APA Task Force

Nearly 81% of women who receive abortions experience subsequent mental health problems according to a recently published study by The Royal College of Psychiatrists. The study demonstrates that the aftermath of an abortion can result in higher rates of anxiety, depression, various forms of substance abuse, and suicidal behavior. As a result of the study, it shows that women who have an abortion face almost double the risk of mental health problems as women who have their baby. This outcome is due to the fact that most women who are terminating pregnancies “may feel a greater sense of loss, anxiety and distress due to lack of support”, as summarized in the Guttmacher Institute, a non-profit reproductive health organization. In fact, a five-year study shows that 25% of

This syndrome has been widely disseminated on the Web by abortion opponents. Although psychology cannot resolve moral differences of opinion about abortion, empirical research can answer questions of the relationship between abortion and psychological well-being. In fact, studies show that women typically experience relief after having a legal abortion.

My second scholarly article, Women's Rights on the Right: The History and Stakes of Modern Pro-Life Feminism, by Mary Ziegler, actually goes against my belief on abortion. It talks about how abortion actually harms women instead of help them. After reading this article, it has helped me see from the other point of view that opposes mine. The findings suggest that abortion in young women may be associated with increased risks of mental health problems. In particular, various writers have recommended that premature birth may have longer-term unfriendly psychological wellness impacts inferable from sentiments of blame, uncertain misfortune and self-esteem issues. Everything has its pros and cons, and for abortion it’s the same way.

On the flip side studies by the American Psychological Association (APA) says that women who receives abortions are less likely to suffer mental health problems than those who denied. In fact, 95% of the women who went through

As the music comes on the crowd begins to cheer. She walks out with her big hair and glamorous dress that illuminates as the stage lights hit it. She flashes her big smile and starts shaking her hips in a provocative way as she prances around the stage. The crowd is in awe of the 3-foot toddler. Caked-on makeup, expensive gowns, fake teeth, sexual costumes and big, fake hair all on a 5 year old for entertainment and prizes? Any person much less a child should not be sexualized in any way. The APA, defined sexualization as occurring when a person's value comes only from her/his sexual appeal or behavior, to the exclusion of other characteristics, and when a person is sexually objectified, e.g., made into a thing for another's sexual use ("Sexualization of Girls Is Linked to Common Mental Health Problems in Girls and Women--Eating Disorders, Low Self-Esteem, and Depression; An APA Task Force Reports.") .The idea

One of the most common physical complications due to abortion is breast cancer. Many people don't agree that abortion can be a cause of breast cancer, but Dr. Joel Brind, an expert on the abortion-breast cancer link concluded through one of his studies that women who aborted their first pregnancies had a 30-50% higher risk of getting breast cancer (Brind). While that may be concerning, by far one of the most distressing effects of abortion on a women's psychical health is death. It is reported that legal abortion is the fifth leading cause of maternal death in the U.S. (Kaunitz). Something that can have an effect as serious as death is a definite concerning

Women who get abortions have an 81% higher risk to get a mental health disorder. There is over 50% of an increased chance for post-abortion women to get suicidal thoughts, mood disorders, social anxiety, and abuse alcohol and substances. It was found that 14% of women in the U.S suffer from all symptoms of PTSD post-abortion. After getting an abortion, women are twice as likely to become heavy smokers and still smoke during a wanted pregnancy, which could harm both the mother and child (“Abortion Risks: A list of major psychological complications related to abortion”).Overall, abortion can greatly affect the mental and physical health of post-abortion

Foremost, abortion has been linked to numerous psychological disorders, detrimental and benign. In 2006, a study conducted by Sleep, the official journal of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, found that 36% of women who experienced an abortion surgery suffered sleeping disorders and nightmares. Of that 36%, 11% were affected further resulting from the sleeping disorder. Studies have shown that cases of insomnia have been discovered; thus, affecting those women’s lives even further. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry published an astonishing study in 2010 including a sample of 3000 females. They determined that women who underwent an abortion were 98% more susceptible to mental health disorders opposed to the

Abortion is a controversial topic in today’s society in more ways than one. Part of the controversy results in a stigma regarding abortion regarding its impact on the woman who underwent the abortion procedure. Researchers Charles et al. and Henry David conducted studies regarding the effects of abortion on the mother and the effects on the child if they were denied abortion, respectively. The findings of the studies explored the psychological effects on women who were granted an abortion and the children of those who were denied an abortion throughout life.

