Does Abortion Have Severe Psychological Effects?

A detailed Summary of Does Abortion Have Severe Psychological Effects?

Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by destruction of a fertilized egg, embryo or fetus before birth, prior to the time when the fetus attains viability, or capacity for life outside the uterus (Encyclopedia, 1995, p.43). Currently almost twenty-five percent of pregnancies in the United States are aborted. About one forth of people who abort are teenagers, fifty-seven percent are younger than 25, and almost eighty percent are unmarried. During the first trimester is when most of the abortions take place. Only about ten percent are performed later in the pregnancy (Slife, 1998, p.329). Abortions go back as far as Ancient Greece where it was used as a type of population control. Then in the Roman Times men had total control over the procedure. "Man could give law-enforced command that his wife have an abortion, or he could punish or divorce his wife for having one without his consent" (Encyclopedia, 1995, p.43).

Today many people ask the question, does abortion have severe psychological effects? People that are pro-life claim that most women who abort their unborn child suffer from many negative effects, such as guilty feelings, anxiety, depression, loss, anger and even suicide. In one case a woman had an aborti

I think that most of the time these women aren't going to just admit how they are feeling, or maybe not even admit to having an abortion. The only way I think would minimize these problems is maybe surveying family members and not the actually women who had the abortion, or maybe hypnotizing them and making them tell how they really feel.

1. If someone you know were considering terminating a pregnancy, what advice would you offer? Why?

If I knew someone that was thinking about having an abortion I would talk to her about all the options, but I would make it clear that I would be supportive either way. I would explain all of the negative effects that could happen with having an abortion, but I would also explain what it would be like having to raise a child at a young age. No matter what she wanted I would be supportive, because I have never been in the situation and I don't know what she would be going through. The reason why I would do this is so that she knows all of her options and so that she knows I will be there to help her with the baby, or help her after the abortion.

on assuming that it would take away all of the stress of being pregnant and thinking about the consequences of having a child. Afterwards she said, "I was unprepared for the maze of emotions that hit me after I had the procedure. Instead of feeling relieved, I was awash in anxiety and confusion" (Lawlor, 2002, par.3). The disorder of having negative effects after an abortion is called Post Abortion Syndrome or PAS. In order to tell if a woman has PAS she has to be completely honest with herself and admit the feelings that she has. The symptoms that most women have are strong feelings of guilt and confusion. Some cases are much more extreme, for example, there was a seventeen year old who developed lethargy, malaise, and vomiting. Doctors where unable to reach a conclusion about her condition until the anniversary of her abortion when she experienced overt psychosis. Mental examinations also revealed signs of hallucinations, as well as psychotic thought processes. Research has shown that in most cases women will go on and say they are fine about the whole thing, and many years later be engulfed in feelings

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Category: People