AbstractsPhilosophy & Theology

Negotiating values in abortion counselling

by Christina Johanna Louisa Janse Van Vuuren




Institution: University of South Africa
Department:
Year: 0
Keywords: Narrative pastoral counselling; Values; Abortion; Pro-life; Pro-choice; Discourses
Record ID: 1473851
Full text PDF: http://hdl.handle.net/10500/1121


Abstract

The introduction of abortion legalisation in South Africa during 1997 gave rise to the need for pre- and post-abortion counselling. Two dominant counselling groups came to the fore namely pro-choice and pro-life, reflecting the respective stances of society on abortion. In order to answer the following research questions: "What value-challenges do abortion counsellors experience, if any?" and "What ways have they found in negotiating these challenges?" A narrative conversation was used to come to an understanding of these research questions in practice. Research was undertaken with counsellors from both pro-life and pro-choice stances. The influence of capitalism, patriarchy and religion on role players confronted with making decisions on abortion was explored. Pro-choice counsellors negotiated their values in terms of forgiveness based on the unconditional forgiveness they would expect from God and pro-life counsellors in terms of God's forgiveness for the client, accepting her own responsibility for the consequences of the abortion.