Abortion in YAL: exploring its value among teenage readers and its pedagogical implications

Angélica Santi, María Silvina Rago

Teen pregnancy and abortion is becoming a serious concern in western societies. Although statistics about this matter are difficult to compile, the Guttmacher Institute has been dealing with this issue for four decades in order to advance sexual and reproductive health through an interrelated program of social science research, policy analysis and public education designed to generate new ideas, encourage debate and promote new policies . In 2009 this Institute used data collected during the 90’s to show comparatively how industrialized countries could reduce teen pregnancy and abortion by learning from other countries with lower rates. The study attributes the latter countries more parental and governmental support of teenagers by providing information about and access to effective contraception and adequate health services. These efforts are also reinforced through education as those countries with lower rates try to prevent teenage pregnancy through education about sexuality and contraception. 

In ‘‘Abortion among Young Women and Subsequent Life Outcomes’’ David M. Fergusson, Joseph M. Boden, and L. John Horwood support the assertion on educational outcomes noted in the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy fact sheet. They conclude, ‘‘In general,  there is a clear need for further study of the social, educational and related outcomes of the decision to terminate a pregnancy so that women may be properly informed of the potential consequences of this [abortion] decision for their life course.’’ 

From an educational perspective, teachers usually place their focus of attention in developing literacy skills and disregard the importance of students to understand themselves in relation to the complexities of their own world. One way of reversing this is by using adolescent literature as a means to meet their needs. Teens need a safe place where they can examine, through fictional characters, the choices they make and the lives they lead. They need to discover and formulate values and opinions and learn to tolerate others by discussing all sides of relevant issues. So, to help teenagers find themselves and improve their intellectual processing abilities it is necessary to study the need for treatment of abortion (among others) as a theme in YA fiction. Furthermore, it is important to mention that teachers should make use of literary resources that provide students with an honest view and address the realities of teenage life. 

In this respect, the story Sparks Fly Upwards deals specifically with this topic. Written by Lisa Morton, this story is about a woman who is forced to abort, her inner thoughts about that issue and the moral rules that govern her actions in accordance with the zombie –controlled society she is immersed in. Controversial as it may seem, this theme is pedagogically appropriate because students can benefit from reading and discussing it. Morton considers that many writers who have dealt with the theme of zombies overused sex as a taboo topic. So when she thought about writing a zombie story of her own, she asked herself what taboos were left that could be dealt with in a zombie tale. “My answer was political ones,” Morton said. “It’s hard to imagine a more heated political topic than abortion, and when I thought of combining that with a tale of survivors carefully rationing out their resources, it all fell into place.”  The theme has not received any greater representation in the last decade, leaving teens who hve abortions or are considering abortion without much literature to help them think the issue out. 

Similarly, the young protagonist of Sparks Fly Upwards faces a dilemma when she becomes pregnant. Knowing that the leader of her community will not allow the pregnancy to continue, she still expects some miracle to help her get through the situation without aborting. But as the community cannot afford an extra mouth to feed, she is forced to undertake a dangerous journey to an abandon clinic that is being guarded by a group of anti-abortion zombies. She tells us about this: 

“Afterwards, in our own bungalow, Tom and I argued for hours. We both got crazy, talking about leaving the Colony, building our own little fortress somewhere, even overthrowing Doc Freeman… but I think we both knew it was all fantasy. Doc Freeman had been right again-we did have Jessie, and maybe in a few more years the time would be right for another child.”

This quote clearly shows the main character and her partner do not desire an abortion. A study conducted for the Center for Population Options, Washington, D.C. (CPO) by authors Rebecca Stone and Cynthia Waszak, concentrated on adolescent knowledge and attitudes about abortion . They reported that negative attitudes toward abortion were balanced by the promotion of choice. Stone and Waszak also found out that teenagers lacked knowledge about abortion and related laws. They expressed erroneous and anecdotal evidence about abortion more often than sound knowledge, portraying the procedure as medically dangerous, emotionally damaging and widely illegal. This is also portrayed in Sparks Fly Upwards:

“I was thinking about the time I had to go to a different clinic with my friend Julie. It was before I started you, diary; in fact, I started you about the time Julie disappeared with most of the rest of the world. So I've never written any of this down before.
Julie had gotten pregnant from her boyfriend Sean, who split when she told him. Abortions were legal then (this was a long time ago), but could be costly, and Julie, who was still going to college (as I was), had no money. She went to her parents, but they threw her out of the house. She thought about having the baby and putting it up for adoption, but she had no health insurance, wouldn't be able to afford the actual birth, and regarded overpopulation as the end of the world. This, obviously, was before the deadheads arrived and clarified that issue.
So I'd lent her the money, and agreed to go with her to the clinic. She made the appointment, worried about it so much she didn't sleep the night before, almost backed out twice on the drive there and all so she could be confronted by the fine Christian citizens of Operation Soul Save.”

A strong sense of confusion is portrayed in these passages. The same confusion Stone and Waszak found in the teenagers they interviewed as well as a great amount of ignorance in medical and legal matters. This knowledge gap could easily be bridged by using stories like Sparks Fly Upwards as a triggering resource within a classroom context. Stone and Waszak also found that teenagers were eager to discuss abortion and wanted to learn all they could about the issue. However, they had not been given many opportunities to explore, discuss, and ask questions. Most importantly, Stone and Waszak found that they may have been the first adults to talk with these adolescents to discover their opinions, rather than to convince them of a particular point of view. They found adolescents' opinions about, and knowledge of, abortion had not been considered by adults. These and other responses by the young adults interviewed point to a serious lack of correct information about abortion. Instead, information often reflects anti-abortion sentiments or generally reinforces sexist attitudes. The responses also show the inability of these adolescents to consider outcomes of their sexual activity. However, doubting the intelligence of adolescents is a mistake. From the pedagogical point of view of education, teachers should make sense of teens as growing people and as readers. Each teen should be thought as a developing being, whose interests and skills are in constant process of change. Of course this development is dependent on many factors but it definitely takes place. They live in a real world, where they have been displaced, neglected, treated with suspicion and ignored as thinking, capable young people. Educators and writers have a responsibility to address even the toughest emotional and controversial issues in the lives of the young adult readers. Lisa Morton’s Sparks Fly Upwards is one example of this important task. Its responsible and professional use in the classroom can enrich the literature lesson as well as benefit those growing human beings we call teenagers.

• The Guttmacher Institute. Retrieved July 14, 2011, from http://www.guttmacher.org/about/index.html
• Alters, S. M. (2010). Teen pregnancy and abortion. .Abortion: an eternal social and moral issue (pp. 71-89). USA: Cengage.
• Ferguson, D.M. (2007). Abortion among young women and subsequent life outcomes. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 39(1). Retrieved from http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/psrh/full/3900607.pdf. DOI: 10.1363/3900607
• Retrieved from http://www.johnjosephadams.com/the-living-dead/stories/sparks%20fly%20upward.pdf, July 18, 2011.
• Banker, D. Too Real for Fiction: Abortion Themes in YA Literature. The ALAN review. Retrieved from http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/ALAN/fall95/Banker.html, June 30, 2011.