Women 's Emotions A Week After Abortion

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.

In a time fraught with hot button issues, one that polarizes perhaps more than any other is that of abortion. Unfortunately, it is also an issue that is difficult to write about while remaining unbiased. Paul Stark’s “How Abortion Hurts Women” and Sarah Barnes’ “The Long Term Effects of Abortion on Women” both set out to prove that abortion has serious side effects on the affected party. Both Stark and Barnes cite several studies done in both America and abroad to support their claims, as well as, in Barnes case, offering their own insights on the matter. It seems that both authors purpose is to enlighten their audiences on the under-reported effects of abortion on women in order to spark a new conversation that doesn’t center around the unborn

Abortion can cause periods of depression in which the pain can encysted. Some women become aggressive or nervous, or even hyperactive. Anxiety can find an answer food such as bulimia or, conversely, anorexia. For others, psychosomatic reactions will take over with stomach aches, absence of periods, headaches, the loss of self-esteem ("I'm bad, I'm unworthy, painful for others"), the fear of not being pregnant again or anxiety of existential insecurity are consequences commonly observed. Some episodes of a woman’s life can relive the acutely suffering felt at the time of abortion: the date in which the child had been born, or the anniversary date of the abortion, the desire to make present the dead child, are conducive to outbreaks of suffering intensely lived as, for example, anxiety or depressive

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

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

Abortion is a controversial topic that has plagued the country for decades. Even after the 7-2 Supreme Court trial (Roe vs. Wade) made it legal for women to choose to get abortions. This decision was based off the right of privacy coupled with the agreement between the woman and the state. Due to this decision abortion rights vary from state to state, in fact, about 85% of United States counties do not provide abortion services. Even though, abortion is ten times safer than the actual process of giving birth and 68,000 women died from resorting to “back-alley abortions.” Knowing all this, there are still two main groups arguing

The following chapters address four dominant emotions through which abortion is conveyed. Chapter 2 discusses the “maternal happiness” frame, perceiving women’s happiness as only achievable through motherhood, and thus positioning abortion as a choice that goes against women’s “feminine nature”. Chapter 3 explores “foetocentric grief” - another prevalent emotion in abortion discourses, that constructs pregnant women as mothers who go through the loss of their children. Widely employed in political discourse, the book reveals the effects of this frame on abortion policies and regulations. Chapter 4 examines the feeling of shame and the resulting silence that veils the experiences of aborting women.

After a woman has an abortion, the chances are three to four times higher of the mother having a miscarriage because of damage to the uterus. There is a higher chance of the mother dying from having an abortion than there is from her dying from natural childbirth. Even though after an abortion the mother feels relief that the ordeal is over, feelings of “numbness” soon set in on their emotions. It’s not any different from what soldiers feel after being in the midst of war. It has been found in a study of 500 aborted women, 50 percent of them were dealing with negative feelings and 10 percent had “serious psychiatric complications.”

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,

Talking about abortion brings out an emotional response in many women. This is because having an abortion takes a massive emotional toll on some women. As Nanyjo Mann said, three weeks after having an abortion, “I became preoccupied with the thoughts of death. I fantasized about how I would die. My baby struggled for two hours” (Reardon, 1987, p. xviii). In the forward of the book “Aborted Women, Silent No More” Nanyjo, a women telling

It is difficult to think about all the different emotions a mother must feel after losing her baby; no matter how it happens. The abortion may have been something the mother wanted or she may have been pressured into it by others around her. No matter what the reason is, it is hard for a mother to lose something that was a part of her for nine months. She feels many different emotions due to the major hormone changes she goes through. These emotions can range from average feelings to feelings that are dangerous to the point where the mother needs professional help. According to the American pregnancy association (2007), abortion causes many side effects such as; regret, anger, guilt, shame, loneliness or isolation, impaired self confidence, insomnia or nightmares, relationship issues, suicidal thoughts, eating disorders, depressions and anxiety (para. 3). Many mothers go through a regret period, which is

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:

There are religious and emotional objections to abortion as well as the possibility of negative medical and mental consequences. Many are in favor of making abortion illegal because, they feel it is immoral. Others believe that government should not have a say so in such a personal matter. Are there any other factors that could possibly change the way people view abortion? The matter of abortions negatively affecting the women who have the procedure done is one that the world has been dealing with for some time now. Researchers have decided to explore the idea that women who have had an abortion could possibly be at a higher risk for developing and even intensifying mental health issues. Researchers use various measures to determine if or how having an abortion effects woman. Measures include factors such as women who request an abortion but have not yet gone through with it, women who have gone through with the procedure, and women who have lost a child due to abortions or other ways. The following literature explains these

Studies by pro-choice researchers also conclude that women often have difficulty coping in life after an abortion. One study found that “17% of women felt guilt after the procedure… 56% of women experienced a sense of guilt about having had an abortion and 26% said they mostly regret the abortion.” (Dube 24). Sometimes, women have abortions and then carry such guilt with them that when they do want to become pregnant, they are not capable to because of the psychological stress associated with guilt. “In cases of selective abortion, there is grief for a wanted child, questions about the characteristics of the baby – not usually seen by the parents – worries about future pregnancies, ambivalence about abortion itself, and guilt – terrible guilt” is what Susan Borg and Judith Lasker had written in When Pregnancy Fails (Borg 50).

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