| Abstract: | This paper is directed to those individuals who are sufficiently disturbed by the complex realities of problem pregnancies and who are prepared to think beyond the confines of ideology. Rigid ideological positions tend to create distance from the hard complexities surrounding concrete human situations and to limit the realities of pain and helplessness that may exist for each of the parties to an unwanted pregnancy. Pregnancy is more than a biological condition or an isolated emotional entity giving rise to joy or grief. Pregnancy introduces a new relational component to an already existing relational network, and, conversely, abortion is neither simply the evacuation of the products of conception nor an endpoint to emotional stress. It is, in actuality, a broken relationship. In the clinical experience of these authors a sense of sadness frequently accompanies a woman's choice to undergo an abortion. Some problem pregnancy counselors maintain that they have never known a woman who terminated pregnancy without sadness. This information reinforces these authors' observations that facing a decision to have an abortion is not easy, often stressful, and an occasion when a woman should feel entitled to obtain the help of her total relationship system in arriving at a decision. The decision to continue or to terminate a problem pregnancy is rooted in a complex network of relationship factors that have an effect on the decision-making process. Repeated occurrences of unwanted pregnancies in the family are more than individual and disconnected events. Relational strategies that effect decision-making in problem pregnancies are effective in the hands of helping agents who value conjoint, intergenerational reciprocity as a therapeutic paradigm. |
