Abortion is the very definition of a hot-button issue. Very few issues are quite as divisive and even fewer have such a fundamental gap in the way people perceive them.
For those who believe life begins at the moment of conception, it is clear that abortion must be nothing less than the murder of unborn human life.
For people who fight for abortion rights, it is all about women having control over their own reproductive system. They view a fetus as a cluster of cells and an extension of the woman carrying it.
There is a lot of fighting between the two groups and plenty of room for disagreement. One of the main points of contention between them involves the psychological effects of having an abortion.
What are the different points of view? People who are pro-life have long cited both the physical and mental effects of having an abortion. They cite these concerns as a reason to regulate abortion and require counseling before a woman can obtain an abortion.
On the other hand, people who are pro-abortion strongly assert that abortion is physically safe for women and that there is no serious risk of adverse effects on their mental health. There has been a lot of debate about which view is backed up by evidence.
Does Having an Abortion Cause Adverse Psychological Effects?
We should begin by acknowledging that there is a great diversity among women. Obviously, every woman has their own, unique psychology. Every woman who has an abortion also does so under different circumstances.
In that regard, it is somewhat tricky to generalize and automatically state that having an abortion must always cause psychological trauma.
On the other hand, it is a serious decision for any woman and it certainly has the potential to be a traumatic one.
Lately, there has been an increasing number of studies dedicated to answering the question of whether abortion must always be accompanied by psychological trauma.
From these studies, it is now possible to find some answers and gain a better understanding of how having an abortion affects women.
One important point to make is that no major medical group recognizes “post-abortion syndrome.” It is not recognized by the American Psychological Association, the American Psychiatric Association, or the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
Experts simply do not find adequate evidence to support the idea that the majority of women who have abortions suffer significant and lasting psychological trauma similar to that of post-traumatic syndrome.
In fact, in 1990, Professor Nancy Adler testified on behalf of the American Psychiatric Association that “severe negative reactions after abortions are rare and can best be understood in the framework of coping with normal life stress.”
That finding was affirmed when, in 2007, the APA conducted a survey of studies done on the topic since 1989.
In 2008, at the conclusion of the survey, the APA found that having a single, first-trimester abortion did not increase a woman’s chances of developing mental health issues.
The Role of Other Factors on Post-Abortion Mental Health
Here we return to the idea that there are other factors which can contribute to any mental issues women may have after obtaining an abortion.
It should be obvious that women with underlying psychological issues will be more likely to suffer additional symptoms after an abortion than women with no history of mental health issues.
It should also be obvious that women who hold religious beliefs against abortion will suffer greater incidents of mental trauma after having an abortion.
It is also not surprising that women whose circumstances in life (such as poverty, abuse, a lack of emotional support from family and friends, etc.) make them generally more likely to suffer mental trauma will also feel more trauma after an abortion.
Bringing an unplanned/unwanted pregnancy to term and giving birth also carries some risk of mental trauma. The risks associated with that are not significantly greater than the risks associated with having an abortion.
Multiple abortions, late-term abortions and aborting a wanted pregnancy due to severe genetic defects also carry an increased risk of associated mental trauma for the woman having the abortion.
By examining the overall risk factors that an individual woman has for mental health issues, we can best determine if she would suffer from trauma directly related to having an abortion.
Conclusion
The anecdotal evidence of mental trauma following an abortion is compelling. Many women do indeed feel negative emotions such as guilt, depression, loss, and anger following an abortion.
Many women say their thoughts return to the child they aborted, wondering what kind of person they would have grown into.
It would be cruel and short-sighted to disregard their stories. Every woman has her own reasons for terminating a pregnancy and every woman has her own way of processing it afterward.
However, the facts and the studies simply do not bear out the contention that all women will suffer mental health issues following an abortion. Many report a sense of relief and the conviction afterward that they made the correct choice.
While the further study on this issue could be enlightening and help doctors and other mental health workers treat women who have had abortions, there is no need to treat abortion as an automatic threat to mental health.
As a young woman who has endured an abortion a little over a year ago, my experience has caused a great deal of mental torture afterwords. Getting pregnant in the first place was a huge mistake to begin with, but having to face the consequences of my actions was a wake up call that I didn’t want to answer. But with being an adult, I had to take my future into consideration and make a decision that was going to damage me no matter what it was going to be. I believe that there should be immediate therapy offered to the women after an abortion because my experience was almost like a real life nightmare when it came down to actually dealing with my own psyche after the fact. What made it even more difficult to cope with was the fact that I had not told anyone about it after it had happened and I had to basically live in my own personal hell for nearly 10 months before I had told anyone about it. I had to reevaluate my life, and even myself in ways that I had never had to do before, and I had to basically pick myself back up again and rebuild my spirit. Suicide was definitely an option, and it was something I had thought about almost daily. It affected me so much that I’ve actually thought about starting a support group for women who have had abortions, no matter what the circumstance behind it was. I don’t believe any woman should feel like a bad person for having one done. It’s your body and it’s your life. I just wish there was more support and mental care for the women who have had to experience an abortion and my heart goes out to all the women around the world who have suffered mentally, and even physically, because of it. I’m not saying abortion is a bad thing, because it’s certainly not and I feel fortunate to live in a country where I am able to make decisions like that and I am grateful for the doctors who have helped women take full control of their lives. I’m talking about the mental distress that it can cause for many women, including myself, and I’m in no way shaming or discrediting abortion itself because it’s a privilege that some women don’t have, whether you’re in a third world country or whether it’s based around your religious beliefs. I have overcome the almost paralyzing depression and self-loathing of the post-abortion experience, but my experience with having one has created a pain that only I, and other women who have gone through with the procedure will know, which is why I believe there should be free therapy offered to the women the very moment they step into a clinic and consider having one performed, if there isn’t already.
thank you for sharing your experience 😐