Women who abort later on in their pregnancies develop more psychological effects such as regret and depression. Those who think more about their abortion before and after the procedure develop increased anxiety and depression. David Reardon, Ph.D., the director of the Elliot Institute , and Priscilla Coleman, a family studies professor at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, both conducted studies and “found a higher risk of psychiatric hospital and clinic admissions among poor post-abortive women,” and “found a higher risk of generalized anxiety disorder post-abortion” (Bazelon). Adding on to increased anxiety and depression, the question of suicide becomes prevalent for women who choose to abort. Author Susan Stanford-Rue attests to having been “on the verge of suicide” after her own abortion (Stanford-Rue 96). Research shown by The Elliot Institute depicts that sixty percent of women who have gone through with the abortion procedure experience thoughts of suicide. Among that sixty percent, twenty-eight percent attempt to end their lives . (“Abortion Risks: A List of Major Psychological Complications Related to Abortion.”). In one study, the United States reviewed records of low-income women residing in California who had an abortion and those who had given birth. It was determined

These authors highlight the inappropriate generalisation of conclusions from these studies and suggest they are “of limited scientific merit and tell little about the experience of the vast majority of abortion patients” (p. 1197).23 There is much less documented information regarding the potential positive effects that abortion may bring to the women, or the effects on women when abortion is denied, an exception being the paper by Dagg (1991).24 The literature tends to suggest that women who do not experience distress following abortion may experience more positive emotions such as relief, satisfaction and a sense of return to normality.25 Post-abortion emotions vary greatly between women, and therefore it would be misrepresentative to present abortion as a process that is inevitably associated with suffering and

Elective abortion is common in the United States; according to one estimate approximately 21% of pregnancies, excluding miscarriages, are aborted (Jones & Jerman, 2014, p. 5). Opponents of abortion correlate it with various negative mental health outcomes for the women who choose to terminate a pregnancy. The risks claimed to be associated include depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and suicide. Some analyses have shown a meaningful increase in risk, and even assert that this risk can be directly attributed to abortion using analytical methods. However, large associations of medical professionals, such as the American Psychological Association, report that there are no statistically significant increased mental health risks in undergoing a single elective abortion, and that bias and politics are at the heart of claims to the contrary. This opposing view offers that when increased mental health issues following abortion do occur, they are more likely explained by factors such as prior levels of mental health. This paper will discuss views in the controversy as to whether elective abortion does result in increased risk of mental health problems.

This article performs research on women’s emotions a week after abortion or being denied an abortion in the United States. Longitudinal studies are used to examine a woman’s emotions about abortion and pregnancy short-term after following through with abortion or being denied the abortion. The article states that previous studies in the past on mental health and emotions after abortions have had flaws or limitations within the study. Most studies focus on first trimester abortions; very few have done studies on abortions after the first trimester. Due to the fact it is not known if age has an effect on a woman’s emotion after receiving or being denied an abortion, makes for a great article. Another factor that has not been looked at in a different aspect is where the study is conducted. Most studies are conducted in small geographic locations, which limits the results on social or cultural attitudes toward the topic. It is important for a study like this to take place because there is many factor that can contribute to ones emotions.

Many anti-choice activists suggest that there is a particular type of psychological trauma, which they refer to as Post Abortion Syndrome (PAS), which women experience after having had an abortion. Furthermore, they suggest that the presence of this syndrome, with its negative impact on women, is another reason bolstering the outlawing of legal abortions. In order to examine that argument, this paper will investigate PAS, try to conclude whether it is a legitimate disorder, and determine whether its existence should impact the availability of legal abortions.

Studies have shown that women who were denied abortion were more mentally affected than women who went through with a abortion. A study was conducted by National Comorbidity Survey- Replication regarding mental health and abortion in 2014. ¨After accounting for confounding factors, abortion was not a statistically significant