The effects of abortion can include inability to give birth in the future, emotional problems, breast cancer, and medical complications later on in life. These differences in framing are important, as they determine the research designs necessary to address the question, the answers obtained, and the conclusions drawn. One important factor related to the vulnerability of negative emotional or psychological effects has to. Pdf emotional and psychological effects on women after. Abortion mental health, abortion, reproductive health. As former abortion clinic staff attest, and as journalists in the u. About 20 percent of all abortions taking place in the u. Existing research on the mental health effects of abortion can be categorized into two main camps. A significant number of patients suffer psychological complications as a consequence of abortion, and 1020% experience severe.
The only terms used by the scientific community to refer to psychological suffering due to abortion are those associated with an. Emotional and psychological effects on women after induced abortion article pdf available in international journal of science and research ijsr 53. Spontaneous abortion, despite its frequency, its uncertain etiology, and the distress caused to the individual, has never attracted the emotional concern or the concentrated research effort recently accorded to induced abortion. Most common emotional and psychological effects after abortion are. Most studies of abortion in adolescence have compared psychological outcomes in adolescents with those in adult women. All too often, the emotional effects of abortion are underreported and downplayed.
Thedistinction is, of course, that spontaneous abortion is regarded as an involuntary, physiological process. Identifying the the psychological consequences of abortion1 is complicated for our society, because talking about them leads the audience to think that the proposed approach calls into question the decriminalisation of abortion, an unwelcome debate in the belgian and french democracies. A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the honors in the major program in psychology in the college of sciences and in the burnett honors college at the university of central florida orlando, florida spring 20. Emotional side effects of abortion american pregnancy. Psychological consequences of abortion among the post. Do depression and low selfesteem follow abortion among.
A prospective study on the psychological effects of abortion was carried out on 1739 cases. For those women who decide to take on an abortion, they must be willing to bear the effects after the abortion neither it is physiology nor psychological. It is important that womens varied experiences of abortion be. In a past blog article, the physical effects of abortion were discussed. As a result, there is controversy around the issue of depression after an abortion. Although the consensus seems to be that elective abortion has a low incidence of psychiatric morbidity, the psychological implications of different types of abortion procedures have led to studies of the differential effect of medical abortion induction versus surgical abortion vacuum aspiration. The worst physical effect is death, in record, there are 200 women have died from legal abortion since 1973 abortion. Effects of abortion on college womens mental health. In a study meant to examine how such factors as race and ethnicity influence the psychological after effects of abortions, psychologists nancy felipe russo ph. Among women who do experience mental health issues, the apa report. Smoking, drug abuse, eating disorder, depression, attempted suicide, guilt, regret, nightmare, decreased selfesteem, and worry about not being able to conceive again were the questions asked from the respondents as the psychological consequences of abortion. We believe that a woman should have the right to abort or not just as she has the right to marry or not.
Pdf emotional and psychological impact of abortion. Many have confusing or mixed emotions after abortion. Measuring the psychological impact of abortion via a survey conducted. Research on the psychological and physical effects of abortion. Both women who had an abortion, and women who were denied one, experienced a reduction in anxiety over the five year period. Abortion articles effects, psychology, facts teen abortion. Psychological risks traumatic aftereffects of abortion. Introduction context of the problem the topic of abortion has been a highly controversial issue with a long history. Girls need to be taught by their parents and through their public education to respect themselves and their bodies, and to learn the value of monogamy, of longterm relationships, and of emotional commitment before. Detecting types and frequent psychological side effects of abortion among post abortion care seeking women in tehran was the main objective of the present. Any person seeking an abortion was urged to be an informed consumer and to be knowledgeable of all the physical risks of abortion. Emotional and psychological trauma is the result of extraordinarily stressful events that shatter your sense of security, making you feel helpless in a dangerous world. For information about abortion, you may call the apa tollfree helpline at 18006722296. Psychological and physical side effects of abortion essay.
It concluded that the relative risk of mental health problems is no greater among adult women who resolve unplanned pregnancy with a single, elective, firsttrimester abortion than it is among those who give birth. The following is a list of side effects that are frequently experienced after an abortion. Natural hormonal changes related to pregnancy can cause a woman to feel more emotional than usual. Wade, there has been vigorous debate regarding the impact of abortion on a womans mental. I am also currently sitting in with a group of postabortive women who are working throught their post abortion. Women with a history of depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, and a history of child abuse and neglect were the most likely to experience symptoms or cases of anxiety post abortion seeking. Background defining womens emotional experiences associated with abortion is a difficult task. Possible psychological and emotional effects of abortion for females education provides one solution towards preventing abortion. Many circumstantial factors affect women s emotional journeys during their abortion experience and beyond. Psychological effects of abortion on women sexualwellbeing. Many circumstantial factors affect womens emotional journeys during their abortion experience and beyond. Other sources of bias, expanded upon in the section on psychological effects below, include the fact that distressed women are often excluded from studies9, or refuse to participate. Framing the question the question of how abortion relates to mental health has been asked in several different ways.
