Abortion is one of the most controversial and talked about issues in America. In 1973, “Roe vs. Wade” a United States Supreme Court case, made abortion legal in all 50 states. Since then, it has been a battle between those who are pro-life (anti-choice) and pro-choice (anti-life). The correct terminology for the two terms depends on who you might ask. Whatever your views are on the actual abortion law aside, I want to answer the question: “Does Abortion Cause Psychological Effects?” Throughout my research, it was incredibly hard to find papers and sites that were not biased. This factoid proves how hot this issue is in America. However, I just want to know the facts.
According to a meta-analysis done by the U.S. National Library of Medicine there is usually no emotional or psychological side effects that come from abortions. This meta-analysis examined 225 sources, and found that usually the mental side effectsof women who have had abortions were there before the abortion was performed. The report goes on to say that children who were supposed to be aborted but ended up being born are more likely to have “numerous, broadly based difficulties in social, interpersonal, and occupational functions that last at least into early adulthood” (National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine).
However, there are several factors that attribute to whether and individual woman is emotionally affected by her abortion. The American Pregnancy Association explains that women who were brought up to believe that abortions were wrong (either just ethically or because of a religion) are more likely to suffer from post-abortion psychological damage. The website goes on to say that women who are forced to get an abortion are also more likely to experience psychological damage. On the other side of that page, women who wanted to get an abortion but were discouraged by their significant other were also had less emotional stability. Finally, women who were informed that their child had genetic deformities and then made the choice to abort also had a higher chance of psychological disability.
The above study failed to mention the how adolescents are psychologically effected by abortions. This study researched 360 black teenage girls from Baltimore with similar economic backgrounds. Surprisingly, adolescents who have abortions are often times less likely to experience psychological problems than those who decided to go through with their pregnancy. The explanation given was that the girls who go through with the pregnancy are so overwhelmed by early motherhood that they often experience psychological and emotional damage.
The studies I found above come from credible and reliable sources. This is not a biased report and my opinion did not make its way into this article. Even though this is just a blog post for science class, I feel it is my duty to remind my audience that the health of the mother should only effect half of the decision. I’ll leave with two quotes: one from the anti-abortion side and one from the pro-abortion side.
