is very risky to give birth.

Therefore, I have decided to abortion the baby because this is the only option I have.

Abortion not to be held

     According to some surveys, many women who had abortion years later, still feel a sense of regret or guilt for having an abortion, especially once they have children of their own.

     Furthermore, abortion exposes women to various health risks and the danger of losing fertility, and abortion frequently causes intense psychological pain and stress.

     Since there are many people who wants children, I believe women who are thinking of getting abortion should also consider putting the baby up for adoption.

Abortion to be held

Of course, there are many pros and cons about abortion. However, abortion should be held for several reasons and incidents.
The first is that there are many women who have been raped by strangers and then got pregnant.

The second is that there are many teenagers who got pregnant by accident. Although teenagers are responsible for using condoms and contraception, there are actually quite a lot of those who got pregnant. These teenagers are too young that they cannot raise the baby with responsibility and they will need to abortion.

Third is that some women cannot give birth because of their diseases. They may have been told from a doctor that it is risky and the woman may die.

Lastly is because of financial or economical reasons. Some do not have no financial leeway to raise a child.

However, of course, there are many ways to avoid abortion such as to adopt but to give birth, it is very difficult and painful for many people, mainly because they never wished to become and pregant and to give birth.

Thank you for accessing to our blog!

     Hello, this is Mayu, Eric, and Mari, and we are university students living in Tokyo, Japan.


     We are studying about controversial issues in our seminar. We chose abortion as our topic since we are very curious about it. We made this blog because we want more people to know about abortion.

     In Japan, abortion is not as controversial as it is in the United States, but many women have abortion.


     We will be posting every week. We will post our opinions and facts about abortion that we get from our research. We would really love to know your opinions, so please feel free to leave any comments!