People have used the negative psychological effects of abortion as a basis to either promote or discourage abortion. Every town, city, ethnicity, and age group has suffered from the tragic effects of this mostly surgical and sometimes medical procedure. It is possible to experience these side effects for as long as 2 to 4 weeks following the procedure. A prospective study on the psychological effects of therapeutic. Just as every woman may experience different physical symptoms or side effects of abortion, every woman may experience different psychological effects of abortion and thats okay some women feel relieved after an abortion. Few studies have compared adolescents who had an abortion with peers who did not. Pdf psychological effects of abortion researchgate. The emotional side effects of having an abortion are just as real as physical side effects. Negative mental health effects of abortion psychology today. These are some of the positive and negative effects of abortion, but the fact remains that it is the mother in question who gets to decide whether to terminate her fetus or to carry it to term.
The supreme court ruling that legalized abortion in the case of roe vs. Opposition to this liberal attitude toward abortion seems to. A study of the effects of abortion in the united states. Mentalhealth andabortion american psychological association. They also indicate that em otional problems resulting from abortion are rare and le ss frequent than those following childbirth adler, 1989.
Drug and alcohol abuse may also begin after an abortion, along with eating disorders and thoughts of suicide, which means that many of the emotional side. These can result in the woman experiencing severe mood swings, and even result in severe psychological and physical stress including depression. Most adult women who terminate a pregnancy do not experience mental health problems. Psychological consequences of abortion among the post abortion. Abortion either medical or criminal has distinctive physical, social, and psychological side effects. If one decides that he is ready to have a child at any time after having an abortion, he may experience trouble in doing so. Emotional and psychological impact of abortion bmj sexual. Reportofthe apataskforceon mentalhealth andabortion apataskforceonmentalhealthandabortion brendamajor,phd,chair markappelbaum,phd lindabeckman,phd maryanndutton,phd. Although the resulting draft report acknowledged that induced abortion is medically safe, it claimed that there was insufficient evidence to determine the psychological effects of abortion koop, 1987. Underreporting of abortion leads to an underestimation of its effects8. Psychological effects of abortion unplanned pregnancy. As of july 2017, 20 states require pre abortion counseling on a range of possible post abortion emotional effects, with six states mandating only the sharing of information related to possible negative responses. The term post abortion syndrome pas is sometimes used to describe the mental turmoil experienced after abortion, even though it does not appear in any diagnostic and statistical manual of psychological disorders. Many studies argue that abortion can lead to serious mental illness as people have disclosed effects ranging from depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety.
Psychological implications of abortion highly charged. Increasingly, scientific research on psychological responses to abortion is being cited as a basis for making policy decisions about access to abortion. One of the most common emotional side effects of abortion is depression, which is often accompanied by flashbacks of the procedure, especially in women who feel guilty about their decision. Speaking out against the title x gag rule pdf, 92kb and additional. Abortion and its psychological implications are highly controversial, politically charged issues. Detecting types and frequent psychological side effects of abortion among post abortion care seeking women in tehran was the main objective of the present study. The emotional effects of induced abortion research studies indicate that emotional responses to legally induced abortion are largely positive. Opinion ranges from the view that abortion is always followed by feelings of regret, loss and depression, to the opposite view that abortion results in feelings of obvious emotional relief. Moreover, many studies of the physical risks of abortion. Positive and negative effects of abortion essay and speech. Psychological trauma can leave you struggling with upsetting emotions, memories, and anxiety that wont go away. Psychological effects of abortion article pdf available in servir lisbon, portugal 461. The psychological effect of abortion on women most women feel some relief immediately after the abortion procedure, though there is often sadness as well.
As to the psychological impact of abortion, koop declared that it was. The abortion rate was highest for the age group 3039 years 72 per 10,000, and the. I am doing a research paper on the physical and psychological effects of abortion and i have been astounded to learn about the damage that is caused by abortion. For some women, these emotional effects of abortion are. Our aim in commissioning this study was to give a sense of the nature and type of research that has been carried out in this area and, if possible, to draw conclusions to. The true toll of abortion may remain unknown and immeasurable because the data. Abortion is linked to depression, violent behavior, and difficulty in bonding to children born subsequent to an aborted. Anticipated physical side effects following an abortion.
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