“The Three Options are to be Responsible, to Give it or to Have An Abortion”: Social Representations of Pregnancy Continuation, Adoption and Abortion among Adolescents from Soacha and the Southwest of Bogota

Introduction: This article presents some of the social representations about abortion, adoption and pregnancy continuation among adolescent women between the ages of 14 and 18 who live in Soacha and the southwest of Bogota. Development: The participants were 58 adolescents in one of nine focus groups in which they shared their perceptions about abortion, pregnancy continuation and adoption. Participants perceived adolescent motherhood as resultant of unstable sexual behavior, and valued motherhood as an essential event in women’s lives. Stigma had a significant role in the representations adolescents’ developed about abortion. Participants perceived it as an easy option that allows women to avoid motherhood. Adoption was more accepted than abortion because it permitted the fetus to be born. Adolescent’s interventions suggest that in reproduction matters they are subordinated to their mothers and sexual partners, who influence their reproductive decisions significantly. Conclusions: The perceptions of motherhood and the fetus among adolescents emerge from patriarchal and catholic believes that lead to the social stigmatization of abortion and adoption. This article offers recommendations for nongovernmental organizations and health providers in order to reduce the stigma against these reproductive options.