An anonymous writer describes her complicated feelings about abortion, before and after having one.

At first, she is unsure of her position on abortion. As part of her research for an article on the topic, she visits an anti-abortion clinic. She is appalled by the extreme scare tactics of the counselors, but still unsure of her feelings about abortion. To learn more about the subject she talks to friends and family members. It turns out that they are also strongly opposed to abortion. Finally, she decides that she doesn’t need to have an opinion on the subject, because she’s not even sexually active. But then she gets raped and becomes pregnant.

The writer returns to the pro-life clinic and talks to a counselor who urges her not to have an abortion. She soon tells her parents, however, and they force her to have an abortion. Afterwards, she’s glad she doesn’t have a child to care for, but she still regrets having the abortion, so she resolves to get good birth control information, and does so at a Planned Parenthood clinic.

The writer feels that neither the pro-life clinic (which strongly urged her not to have an abortion) nor her parents (who forced her to have one) were really trying to help her make a thoughtful decision, based on her own needs and wants. But Planned Parenthood offered her the balanced information and counseling that she feels helps women make up their own minds.

Lesson: Seeing More than One Side; an Exercise in Sophisticated Thinking

Goal: To help your students develop the analytical skills they need to evaluate a complex, emotional topic from several perspectives.

Method: Careful reading; brief essay

Materials: Chalk, blackboard for teacher; paper and pencil for students.

Careful reading: Ask students to read the article. While reading, they should underline everything which suggests that women should not have an abortion, and ask them to circle everything which suggests that women should have the right to choose an abortion.

When students are done reading and marking the article, go around the room, asking them to read what they’ve underlined and circled. You might ask each student to read one pro- and one anti-abortion statement. Write their responses on the board. (There will be some differences of opinion based on what people mark, but don’t get into an argument; just have students report on what they’ve marked.) Before long there will be a sense in the room that this writer, like most people, has mixed feelings about abortion.

Brief essay: After reading and discussion, tell the class that they must each pick one of three positions: either a) pro-choice, b) anti-abortion, or c) “mixed feelings,” and write it at the top of their paper. Then, give them 15 minutes to write a brief essay explaining why they’ve chosen their position. Tell them that two elements will be especially important in their grade: 1) they must use examples from the story to back up their position; and 2) they must acknowledge points of view other than their own. (They can explain why they disagree with those points of view, but they have to address them in some way. They can’t simply argue their own point of view and assume that other views do not exist.)