The New York Times just gave an in-depth report on a just-released JAMA study that shows that
While there was some short term stress involved,
-no long term problems resulted.
Abortions for all! Woo hoo!
This is a good thing right?
Because it means society (for the most part) has come to accept abortion as a fact of life and we shouldn’t ostracize women who choose to get one? Thus causing them emotional distress?
Sure, it’s only natural for women ton go through an initial period of emotional distress. These decisions can never be made easily. But after they do make that decision, I’d hate to think these women live the rest of their lives in a depressive state.
I haven’t verified it, but I’ve heard that roughly 2/3rds of pregnancies self-abort within the first few weeks. Assuming that to be true, I think we could already have concluded that people are able to move on when a pregnancy doesn’t end up as they wanted.
I’m sorry-what? Are you not in favor of accurate information on the subject being released to the public?
Very well. Abortions for none!
Boo!!!
Abortions for some, miniature American flags for the rest.
I am so printing out that page. The anti-abortion protesters I’ve encountered insist that “Every women regrets an abortion. No woman regrets an adoption.” Total bullshit.
I’ve seen an anti-abortion study where the person who do it attributed every negative thing in the life of any woman who terminated her pregnancy to abortion. Had a depression 15 years later? Abortion. Got into an automobile accident 5 years later? Abortion. Your child is doing drugs? It was caused by your abortion. On and on and on and on and on…
Speaking as a Catholic right-to-lifer…
I honestly don’t know if there is any clear trend in how women react after having an abortion. I am open to psychological studies going either way. Using common sense, I imagine that women are different and that their feelings about their abortions are all across the board. Some women regret their abortions and still weep about them. Some undoubtedly think it was the smartest thing they ever did, and have never thought twice about it. Others are somewhere in between.
Thing is, how women FEEL about their abortions is irrelevant to the morality of the issue. There is NO moral issue that should be argued on such a basis.
If you think slavery is evil and ought to be abolished, it would be SILLY to argue “It’s immoral because most slave owners feel guilty and remorseful about owning slaves.”
It would be both stupid and dishonest to argue against the Holocaust on the grounds that guards at Dachau and Bergen-Belsen were grief-stricken over killing Jews! Maybe concentration camp guards lay awake all night, tormented by guilt. Maybe they slept like babies. Who cares???
If the Viet Nam war was wrong, it would STILL be wrong if psychological studies proved conclusively that 90% of Viet Nam vets feel just fine about their military service.
Abortion is no different. It’s either moral or immoral. Your opinion on THAT question should not be influenced in any way by whether women who’ve had abortions regret them or not.
I am open to valid scientific studies, too. Got any that go “the other way”?
Let’s not forget that this is not a “is abortion moral” thread.
Abortion is legal and available to women. For women to make informed choices they they should know whether or not post abortion issues should be given higher weight than than they currently have been. That’s it. Your view on whether they should *have *access to abortion is irrelevant to that choice.
I wasn’t attempting to turn this into a moral debate.
I was simply noting that the emotional and psychological effects on women are completely irrelevant to whether abortion should be legal. Right to lifers who’ve tried in the past that abortion should be outlawed because it causes trauma to women were foolish and dishonest.
My confusion obviously lies here; your initial linkage to a woman’s feelings regarding abortion and abortion’s morality.
When I suppose you meant to link it more directly to those people actively restricting abortion based on feelings like you do in your next post.
Thanks for the clarification
Apparently being denied an abortion does NOT lead to emotional and psychological trauma. Go figure.
Regards,
Shodan
That’s not what the paper says. Bolding is mine.
Where did that nugget of info come from?
See? After six months, whether you had an abortion when you first asked, went somewhere else and had an abortion, or never had an abortion at all, no difference.
Regards,
Shodan
I know I never regretted it. I was 15. I was in no position to be pregnant, much less a parent.
I had to have one, and was immensely relieved as having a run up at a full on pregnancy would have killed me, my second pregnancy ending itself at 7 months almost did me in [hence the tubal ligation that undid itself 10 years later … and let me get preggers the third time]
DO keep in mind while I am pro choice, I did not then and do not now [though it is way not ever a consideration post hysterectomy as I no longer have the organs to get pregnant] believe in abortion for me without seriously extenuating circumstances [such as being deadly to me. Sorry, but I want to live and there being no way for me to continue pregnant and live, the pregnancy needed to be terminated.] I do not have any regret, nor guilt - I was more peeved at my body for popping the band and scar plug and letting me get pregnant [I had never had fertility issues …*sigh*] And I never actually wanted kids, having neice/nephews and goddaughters was always fine for me - I seem to have been hiding behind hte door when they were handing out maternal instinct =)