Abortion Self Esteem

In the United States “1.7% of women aged 15–44 have an abortion” (“Induced Abortion in the United States”). Twenty-one percent of all pregnancies end in abortion (“Induced Abortion in the United States”). Women most commonly have abortions before the end of her first trimester, twelve weeks into the pregnancy, however, abortions may also be performed after the first trimester. Abortions are quite common, but they also lead to numerous issues for the parents such as regret, depression, drug abuse and even suicide. The parent’s choice of abortion has lasting physical and psychological effects on the parents of the aborted child, even years after the abortion process.

The practice of abortions throughout the United States are safe. Abortions have become safer since the procedure was reluctantly legalized in the United States-by the Supreme Court-in 1973. According to The American Medical Association’s Council on Scientific Affairs the number of deaths associated with abortion drastically dropped from roughly four out of every one hundred thousand women in 1973 to .6 per every one hundred thousand women in 1997 (Abortion is Safe). These statistics show that procedure in how an abortion is performed has become safer since legalization. Legalization of abortion permitted the procedure to be performed in a sterile setting- such as a hospital operating room. The medical risk associated with an abortion procedure is highly overestimated. An abortion performed exactly as medically advised carries half the risk of a tonsillectomy (Abortion is Safe). (A tonsillectomy is a simple procedure that is performed on many children in their childhood.) On the other hand, anti-abortion advocates point to emotional problems that could harm the pregnant woman after an abortion. These advocates attempt to show there is a link to mental disorders in post abortion women. A New Zealand study looked to verify this claim. The analysis showed that there was a credible link between depression, suicide attempts and substance abuse in post abortion women (Cords). Researchers also aimed to connect having an abortion with post-traumatic stress disorder

In the overarching state of humanity, few topics are as important to the long term societal standpoint as abortion. Even more important and contested is the controversial subject of whether or not a woman will endure long term psychological effects or disorders after said abortion. This subject has been highly debated, with valid points made by both sides. It is important that we all look into these repercussions, especially since approximately 33% of women will undergo an abortion by the time they reach forty-five years old. This often challenged subject has many aspects. The main ideas that I researched where whether or not having an abortion leads to a higher risk for mental health issues, whether or not “post-abortion syndrome” is a

Besides the fact that abortion has killed millions of innocent children and can have some barbaric techniques, it has had adverse effects socially and globally. Abortion has led to a damaging impact on the family, including difficulties in mother-child bonding, and the devaluation of the child. When a child learns that his mother aborted a previous pregnancy, he comes to realize this could have just as easily been him. He begins to think that his mother may not have wanted him, leading to difficulties in mother and child bonding. In addition, as abortion activists continue to campaign, citing abortion as a women’s right and choice, a child is increasingly looked at as property or a right instead of a blessing or gift. This has been shown to be responsible for the devaluation of the child. According to Dr. Philip G. Ney in an article on the impacts of abortion on

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

Sharon Salzberg once said, “As we look around, it's very clear that in this world people do outrageous things to one another all of the time. It's not that these qualities or actions make us bad people, but they bring tremendous suffering if we don't know how to work with them”. The wake of devastation abortion leaves behind could not be described better. It is argued that it is the woman’s body; therefore it is the woman’s choice. What many do not know, however, is that abortion not only affects the mother, but the father, and of course the child. Guilt, anger, anxiety, depression, broken relationships, “numbing”, and even suicide; all of these are symptoms of Post-Abortion Syndrome (PAS). PAS is the emotional/psychological damage women may experience after having an abortion. According to Dangers of Legal Abortion by Ann Saltenberger, women who have had abortions are nine times more likely to attempt suicide than women in the general population. Men, or the father, portray a range of emotions after their partner’s abortion. These include grief, guilt,

Since abortions legalization in 1973, it has become a topic ensnared by controversies as groups debate abortions moral and ethical consequences. Most often the controversy over abortion comes down to a person’s moral stand point on the subject, however, most people are not apprised of the possible long and short term psychological effects of receiving an abortion. Multiple studies preformed over the years have endeavored to determine the extent abortion has on women’s mental health with vastly varying results. Articles written by Coleman and Fergusson surmise women who undergo an abortion operation are highly prone to experience some variety of psychological harm. Other researchers like the American Psychological Association (APA) task force

