Abortion in America: A Consumer-Behavior Perspective

Maggie Jones Patterson, Ronald Paul Hill and Kate Maloy

Journal of Consumer Research, 1995, vol. 21, issue 4, 677-94

Abstract: Abortion is the most frequently performed surgical procedure in this country, yet its provision to consumers remains one of the most contentious issues within our society. The purpose of this article is to broaden our understanding of this problem by examining abortion from a consumer-behavior perspective. The phenomenological study described in this article revealed that (1) a wide gap exists between the language of the public debate and that of private decision making, (2) the language of private decision making reflects a moral standard used frequently by women yet virtually ignored in the public debate, and (3) women who take charge of their own decisions cope better with the emotional aftermath, whether their decision is for birth or for abortion. The article closes with a discussion of policy implications that arise from this feminist look at the abortion dilemma as well as broader implications for consumer behavior. Copyright 1995 by the University of Chicago.

Date: 1995
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:jconrs:v:21:y:1995:i:4:p:677-94

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