Free Custom «Social Problems» Essay Paper

Social problems are conditions that the majority of the people in a community view as undesirable. Examples include abortion, alcoholism, drug abuse, rapes, domestic violence, euthanasia, gay rights, and terrorism (Chadley, 2013).

Abortion

In the first article, the authors claim that about 1.6 million pregnancies are terminated annually in United States (Dionisio, Evans, & Varshisky, 2008). This is a high number, and it surprises me that such a high number of would-be-lives are lost. The article highlights that abortion has been a controversial subject for a long period. However, abortion was illegal until 1973, when it was legalized in the case of Roe Vs. Wade. In this case, abortion was allowed up to the first trimester. Later, in the case Doe Vs. Bolton, it was made legal. Again, the entire conditional restrictions were not allowed.

The conflict on abortion originates from diverse views on personal freedom – rights of privacy, right to religious belief and moral convictions pertaining as to whether life begins with conception. These factors have led to the division of people into two groups, which are pro-life and pro-choice. This article claims that most of the Americans morally object to abortion, but at the same time, they recognize the individuals’ right of choice (Dionisio, Evans, & Varshisky, 2008). In spite of the fact that abortion is legal in contemporary world, I strongly belief that it is morally wrong, unless is the pregnancy may put the mother life in danger. Religiously life begins at conception and abortion would be tantamount to murder.

Alcoholism

Alcoholism is a disorder when a person shows signs of physical addiction to alcohol and yet continues to take it. This is despite worsening physical and mental health coupled with social, family and job problems (Nordqvist, 2013). It was fascinating to note that alcoholism is different from alcohol abuse. The other compelling bit of information is that the amount drank influences the chances of becoming an alcoholic. Another interesting thing in this article is that women are more likely to be alcoholics than men are.

Some of the symptoms of alcoholism include drinking alone, secret drinking, inability to limit how much one can take, feeling an urge to drink, nausea, sweating and even shaking when not consuming alcohol. Alcohol abusers may exhibit some of these signs. However, the main difference is that they do not show withdrawal signs or compulsion to drink. Some of the risk factors that lead to alcoholism are the age at which the first drink was consumed, smoking, easy access of alcohol, stress, depression, peer drinking, low self-esteem, media advertising and the rate of alcohol metabolism (Nordqvist, 2013). Even if consumption of alcohol falls under a person right for privacy, people who suffer from alcoholism are sick. They need help from the community, doctors, and family members. I think that support groups such as Alcoholic Anonymous can play a significant task in management and control of alcoholism.

Domestic Violence

This is the abuse, which involves causing injury to someone especially a spouse or a partner. It takes the form of physical assault like hitting, pushing or shoving, sexual abuse and even stalking. In some cases, it may extend to abuse of children. The most disturbing phenomenon is that it is a common cause of injuries. Moreover, it can lead emotional suffering such as stress, depression and anxiety (Creative Communications Group, 2009). Domestic violence can happen to anyone regardless of gender, race, culture, education level, marital status, employment, and religion. Women are mostly the victims, but it can also happen to men. Children born in the relationships, which face cases of domestic violence, are mostly affected. From this article, it is clear that domestic violence does not recognize the social status of an individual.