Teachers speak their minds about abortion during adolescence

Abstract

Debates on abortion have escalated following the implementation in 1997 of the new law that legalises abortion from the age of twelve years in South Africa. Very often the person that opts for an abortion is merely an adolescent, who is still en route to adulthood. The adolescent's teacher shares the responsibility of the parent to accompany the adolescent to this procedure. The primary objective of the research was to determine from a socio-educational perspective what specific view teachers have of an abortion during adolescence. In order to achieve this, a qualitative method of research was used, with data being collected by means of focus-group interviews, through purposive sampling. The transcriptions were subjected to descriptive analysis. The findings of the research are presented and guidelines offered to teachers on more effectively accompanying the adolescent of our present-day society who plans to have an abortion or has had one.


South African Journal of Education Vol.24(3) 2004: 177-182