How to discuss abortion

How?

Children and young people are inquisitive by nature and this means that questions like ‘what is an abortion?’ or ‘how do abortions happen?’ are common. Being able to answer these questions in a calm and confident manner sends an important message to your child that it’s ok for them to talk to you about sex and relationships.

Abortion is often covered at secondary school within Religious Studies along with other issues like euthanasia and IVF. Abortion may also be covered within Sex and Relationships Education. Asking what your child has learned about abortion in these contexts provides a good opportunity to explore and discuss the different opinions held on the issue and to find out how much your child knows about the facts.

Pregnancy and abortion feature regularly in soap operas and, though they are often over-dramatised, using a current storyline to initiate a conversation can nevertheless be a good starting point. Abortion has also been addressed in a number of award winning films including Vera Drake and The Cider House Rules (both certificate 12): watching one together could help to stimulate useful discussion.

Learning more

Learning more about abortion yourself will help you to feel confident when talking to your child about it – knowing the following facts may help:

• Abortion in the UK is safe.
• Though often stigmatised, abortion is common – at least one in four women will experience abortion by the age of 45.
• Far fewer women under the age of 16 have abortions than women over the age of 40.
• Abortion in the UK is legal and is usually provided free of charge by the NHS.

Resources

Further information about abortion is available from this website and from Education For Choice's factsheets for young people.

Other sources of support

Some agencies run specialist projects that help parents to talk to their children about sex and relationships. Raising abortion as a topic for discussion at such fora could provide opportunities to address anxieties and to explore other practical ways of discussing the issue.

Click here to get the contact details of useful organisations.