Dorothy Smith's Theory On Abortion

The social issue that I have chosen to analyze is abortion, specifically, I will be analyzing the debate between pro-choice and pro-life through Dorothy Smith’s standpoint theory. The abortion debate is a contemporary social issue because women who experience unplanned pregnancies often consider the idea of abortion. Although abortion directly impacts women and their bodies, abortion has become a public issue that has been debated by men and women all over the world. Thus, instead of the decision being individual to the woman experiencing thoughts of having an abortion, the decision and act of abortion have become a social issue all over the world.
I have chosen to analyze the debate of abortion through the feminist standpoint theory because feminist theories are the best way to analyze issues that impact women. Moreover, it is important to analyze the debate of abortion through feminist theory because abortion is an act that directly impacts women and their bodies. I will analyze the debate of abortion mainly through Dorothy Smith’s standpoint theory but I will also touch on Nancy Hartsock’s
The dominant group in society is considered to be white men (Sprague and Greer, 1998, p. 50). Moreover, Smith suggests that knowledge typically derives from a social position, meaning that the expectations, norms, and the structure of society are often created by those in power (Sprague and Greer, 1998, p. 50). Thus, the fact that abortion has been debated by everyone in society is not surprising. However, through the use of standpoint theory, abortion should be studied and analyzed through women’s experiences. If the dominant group in society makes decisions regarding abortion, then they are oppressing women and their experiences with