Many women who have had an abortion say that they have been diagnosed with clinical depression and post-traumatic stress disorder also known as PTSD. They have also taken into substance abuse, using drugs and alcohol to escape the fact that they have prematurely ended a life. Along with all of that many women almost all have their relationships suffer because of their abortion, it’s a very sad thought that all of these lives have been impacted with one silly decision to not be careful and to not be responsible. After this traumatizing event many women put up mental walls to shut out their friends and family that only want to help and love them, because they’re afraid of what they may think of their decision to end a life before it ever began. Spiritual relationships suffer after an abortion, many women and even the men associated with the women feel uncomfortable and unworthy in the eyes of their god and therefore only losing more hope for an already bleak

As a woman who has experienced the horrific tragedy of rape and all of the trauma that comes with it, I personally find a woman’s right to have a say in her own reproductive rights to be of the utmost importance. Ever since the landmark Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade was decided in January of 1973, abortion has been deemed a fundamental right for women. Additionally, a woman’s right to access legal, safe, and professionally-performed abortions severely reduces the risk of death and bodily harm associated with less safe, unlawful abortions. Lastly, studies performed via peer review in 2013 found that women who denied abortions were more likely to suffer from mental health problems when compared to women who carried out the procedure. Furthermore, only 1 in 20 women who received abortions felt that they did not make the right choice in doing so. In other words, in order to ensure the health of women, both physical and mental, in the United States, it is vital that safe avenues for abortion remain available to the general public.

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.

Abortion continues to be one of the most controversial debates in the United States today and takes center stage in American politics. The opposing sides hold sincere emotional, religious, spiritual, and marital views regarding abortion and the legalization of it throughout our country. As nearly half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned, women are quite often left with uncertainty and pressure when faced with the decision to take on this ultimate responsibility. Throughout the endless controversy and relentless conflict, the psychological effects after abortion for women are often overlooked and not tended to as efficiently as they should be. Women experience distress, depression, suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and countless

Many women choosing to have an abortion are unaware of the psychological effects it will have on them. Many are affected for years or maybe even lifetime after the procedure. Abortion can affect each woman differently, some claim that abortion has negative effects on women’s mental health. Women have abortions for different reasons within different personal, social, economic, and cultural contexts. All of these may lead to variability in women’s psychological reactions following the abortion. This paper will focus on answering the following questions:

Statement of Problem: Abortion is defined as the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, most often performed during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy. Today, especially here in the United States of America, there is a growing issue and debate around the idea of abortion. There is a stigma against abortion because of the possibility of negative religious, political, medical, emotional, and mental consequences it may cause. Each year, worldwide there is an estimated 42 billion abortions that take place. This number does not include abortions that are not performed by professionals. The big issue alongside with abortion itself, is the affects it has on the mental health of females who undergo the procedure.

Rape is one of the most prominent possibilities as to why a woman would choose to terminate her pregnancy. Though it is a tough decision to make, it is possible to be faced with keeping the child or ending the life of the fetus. In some cases, women make the choice to end their pregnancy knowing how they might treat their child. The women is most likely to hate her rapist and may worry if they move forward with the pregnancy, they would project this hate onto the child because it reminds them of such a painful memory.According to Rachel Perry, “One percent of women in a cross-sectional study of women's reasons for choosing abortion reported that their pregnancy had resulted from rape” (67-73). In addition to the pregnancy, the health consequences of rape can include physical injury, sexually transmitted disease, and mental health problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse.

Many women that choose to have an abortion do not realize that it is a dangerous surgery with serious side effects. These side effects are both physical and psychological. Having an abortion is unnatural and interrupts this function of the human body. “The women’s body naturally resists the abortion, causing physical and emotional problems” (“Who does Abortion Affect?”). Almost all of the women who had abortions feel that they have made the wrong decision. The women are not informed about the side effects of abortion. Many women that had abortions said their doctors gave “little or no information about the potential health risks